A Great Incompatibility

From TFP:

What is at stake is fundamental. Nations are formed around unifying principles to which citizens must give their assent, at least implicitly. America’s unifying principles no longer unify. The principles that defined our socio-political system are those of the classical liberal order. It includes the rule of law, representative government, the defense of private property and guaranteed individual freedoms.

If not kept in check, this liberal order also tends to destroy moral limits and needed social structures. If restrained and ordered, it can be a practical yet secular framework that allows a nation to prosper. Our particular brand of liberalism borrowed heavily from the Christian institutions and virtues with which it clashes. Liberalism, for example, exalts the individual yet needs the Christian family to form character. Liberalism promotes extreme freedom yet counts upon Christian morals to bridle the disordered passions. Liberalism glories in its bland secularism but cannot survive without religion, which gives life meaning and purpose.

Thus, the present liberal order has worn down these sustaining Christian institutions. Without them, the classical liberal order will necessarily die of its internal contradictions. Many astute political observers recognize this while others still entertain hopes of reviving this order. (Read more.)