Posted by Drealm on
URL: https://coalpha.arkian.net/What-is-Liberalism-or-a-history-of-Western-thought-tp6188106p6770391.html

TByte wrote

There is ample evidence that societies have trended towards greater freedoms, liberties, and equal rights for their citizens throughout history.  Note drealm, that I said "trended".  This does not imply linear progression, so please read more carefully before posting responses.  (Not the first time I've asked you that....)

The quote is directly above, you did not say "trended" - you originally said "progressively". But if you're not implying that all societies stop at liberalism as a final stage, then we have no disagreement. Because as I said before, liberal societies are regularly overthrown are hollowed out by trustee bloodline societies. Societies are continually shifting up and down, there's no fixed point on a circle.

TByte wrote

You'd also need to account for the fact that conservative societies are more militaristic and liberal societies are less likely to engage in warfare as a means to settle disputes.  Liberal societies "conquer" economically and socially, rather than militaristically.  If one uses the simple evolutionary standard of success, liberalism has been conquering conservativism on a grand scale for thousands of years.

You diagnosed the symptom, but missed the attribution. Military's require high birth rates. Conservative societies have positive birth rates, while liberal societies often have replacement or negative birth rates.

It's true free markets are more associated with liberal societies. And free markets do conquer non-free markets. However both fiscal and social policy are intertwined. Eventually a bad social policy will lead to a less free market fiscal policy. Or worse a bad social policy will make a good fiscal policy irrelevant. So liberal societies can't count on their free-market fiscal policies forever. In the long run social policy leaves a bigger impact on culture than fiscal policy. Also western society has little impact on the rest of the world culturally. American's aren't immigrating abroad. It's the opposite, immigrants are coming to America. And when they come, they form cultural enclaves. These enclaves hollow out American culture.