Liberty and its Shortcomings
**What I currently believe about liberal democracy**
Its interesting the the first prompt is to write about what I “believe” about liberal democracy, as opposed to what I know. On first glance of the question I had begun to think about what I know about liberal democracy. I reflected on civics and government classes in middle school and high school. My time working in the Oregon State Legislature for two sessions in the Senate Chambers as the Sergeant-at-Arms and my interest in politics and government and history. But when I reread the question to what I “believe” about liberal democracy, the thought patterned shifted. I loaded those pieces of information and experience into my thoughts, but a more complex and gray response is emerging.
I do believe that liberal democracy is currently one of the best forms of government that human beings have come up with. It seems to work hard against the world’s broken propensity for power and abuse. While liberal democracy is still broken in many ways, because people are involved. Liberal democracy also operates from the belief that people are equal and can have an equal voice in government and in its democracy. While I believe this ought to be true, in practice it seems it has not always been so. The dichotomy for me might best be expressed by our visit last September to the National Archives where the Declaration of Independence and Bill of Rights are preserved. This inspiring documents reshaped the way that governments in the West, and around the world, have functioned ever since. Yet preserved in those same documents promising, “freedom and justice for all” is the demeaning decision to count people of color as less than fully human when it came to voting rights and privileges. The “inalienable rights” promised by God, according to our nation’s founders, were only available for white men, it seems.
**Where do those beliefs come from?**
So where do my complex views on liberal democracy come from? Some of them are from my own education and experience, growing up in America and being taught about the benefits of liberal democracy and its ability to stand up to tyranny and abuse of power. Compared to other systems of government, it does seem to sometimes right the wrongs of prejudice and injustice that human beings in positions of power perpetuate on those who are marginalized and oppressed. But I have also seen power used for personal gain and benefit, and my belief in the Gospel and the Kingdom of God stands in contrast to any authority being used for one’s own benefit at the cost of someone else.
**What does Patrick Deneen have to do with this?**
So, when I came to Patrick Deneen’s book I noticed a few different things about my beliefs. Deneen is a political theorist who writes this book as a critique of the ways in which liberal democracy has failed to deliver on its promises of “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” In the writing of the foreword, editors Hunter and Owen reveal that, “Denee’s is a radical critique, arguing that liberalism needs not reform but retirement. The problem is not that liberalism has been hijacked but that its elevation of individual autonomy was wrong from the start.” (14). This was helpful to read from the editors and a confirmation of something that I already knew. The logical end of a individual liberalism is failure because we were not designed to be independent. My belief and biblical worldview that, left to our own ends, human beings will turn love inwards towards ourselves at the expense of others, is confirmed in Deneen’s assessment. He says in his introduction that liberal democracy is “A political philosophy that was launched to foster greater equity, defend a pluralist tapestry of different cultures and beliefs, protect human dignity, and, of course, expand liberty, in practice generates titanic inequality, enforces uniformity and homogeneity, fosters material and spiritual degradation, and undermines freedom.” (41) Reading Deneen’s assessment of the failure of liberal democracy affirms my beliefs that we need to be transformed and set free from the God of our self and move towards a God of love and care for the other.
**Challenged with new connections**
But Deneen also challenged my thinking and taught my new connections about the way that Christianity and Enlightenment worked together, and then drifted apart. Deneen states in his conclusion, “The architects of liberalism embraced the language and terms of the classical and Christian traditions even as they transformed both meaning and practice. They especially rejected the classical and Christian understanding of human beings as fundamentally relational creatures—“social and political animals”—and proposed that liberty, rights, and justice could best be achieved by radically redefining human nature.” (222) This perspective was extremely helpful in understanding the root of the problems that Liberal Democracy has generated, even though it has promised so much freedom and liberation. I’m reminded of how connected we are to one another, to God and to creation. This was a new insight in not only finding the roots of the issue but exploring possible solutions to failed liberal democracy. What does a Beloved Community of people working together for justice and righteousness on earth as it is in heaven really look like in a broken and disconnected world?
About the Author
Ryan Thorson
Follower of Jesus. Husband. Father. Pastor. Coach. I am passionate about helping people discover the gift of Sabbath and slow down spirituality in the context of our busy world.13 responses to “Liberty and its Shortcomings”
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Hi Ryan, thanks for your blog. How might the concept of a “Beloved Community” provide a transformative alternative to the shortcomings of liberal democracy?
Thanks Glynn. I think it starts with seeing humans differently again. Rather than commodities to consume or control, how do we see each other as relational beings connected to one another and to our environments. This would increase the importance of shared experiences and local relationships while staying connected and caring for a global world of image bearers.
Ryan,
Many of the speakers in DC discussed the idea of building bridges to get things done, even to pursue justice and rightness (not righteousness). Given your experience and interest in the political world and the current status of liberal democracy do you believe that liberal democracy 2.0 is a possibility (Can the shortcomings actually be addressed in the political arena?)
Thanks Jeff. Building bridges is a good stop-gap for working together, perhaps to even bring a greater shalom in a city or context. But i think the foundation of liberal democracy will fall out at some point, as the distance between two sides continues to grow, building bridges will become harder and harder.
Hi Ryan, Your post resonated with me. I too think that a God of self is a key factor in the liberalism decline. I know your NPO is related to keeping the Sabbath. How might you envision the impact that Sabbath could have in a broader sense of helping people move toward God who cares for others as well as themselves?
Thanks Diane. Sabbath is a salient discipline for our day because it reminds us we are human beings, not human doings. our worth is not found in what we produce or consume, and neither is the worth of someone else. It would be an amazing discipline in our current culture, but I’m very bias because of my NPO.
Hi Ryan,
Thank you for sharing your thoughts and experiences via your post.
Could you share your thoughts on how the divergence of Christianity and Enlightenment principles contribute to the current challenges faced by liberal democracy?
I think the roots of shifting how we see people as commodities rather than in community was significant. I’m not sure how much the slave trade played into the Enlightment’s view that was different than a biblical view but it could be a significant factor. Thanks.
Hi Ryan, thank you for your post and this comment. I am asking for more understanding of what you have in mind as the potential relationship between enlightenment thinking/commodification of humans relative to the slave trade. For example, I have seen where natural rights, a key element of enlightenment thinking, was also a major argument against the slave system in US by abolitionists. Thanks! I am trying to ‘unpick’ the tangled threads and non-linear absorption of history in my brain to make better sense of today.
Thanks for your post, Ryan. We share some of the same beliefs and perspectives on this. As a pastor, how do you help your people recognize that the Kingdom of God is not the same as an American/Western liberal democracy? What problems does this present?
Hey Ryan! Thanks for your post. I ditto what Graham says. Piggybacking on Graham. How do we offer a counter perspective that reflects the Kingdom of God.
Ryan, you mention that Patrick Deneen challenges the assumption of liberal democracy as rooted in the Christian understanding of human beings as relational creatures. Given your reflections on the Gospel and the Kingdom of God, how do you envision Christians practically contributing to a ‘Beloved Community’ within the framework of liberal democracy? Do you see reforming liberal democracy as a viable pathway, or does the framework itself need to be reimagined entirely to align with these relational and communal principles?
Hi Ryan, I agree with your belief that, left to our own ends, human beings will turn love inwards towards ourselves at the expense of others.
This is true of individuals but also of systems, organizations, countries, and societies. What do you think the government’s role is in preventing us from turning love inwards at the expense of others?