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Today, we are once again faced with a tide of illiberal thought. Make no mistake about it, there is nothing liberal (in the historical-structural sense) about today’s so-called conservatives. Their view of the human condition is a dark Hobbesian one which, in a complete reversal of liberal precepts, views fellow men and women not as good-faith partners within a community of good will, but forces to be feared, suspected and exploited, and when deemed necessary, stifled or killed. They regularly invoke the supernatural to decide earthly matters and work assiduously to limit and/or distort information regarding the results of their chosen policies.

But as I suggested earlier, there is nothing new here.

But what is new is the impotent “response” of the great majority those who describe themselves as liberals in our society. Outside of sporadic bursts of outrage, they have proven to be absolutely incapable of mounting a sustained counterattack on the well-laid plans of the illiberal right.

Why?