What liberalism's critics get wrong
To many thinkers, liberalism is a flawed ideology that must be comprehensively ditched. More careful thinkers admit to ambivalence. Despite its capacity for error, this is our tradition: we cannot disown it, rise above it. The absolutists see liberalism as akin to communism or fascism: a system that is wrong at its core. But on closer inspection there is an element of posturing in most of these thinkers; they cannot quite deny their affinity with this tradition.
Nick Timothy has just provided an example of this. His call on Coffee House for a new conservatism at first seems to be yet another advocacy of 'postliberalism'. He emphasises that a crude free-market triumphalism on the right has been accompanied by a brittle insistence on individual rights from the left: a double-whammy erosion of common values.
'Conservatives need to reject liberalism and rediscover true, philosophical conservatism'. So: liberalism bad. Or is it? He then calls for a reassertion of 'the essential liberalism that stands for pluralism and our democratic way of life'. The average postliberal does not make this latter move, for fear of seeming lukewarm.
But Timothy seems unsure how to expand on the goodness of 'essential liberalism'. Instead he echoes some conventional postliberal story-telling: 'Right from the beginning, liberal thought was built on the false premise that there are not only universal values but also natural and universal rights.' As a consequence, 'liberals ignore the relational essence of humanity: our dependence on others and our reliance on the institutions and norms of community life.'
The claim to be defending 'essential liberalism' is elbowed aside by this attack on liberal thought as wrong to the core.
I know that 'liberalism' is a complicated term, but it seems to me that few if any thinkers are really trying to grapple with the complexity.
As I see it, Timothy is on the right track: there is an 'essential liberalism' that must be distilled from the confusing excesses of liberalism in our day. It is our political tradition, of liberal democracy, or the liberal state. It is a historical reality, not a theoretical thing: we should not over-value the importance of Hobbes or Locke or any other theorist. Instead we should look at what actually happened: England rejected absolutism of throne and altar in favour of a new political narrative, in which liberty was gradually protected and expanded. And the original ideology behind this was not 'universal human rights' – the creed of eighteenth-century Frenchmen, but 'liberty of conscience' – the creed of seventeenth-century English liberal Protestants.
We need to re-tell our national story of 'essential liberalism', and revive pride in the tradition of the liberal state. Only so can we hope to reform liberalism in the wider sense, the baggy flawed creed that we inhabit.
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The Herald Scotland
15 hours ago
- The Herald Scotland
Horrendous images are tipping point for outrage over Gaza
But not until it was confronted with the jutting out shoulder blades and shrivelled heads of emaciated children did the government sit up and take notice of a situation it had the power and the responsibility to prevent. And even then it's mostly been empty words, with little action behind them. Keir Starmer described the suffering as 'unspeakable and indefensible'; but it is 'unspeakable' only in the sense that he has chosen not to speak about it (and tried to prevent others doing so). And, by finding excuses for [[Israel]] – by declaring it had the right to switch off water and electricity, for example – he has himself defended it. Wilful ignorance is a form of complicity, but the Prime Minister has done worse than this: he has been an apologist for war crimes. Read more Dani Garavelli: For all his apparent disgust at the plight of malnourished babies, Starmer was last week focused on another bug bear: takeaway delivery drivers. In a dog-whistle tweet, he pledged to hand over the addresses of asylum seeker hotels – already lightning rods for racist attacks – so the likes of Deliveroo and Just Eat can make sure they don't pay their low wages to anyone who has fled here from other countries. Asylum seekers are not here illegally (whatever the subtext of the policy might be). It is just that, under our laws, they are not allowed to earn a living. Still, unlike a crackdown on Israel, it's likely to raise a smile on the Reform crowd's faces. No wonder some of Starmer's own party are embarrassed to be associated with him. Others have raised their voices, of course: charities, human rights organisations, the tens of thousands who have taken to the streets with their placards, powerless in the face of establishment apathy, but desperate