What Is Liberalism? (Whatever It Is, It Seems In Decline)

Recent debates have tended to confuse rather than clarify matters. Inleft-of-center discourse, “liberalism” and “leftism” are often invokedas respective shorthand for neoliberalism and social democracy. Neitherof these positions sits outside the boundaries of liberalism, broadlyconstrued, and most of the positions currently marked as leftist havebeen supported in other times and places by those we’d describe asliberals. Still, even if this confrontation doesn’