Christian Freedom and the Western Political Tradition

Around 2014, pundits and Washington, D.C.-based journalists announced the arrival of a “Libertarian Moment.” It seemed as though Republicans, under the influence of Tea Party anti-government rage, had de-emphasized the national security and social conservative legs of the Reaganite “three-legged stool” in favor of free market economics. “Freedom” became the rallying cry of a generation of politicians.

And then, just as suddenly as it began, the Libertarian Moment ended. The 2016 presidential campaign of Senator Rand Paul stalled out, leaving the new libertarians adrift politically. And shortly thereafter, “postliberalism” became the great fashion among conservative writers. Thinkers such as Patrick Deneen and Yoram Hazony began publishing critiques of freedom-oriented politics, arguing that libertarian or classical liberal policies were damaging traditional communities. Intellectually and politically, it seemed that freedom had been almost discredited as a social principle.

As conservatives weigh how to balance the competing principles of order and liberty, however, it is important not to abandon one in pursuit of the other. As Russell Kirk once wrote, “The aim of a good constitution is to achieve in a society a high degree of political harmony, so that order and justice and freedom may be maintained.” A recent book by D.C. Schindler, Retrieving Freedom: The Christian Appropriation of Classical Tradition, can help conservatives understand the deep cultural roots of Western society’s idea of liberty. 

Read more at The Russell Kirk Center.