"The Collapse of Liberalism"

A classic editorial by Robert L. Bartley, Oct. 14, 1968:

.... Liberalism finds its old appeals faltering, then, just as it comes under powerful attack for its management of both foreign affairs and domestic policy. If present form holds, that will be the meaning of the 1968 election. Naturally we do not know how the forces involved will finally work themselves out. Present form may not hold on election day. Even if it does, how much of a watershed the election will prove depends on the skill and luck of the incoming Administration.

One thing we do know, however. The reasons liberalism are in trouble are ones its critics have long predicted. The naive view of man, the search for frantic short-cuts, the devotion to commitment ahead of effectiveness, the excessive materialism. All these are not happenstance. Liberalism is collapsing not by chance or bad luck. It is collapsing under its own deficiencies.

Too unrealistic? Or distantly prescient?

See also Robert L. Bartley, RIP.

Lane Core Jr. CIW P — Fri. 01/02/04 12:15:08 PM
Categorized as Social/Cultural.