to do their bit. The UK government has demonised those protesters, portraying them as violent anti-Semites in an attempt to shut them down. Even as the Express newspaper — the right-wing Express, for God's sake — was publishing a splash headline that read: The Suffering of Little Muhammad Clinging to Life Shames Us All, police officers were arresting pensioners under the Terrorism Act for carrying placards and, in one case, a copy of Private Eye magazine. This they justified by alleging those protesters were supporting Palestine Action, an organisation which has been proscribed for trying to draw attention to the very humanitarian catastrophe Starmer has deemed 'unspeakable'. No Western leader has done enough. They have tutted at outrageous statements from the likes of former Knesset member Moshe Feiglin, who said 'every child in Gaza is the enemy', they have called for a ceasefire and issued joint condemnatory statements. But they have failed to follow through on threats of concrete action, or at least they have failed to do so to any degree likely to have an impact. Earlier this month, EU ministers declined to suspend the EU-Israel Association Agreement and visa-free travel, or to block imports from Israeli settlements. After the Labour Party came to power last year, it suspended 30 out of 350 arms export licences, but exempted parts for the F-35 fighter jet, used extensively in Israeli air strikes on Gaza. It suspended talks to upgrade its free trade agreement with Israel, but it has yet to impose any direct sanctions. Foreign Secretary David Lammy does appear to want more; but he is running up against the intractability of his leader, who is refusing to commit to the most basic act of solidarity: the recognition of a Palestinian state. Across the Channel, Emmanuel Macron has been pushing the G7 leaders to make a joint declaration. In the absence of support, he has decided to go it alone, and has promised to formalise his decision at the United Nations General Assembly in September. Keir Starmer has shown more interest in going after protesters. (Image: James Manning) Starmer, on the other hand, says that, while Palestinians have an unalienable right to statehood, a formal recognition must be made 'at the right time'. Half a million people in Gaza are considered to be facing catastrophe while a further one million fall into the 'emergency risk' category. The US has just withdrawn from ceasefire talks in Qatar. So when will the right time be, Keir? When the last Palestinian is dead? The Labour government has been out of touch with public opinion on Gaza for a long time. Now, it appears to be out of touch with its own backbenchers and Westminster at large. Early last week, 60 cross party MPs and peers called for a full embargo on arms exports to Israel and for the government to be more transparent about the licences it grants for military exports. And on Thursday 100, led by the chair of the International Development Committee Sarah Champion, demanded Starmer formally recognise Palestine. Perhaps the Prime Minister will buckle under the pressure. Perhaps something substantial will come out of his emergency phone call with France and Germany. It does feel as if the world has woken up to what is happening. In the short-term, we need to build on that momentum; to ensure something is actually done. But in the long-term there must be a reckoning in a way there was not in the wake of Iraq. It has been clear for so long what Israel's endgame is, and that they would stop at nothing to achieve it. Yet western governments allowed it to act with impunity, and, sure enough, here is Gaza, tipping into an abyss. Read more: In 2016, I travelled to Srebrenica courtesy of a charity that exists to ensure we do not forget what happens when the world turns a blind eye to genocide. At Potočari cemetery there are 7,000 white pillars like upended chalk pieces: one for each Muslim whose body has been recovered from mass graves in Bosnia Herzegovina (although another 7,000 are still missing, and the remains of 2,000 others lie unidentified in mortuaries). Under a simple pavilion, survivors tell how they fled the safe haven when the UN failed to protect them; how – captured on the roadside – they were loaded into lorries, then taken in batches into barns to be shot. More than 60,000 have died in Gaza since October 7, 2023. The UN, Amnesty and Médecins Sans Frontières have all declared it a genocide. And yet some people are still quibbling over the word. Perhaps, in 25 years' time, a charity will take journalists and politicians to a graveyard on the strip. Perhaps people like me will force themselves to confront the ranks of the dead, in the stupid, misguided belief that simply bearing witness will help prevent such an atrocity from ever happening again.
