Defenders of liberty are prone to despair, perhaps always, and certainly since the end of the 18th century, when the hopes of the last Enlightenment generation were dashed as the French Revolution descended into tyranny and war, and the American Revolution was betrayed by a centralizing coup against the Articles of Confederation. Then, as now, the evidence that our side was losing the battle seemed overwhelming. Old-style liberalism lost defenders, not because the idea of a free society was false, but because the cause seemed hopeless. So it is in our time, when wars and party politics are forever on … Continue reading The United Front Against Liberty