The French Revolution was a complex historical event, and its intellectual foundations were likewise complex. It is a mistake to reduce it to the Jacobin terror. It was a liberal revolution whose ideals sprang from the Anglo-Saxon legal tradition.
In Germany, there is a growing gap between the inflation of the state apparatus and its ability to fulfill its tasks. Politics suffers from political fantasies of omnipotence and constitutional ignorance. Who is to blame?
Does trade among nations promote peace? The liberal-minded Enlightenment affirmed this under the phrase “doux commerce.” At present, however, we are witnessing how economically closely linked nations are at war with each other.
It is perfectly legitimate to point out the dangers of an uncontrolled escalation of the Ukraine war. Left-wing intellectuals who do so, however, have largely adopted Putin’s propagandist view. Behind it, however, lies a dangerous ideology.
The Greens are painting a picture of environmental and climate apocalypse. In this way, they try to moralize the debate and present themselves as the advocates of the good. On closer inspection, their program turns out to be ideological wishful thinking that eschews capitalism and the market economy.
A new book by Beat Kappeler shows that the separation of powers is being undermined, parliaments are being commanded by governments and bureaucracies, and the debt economy is being financed by central banks. The author also proposes remedies for these issues.
In his book “Why Liberalism Failed” Patrick Deneen deals with all varieties of Liberalism. They are the fruit of a false image of man – an assertion which, however, proves to be questionable on closer inspection.
Today, social debates are ignited from the political margins. When democracy is in crisis and social cohesion is crumbling, it is time for intellectuals to focus on the essentials. What is needed is an anti-totalitarian self-enlightenment from the political center.