Powys County Times
a day ago
- Powys County Times
Israeli gunfire and strikes kill 42 in Gaza as many of the dead sought aid
Israeli airstrikes and gunshots killed at least 42 people in Gaza overnight and into Saturday, according to Palestinian health officials and the local ambulance service, as starvation deaths continued and ceasefire talks appear to have stalled. The majority of victims were killed by gunfire as they waited for aid trucks close to the Zikim crossing with Israel, said staff at Shifa hospital, where the bodies were taken. Israel's military said it fired warning shots to distance a crowd 'in response to an immediate threat' and it was not aware of any casualties. Those killed in the strikes include four people in an apartment building in Gaza City among others, hospital staff and the ambulance service said. The strikes come as ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas have hit a standstill after the US and Israel recalled their negotiating teams on Thursday, throwing the future of the talks into further uncertainty. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Friday his government was considering 'alternative options' to ceasefire talks with Hamas. His comments came as a Hamas official said negotiations were expected to resume next week and portrayed the recall of the Israeli and American delegations as a pressure tactic. Egypt and Qatar, which are mediating the talks alongside the US, said the pause was only temporary and that talks would resume, though they did not say when. The United Nations (UN) and experts have said that Palestinians in Gaza are at risk of famine, with reports of increasing numbers of people dying from causes related to malnutrition. While Israel's army says it is allowing aid into the enclave with no limit on the number of trucks that can enter, the UN says it is hampered by Israeli military restrictions on its movements and incidents of criminal looting. The Zikim crossing shootings come days after at least 80 Palestinians were killed trying to reach aid entering through the same crossing. During the shootings on Friday night, Sherif Abu Aisha said people started running when they saw a light that they thought was from the aid trucks, but as they got close, they realised it was from Israel's tanks. That is when the army started firing on people, he told The Associated Press. He said his uncle, a father of eight, was among those killed. 'We went because there is no food… and nothing was distributed,' he said. Israel is facing increased international pressure to alleviate the catastrophic humanitarian crisis in Gaza. More then two dozen Western-aligned countries and more than 100 charity and human rights groups have called for an end to the war, harshly criticising Israel's blockade and a new aid delivery model it has rolled out. The charities and rights groups said even their own staff were struggling to get enough food. For the first time in months Israel said it is allowing airdrops, requested by Jordan. A Jordanian official said the airdrops will mainly be food and milk formula. UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer wrote in a newspaper article on Saturday that the UK was 'working urgently' with Jordan to get British aid into Gaza. Aid group the World Central Kitchen said on Friday it was resuming limited cooking operations in Deir al-Balah after being forced to halt due to a lack of food supplies.
South Wales Guardian
a day ago
- South Wales Guardian
Israeli gunfire and strikes kill 42 in Gaza as many of the dead sought aid
The majority of victims were killed by gunfire as they waited for aid trucks close to the Zikim crossing with Israel, said staff at Shifa hospital, where the bodies were taken. Israel's military said it fired warning shots to distance a crowd 'in response to an immediate threat' and it was not aware of any casualties. Those killed in the strikes include four people in an apartment building in Gaza City among others, hospital staff and the ambulance service said. The strikes come as ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas have hit a standstill after the US and Israel recalled their negotiating teams on Thursday, throwing the future of the talks into further uncertainty. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Friday his government was considering 'alternative options' to ceasefire talks with Hamas. His comments came as a Hamas official said negotiations were expected to resume next week and portrayed the recall of the Israeli and American delegations as a pressure tactic. Egypt and Qatar, which are mediating the talks alongside the US, said the pause was only temporary and that talks would resume, though they did not say when. The United Nations (UN) and experts have said that Palestinians in Gaza are at risk of famine, with reports of increasing numbers of people dying from causes related to malnutrition. While Israel's army says it is allowing aid into the enclave with no limit on the number of trucks that can enter, the UN says it is hampered by Israeli military restrictions on its movements and incidents of criminal looting. The Zikim crossing shootings come days after at least 80 Palestinians were killed trying to reach aid entering through the same crossing. During the shootings on Friday night, Sherif Abu Aisha said people started running when they saw a light that they thought was from the aid trucks, but as they got close, they realised it was from Israel's tanks. That is when the army started firing on people, he told The Associated Press. He said his uncle, a father of eight, was among those killed. 'We went because there is no food… and nothing was distributed,' he said. Israel is facing increased international pressure to alleviate the catastrophic humanitarian crisis in Gaza. More then two dozen Western-aligned countries and more than 100 charity and human rights groups have called for an end to the war, harshly criticising Israel's blockade and a new aid delivery model it has rolled out. The charities and rights groups said even their own staff were struggling to get enough food. For the first time in months Israel said it is allowing airdrops, requested by Jordan. A Jordanian official said the airdrops will mainly be food and milk formula. UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer wrote in a newspaper article on Saturday that the UK was 'working urgently' with Jordan to get British aid into Gaza. Aid group the World Central Kitchen said on Friday it was resuming limited cooking operations in Deir al-Balah after being forced to halt due to a lack of food supplies. It said it is trying to serve 60,000 meals daily through its field kitchen and partner community kitchens, less than half of what it has cooked over the previous month.
