On Opinion, the Parlia podcast, talks to Timothy Garton Ash about the state of liberalism - its past failings, the threats it faces from Left and Right today, and whether it can be rebuilt for the 21st Century.
He argues that liberalism is to blame for its troubles - over-exporting free-market ideas, and under investing in culture, community and politics in a world of massive, destabilising change. He argues for a “conservative-socialist-Liberalism” - a civic patriotism focused on the common good deeply embedded in national communities.
On the back of his recent manifesto for liberalism’s renewal in Prospect magazine, he discusses:
- Whether liberalism can survive in the 21st Century
- Whether Joe Biden’s America can still hope to lead the "free world"
- The demise of liberal ideas in the student body
- Equality of esteem alongside economic security
- Levelling up (Dahrendorf’s idea of the "common floor") vs levelling down
- Civic virtue
- Patriotism vs nationalism
Liberalism is certainly in need of saving, and Garton Ash offers an interesting agenda to take that effort forward.
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