A ghost is hanging over the West: the ghost of liberalism. The ghost of only partly fulfilled yet already abandoned promises of life and liberty, of equality and fraternity. Classical liberalism is not quite dead yet, but nor is it truly alive. I... Read more

A ghost is hanging over the West: the ghost of liberalism. The ghost of only partly fulfilled yet already abandoned promises of life and liberty, of equality and fraternity. Classical liberalism is not quite dead yet, but nor is it truly alive. It can only watch hopelessly as far-right elements duel it out with far-left neo-Marxist (or pseudo-Marxist) tendencies, with liberty being the biggest loser of each and every battle. The right had made 'liberal' a dirty word for four decades, and now a new generation of the left is about to do the same, the two long-time enemies burying classical liberalism in a rare bipartisanship.Is it too late for liberalism? No, not really. But to return to life, it will need a life force. Life force comes from conviction, from moral principles, and from confidence. Only the moral libertarian idea, with its grounding in the one simple principle of morality that has been the unspoken core of classical liberal thought in history, will be able to resuscitate liberalism and return it to its previous vitality. Moral libertarians seek to clearly spell out their principle of Equality of Moral Agency (EMA), and vigorously apply it and defend it in the free market of ideas.Furthermore, classical liberalism has always been about building better communities and societies too. Indeed, classical liberalism both creates the conditions required for a strong and coherent society in natural conditions of diversity, and also allows individuals to use their creativity and their moral conscience to help strengthen and improve society, by contributing their best into the free market of ideas. The liberty and equality inherent in the classical liberal tradition allows communities to be strong yet diverse in its thinking at the same time; and allows new ideas to be explored while traditions to continue to grow at the same time. Seen through this light, classical liberalism is the best foundation for community building, especially in the contemporary age. As will be explained in this book, the moral libertarian view is the best way to conceptualize and apply the values of classical liberalism in a way that adequately supports this communitarian aspect of liberalism. It is through moral libertarianism that we rediscover the true soul of liberalism, which is very far from the 'greed is good' caricature. Less