013: The Post-Liberal Conundrum (w/ Michael Tolhurst)

A lot of people seem to be pretty down on freedom right now. Some take it so far as to blame liberty, and political liberalism, for not just our economic woes, but also for allowing our culture to drift away from some kind of socially conservative, right-leaning, often religious imagined ideal. These “post-liberals” have found intellectual purchase, writing talked-about books, headlining conferences, and catalyzing a new reactionary movement.

But do their arguments work? Or are they in fact self-defeating?

My guest today is Michael Tolhurst (@MikeTolhurst), senior director of research at the Institute for Humane Studies. Michael has graduate degrees in philosophy and political science, and today's conversation features a bit from both.

We talk about the problems of post-liberalism, and why so many are ready to throw away liberty to force their peculiar cultural preferences upon the rest of us.

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Produced by ⁠Landry Ayres⁠. Podcast art by ⁠Sergio R. M. Duarte⁠. Music by ⁠Kevin MacLeod⁠.