Written by: Noel Liemam on January 19, 2025

Introduction

What comes to mind is, ‘politics.’ I think of politicians; I think of politicians that are free ‘do whatever they think fits regardless of the end results.’ Others that came to mind was ‘liberals’ vs. ‘conservatives.’ And from hearsays, conservatives are those who adhere to the values and traditions that closely resembles Christian-values, while ‘liberal democracy,’ favors the beliefs and ideology of the majority regardless of what values they hold.

After watching some video clips of Interviews with Patrick Deneen, I heard this phrase emphasized, ‘liberalism has failed because it was successful at what it sets out to accomplish.’ [1] This led me to want to know more.

Liberalism Failure.

Liberalism, as a result of the work of Thomas Hobbes and John Locke, is a political and economic ideology, or belief that focuses on the rights and freedom of individuals and the necessity of keeping the government in check. Furthermore, within liberalism, government is necessary to keep each other from harming each other and also that government itself need to be kept in check from harming the citizens.[2] Among these ‘rights and freedom of individuals are the ‘rights and freedom’ to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness; these are what governments are created to secure.[3]

Few of the summaries that were shared by a review of what is liberalism and why it is failing, are as follows: (a.) it is a successful utilitarian fashion; however, its practice of consumption are unsustainable (the unending choice and unrestraint fulfilment of desire) has brought problems, (b.) liberalism is not a ‘different culture’;  it is a genuine anti-culture that destroys community, culture and custom, (c.) liberalism’s relationship with technology, that the current society is so much influenced by technology, and (d.) liberalism has made the society to believe in the ‘self-governance’ while there is a great divide between the ‘ruled’ and the ‘rulers.’[4]

Liberalism, Carrot on A Stick.

If ‘liberalism’ is doctrine that promotes and protects individual’s rights and freedoms, even from the government, then, why would it failed when it accomplished the very thing it sets out to accomplish?

“American liberalism was feasible only because America wasn’t fully liberal,” [5] as emphasized by Deneen as that’s the only reason why the ‘American liberalism’ is still working today. I may have taken the statement out of its context; however, the implication is once the American liberalism achieved its perfection, that would be day the American liberalism is totally collapsed.

With the limited understanding and the limited information that is available that I have, I could say that the relationship of the American liberalism and its success is liken to the phrase, ‘carrot on a stick’ [6] but only in terms of the rewards.  The goal will always be trying to perfect ‘liberalism’ and the hope is that it will propel us forward because perfection will never be achieved, not in this lifetime!

Leadership Lessons Learned.

“Liberalism has emphasized constraint of public authority yet expected leaders to rise to its service.” [7] Leadership as always been discussed, it is not the public figure of authority, rather the [power] influence to lead the followers to the intended objective(s).

Another metaphorical lesson for leadership would be, ‘always strive for perfection though may or may not be achieve.’

[1] Deneen, Patrick. Why liberalism failed. Video Interview. Bing Vidhttps://www.bing.com/videos/riverview/relatedvideo?q=why+liberalism+failed+by+patrick+j.+deneen&&view=riverview&mmscn=mtsc&mid=ACEA236649534D8BAA5BACEA236649534D8BAA5B&&aps=1662&mcid=8FDBAEA8F11D46A8A6ADC4066BCF9106&FORM=VMSOVReos. May 6, 2021.

[2] Britannica. Liberalism Summary. https://www.britannica.com/summary/liberalism#:~:text=liberalism%2C%20Political%20and%20economic%20doctrine%20that%20emphasizes%20the,of%20the%2016th%20century%20%28see%20Thirty%20Years%E2%80%99%20War%29. Accessed January 19, 2025.

[3] Deneen, Patrick. Liberalism Has Failed: Opinion. https://www.newsweek.com/liberalism-has-failed-opinion-1516318.

[4] Supersummary. https://www.supersummary.com/why-liberalism-failed/summary/. Accessed January 17, 2025.

[5] Patrick, Deneen J.. Liberalism Has Failed: Opinion. Newsweek Magazine. https://www.newsweek.com/liberalism-has-failed-opinion-1516318. Accessed January 19, 2025.

[6] Carrot on A Stick. Originates from the image of a carrot tied to a stick and dangled in front of the donkey. https://managementweekly.org/stick-and-carrot-theory/. Accessed January 19, 2025.

[7] Weaver, David R.. Liberalism and leadership” Locken roots. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/104898439190008P. Accessed January 19, 2025.

About the Author

Noel Liemam