Michael Bonner: Liberalism is in crisis

Liberalism is clearly on the ropes.

To many, the threats originate from what they consider the outside: populism, authoritarianism, misinformation, and polarization.

But to others, the wounds appear self-inflicted: arising from tensions within liberalism itself.

For decades, liberal societies promised a host of goods: most notably, individual freedom. But many now look around and see loneliness and social decay. Families are breaking down and the culture is fragmenting. Institutional mistrust is on the rise amid a politics that seems unable to unite.

Many of the institutions that once gave liberal societies their coherence—and, in fact, preceded them—like churches, families, local associations, stable communities and shared moral norms—are now shadows of their former selves.

These issues are at the heart of Michael Bonner’s new book, The Crisis of Liberalism: The Origin and Destiny of Freedom. Bonner argues that liberal societies are like orphans, who have either forgotten or do not know their parentage. They have severed the moral, philosophical and theological foundations that made their societies’ account of freedom intelligible.

Bonner is a historian, writer, and political adviser. He holds a doctorate from Oxford and has written widely on history, religion, politics and the modern West.