George Santayana and the Ironies of Liberalism

[Chris]

George Santayana and the Ironies of Liberalism is of interest because in a recent thread it was insisten on the liberty must be based on equality.

In reading this understand that by liberalism Santayana means liberalism in general to encompass Western perhaps especially American liberalism, conservatism and even libertarianism. He does not just mean the modern liberal progressive.

The question—is liberalism a self-defeating enterprise?—has gained traction over the last couple of years. Even as far back as 1921, the Spanish-American philosopher George Santayana dedicated time to this topic in the form of an essay he titled “The Irony of Liberalism.” In this brief work, Santayana explored prevalent themes that emerged throughout liberalism’s early intellectual development and introduced contrasting worldviews that challenged liberalism. These themes eventually reformed liberalism into what Santayana called “modern” liberalism, and modern liberalism became even more alien to our human nature. To explain his point, Santayana embarks on a history of liberalism to reveal its several ironies.

Santayana opens his essay by revisiting the ancients to inquire what it is that men ultimately seek: liberty, or prosperity? He argues that, for the ancients, liberty and prosperity are not compatible goals. Prosperity brings power, and power was the enemy of liberalism (properly understood). The problem, nonetheless, is that modern liberalism wants them together. Santayana writes that “liberals believe that free inquiry, free invention, free association, and free trade are sure to produce prosperity.” This goal of prosperity became the driving force of the 19th century, liberalism’s golden age where the standard quality of living drastically increased. But lasting prosperity requires what Santayana called “inequalities of function” and creates what he called “inequalities of fortune.” Combined, the outcomes of these two functions are “too much work and too much wealth,” which “kill liberty in the individual.”

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[Mister D]

I've long understood liberalism to be an anti-political ideology with the market or the economy absorbing the state. That bit about power being the enemy of liberalism reminded me of liberalism's hostility toward genuinely political power. It rings true.

[jet57]

George Santayana and the Ironies of Liberalism is of interest because in a recent thread it was insisten on the liberty must be based on equality.

In reading this understand that by liberalism Santayana means liberalism in general to encompass Western perhaps especially American liberalism, conservatism and even libertarianism. He does not just mean the modern liberal progressive.

What does “justice and liberty for all” mean?