The Decline and Triumph of Classical Liberalism, Part 1

Students: Hear Steve Davies live at the Scholarship and a Free Society http://lrnlbty.co/wz3Ao9 or The Challenges and Future of Liberty Seminars http://lrnlbty.co/zvFZfS this summer

From the IHS Vault: Dr. Davies traces the decline of classical liberal/libertarian ideas from the mid-19th century through the mid-20th century. He describes how the case for classical liberal ideas grew stale and fell prey to competing ideologies like socialism, fascism, and welfare liberalism. Filmed at the 2006 IHS seminar "Advanced Studies in Freedom" at Bryn Mawr College. Produced by Inextinguishable Productions.

Watch more videos: http://lrnlbty.co/y5tTcY

Category:

Education

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• history
• classical liberalism
• classical liberal
• american revolution
• liberal
• ideology
• decline
• learn liberty
• liberty
• video
• freedom

[theneedledictator]

If only people watched videos like these as religiously as they watch Jersey Shore...

[flynn556603]

give it time man, give it time

[jadedmastermind]

To be fair, my summary below of 20th century politics is somewhat simplistic, but it would be exhausting to flesh out all the details, so I'll list a few victories of classical liberal ideals (though championed by individuals who can hardly be considered classical liberals): the 19th amendment, the defeat of the temperance movement (22nd amendment), Truman's dismantling of much of the New Deal after WWII ended, Johnson's signing the 1964 Civil Rights Act and marginalization of the Dixiecrats.

[jadedmastermind]

The result of this self-destructive attack on the 1896 presidential nominees of the Dem & GOP ticket in the absense of fresh, constructive policy was a political realignment in both major parties to the detriment of classical liberalism. Different aspects of socialism/collectivism were shuffled into each of the two major parties. Progressivism dominated both parties for decades, with only brief peaks of light from Coolidge, JFK and the abortive 1964 Goldwater run, until the Reagan presidency.

[jadedmastermind]

From 28:51 to 29:50, Dr. Davies alludes to a shift from a negative notion of progress to a positive notion of progress. There's an essay in the The Independent Review called "Gold Democrats and the Decline of Classical Liberalism" whose conclusion is especially salient in this context. After the Bryan nomination in 1896, classical liberals became doom-and-gloom reactionaries to both Bryan and McKinley, failing to disseminate constructive alternative ideas and thus alienating both Dems & the GOP.

[henrix999]

@theneedledictator they never will

[vtran31]

@DukeofAnarchy we shouldnt have done the civil war. if we had just done serious embargos on their asses, they would have yielded and freed the slaved and rejoined in a generation or two

[DukeofAnarchy]

@monkeyfire087 Judging from this video alone, I didn't see any evidence that Dr Davies has bought into the Lincoln myth at all. He didn't defend Lincoln. Realizing that Lincoln and his protectionist, statist Republican Party were bad guys too, doesn't mean that we have to forget or ignore the crimes of the slaveholding South.

[DukeofAnarchy]

@Wormtail81 Calling Spencer a eugenicist is simply a lie. And while there may have been a few people who inconsistently supported eugenics while upholding an otherwise classically liberal view, there were many more socialists/social democrats who enthusiastically promoted eugenics.