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Dear Friend,
From the Magna Carta of 1215 to the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights, a common philosophical worldview has for centuries provided a common footing for Western culture and government. Its principles include freedom of speech, freedom of association, and a commitment to the rule of law—beliefs rooted in a common understanding about human nature and a healthy skepticism of government’s ability to solve mankind’s deepest problems. But today that worldview, known as classical liberalism, is eroding under the influence of modern liberalism and progressive values.
In the July issue of WORLD Magazine, Global Desk chief Jenny Lind Schmitt writes about her visit to the global conference of the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship in London. The alliance’s members hope for a renewal of classical liberalism. Some of this year’s speakers acknowledged the Biblical principles that lie beneath successful Western societies, and they believe those principles must be part of any cultural renewal.
Some attendees, though, were skeptical. While they oppose the destructive ideas of modern liberalism, they told Jenny that reverting to classical liberalism isn’t a strong enough solution for the crisis threatening the West. In her feature report, Jenny explains the debate and explores what ties together this fascinating countermovement to progressivism.
Following Jenny’s report, Patrick Henry College professor Mark T. Mitchell explains why the breakdown of two fundamental beliefs about reality—inherent human dignity and a fixed moral law—has precipitated the decline of classical liberalism in the United States. Without these underpinning beliefs, he warns, society “fragments into factions, allowing an elite leadership class to seize more and more power.”
The sobering takeaway, as Mitchell puts it: “A free society is not automatic.”
Also in this issue, Grace Snell reports on the ongoing political shift to the right in Germany and why it is raising tensions in a country still grappling with a dark Nazi history.
Thank you for making WORLD Magazine a part of your summer. Please read on for more reporting and reviews from our July issue.
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