An Urban's Rural View Blog

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

On the Fourth of July, we celebrate the passage in 1776 of the Declaration of Independence, whose second paragraph opens with these lofty words. Americans revere the Declaration both for its role in the nation's founding and as a summary of the nation's ideals.

Our nation's founding took place during a historical period known as the Enlightenment, or the Age of Reason. In that heady era philosophers like Locke, Montesquieu and Rousseau were espousing new ideas that found expression in the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

It's no exaggeration to say that Enlightenment-era ideas fueled the American revolution, as well as the French Revolution a few years later. They include beliefs in:

-- the power of human reason to understand the world and in mankind's ability to make continual progress;

-- the importance of individual liberties and rights;

-- the social contract, by which individuals gave their consent to be governed, and cannot legitimately be governed without that consent;

-- the rule of law and the equality of individuals before the law;

-- limitations on the powers of governments;

-- religious freedom, but also the separation of church and state;

-- the need to challenge traditional authority.

Many Americans share those beliefs; for many of us they're almost conventional wisdom. But in the Enlightenment's heyday in the 17th and 18th centuries, when absolute monarchs ruled France, Austria and other European countries, they seemed radical. (Most of the Enlightenment philosophers, it should be said, were reformers, not revolutionaries.)

Yet, as we celebrate this 249th anniversary of the Declaration, it's worth noting that these beliefs aren't shared unanimously even today. Recent years have seen the rise of an influential group of American intellectuals who are as skeptical of them as were many of the monarchs who ruled Europe during the Enlightenment.

These "post-liberal" intellectuals say liberal democracy has failed -- and the failure began with the Enlightenment. As Vice President J.D. Vance counts himself among them, their ideas are worth taking seriously.

Post-liberals think the Enlightenment ideas put too much emphasis on individual liberty, too little on the common good, on the welfare of the community. That's the short version.

For the longer one, go back to the Enlightenment ideas I listed earlier. To a greater or lesser extent, and appreciating that not all post-liberals think exactly alike, the post-liberals have problems with many of them. To them,

-- Mankind's ability to progress is far from unlimited; humans are inherently and irretrievably flawed. Besides, progress toward ever-increased individual freedom isn't really progress.

-- Rather than individual liberties, we need to focus on social cohesion and healthy communities. Overemphasis on individual autonomy has "atomized" us, breaking down important social bonds.

-- "Consent of the governed" is a meaningless abstraction. Rather than consenting to be governed, we inherit social traditions and structures at birth.

-- Rule of law is important, equality before the law somewhat less so. Both need to reflect traditional values.

-- We don't want an all-powerful state, but we need a government with the power to order a community and promote shared values and traditions.

-- Religion can be an important part of social cohesion; government should promote it. The state should also work to nudge the culture in a socially conservative direction.

-- Challenges to traditional authority are often rooted in concerns for individual rights and are thus problematic.

These post-liberal ideas don't sound much like the truths the authors of the Declaration of Independence found self-evident.

In self-defense, some post-liberals contend many of the founding fathers were more socially conservative than the Declaration implies. Others say the Declaration's ideals were fine but have been taken too far. These social liberals say they just want to restore some balance between concern for the individual and concern for the community.

Still, it's hard to avoid thinking that Thomas Jefferson, the principal author of the Declaration, must be rolling over in his grave.

Urban Lehner can be reached at urbanize@gmail.com

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