Rise of the East, Decline of the West: Why Liberal Democracy Matters
“Perhaps the most helpful wake-up call that can be given is to look at the alternatives. It is easy, when everyone around you breathes the oxygen of freedom and human dignity, to imagine that this is the natural order of things. But historically, thriving liberal democratic societies are the exception not the rule.”
In this paper, Johnny Patterson outlines the rise of ‘Westlessness’ and the dangers it poses in a shifting world order, where authoritarianism and an abandonment of our foundational truths are on the rise.
Summary of Research Paper
“Westlessness”
It was meant to be the end of history. The fall of the Berlin Wall was a cathartic moment which was supposed to mark the ascent of the liberal democratic model.
Fast-forward, and there is now a shadow hanging over liberal democracies. Major global shocks in the last five years have exposed the limits to resilience.
‘Westlessness’ is what the columnists call it. We have grown complacent. We are unsure about the merits of the foundations of what we stand on. We have forgotten who we are.
The arrival of this moment is the culmination of decades of cultural amnesia. We have become experts at criticizing our heritage but have failed to understand the foundations for our flourishing.
The deconstruction of our transcendent framework of meaning has left people rudderless, without meaningful stories to map their reality.
The rise of individualism and a declining sense of social and moral responsibility has triggered the fraying of the social fabric. The collapse of community and family has naturally led to rising mental health problems and increasing loneliness. Liberal individualism has paved the way for a bigger state through the deconstruction of the morality which creates supportive social bonds and the family structure which made those bonds stick.
Discarding the stories which laid the groundwork for success, we have created a vacuum. This is being filled by a combination of soulless top-down corporatism, woke dogma and populist angst. We have become intolerant of opposing views and slaves to ‘political correctness’ for the sake of virtue signalling.
On one side, we are watching as, shorn of their ideological roots, we have seen the emergence of a generation of fragile zealots. On the other side, a growing number of people feel left behind and alienated from elite institutions.
We appear to have forgotten many of the stories which laid the basis for our present flourishing. For a generation, we have breathed the ideological oxygen of our forebears without much connection to the roots, and it has sustained us. But now consensus about the purpose of existence, ethical living, liberty and the blessing of democracy is breaking down at speed.
We are at a turning point where we must decide: what is our story? Can we find a common story that will provide vision, courage, strength and hope?
Why Liberal Democracy Matters
Centuries of tradition mean that we do not think twice about our privileges – the rule of law, constitutional freedoms, and rich moral traditions. But we live in an age where the effective governance of the liberal democratic model has increasingly been called into question and we can no longer afford complacency.
Will we recover our confidence in the institutions which have underpinned our way of life? Will we remember what it is that unifies us? Will we seek to instil the virtues and values that have sustained our cultures over centuries?
These questions are critically important. Those who are living in free democratic societies and criticise their own system often do not know what it is like living in an authoritarian regime. What it is like to live in a system where the individual is not respected by those in power, and where fundamentally, the people are there to serve those in power and not the other way round. If we are to find a way forward, out of the polarisation, stagnation and division of our time, we must recover the founding principles which set us up for success.
The significance of the current moment should not be underestimated because the West’s current crisis of confidence is taking place in the context of a changing world order.
Turning the Tide
The rise of the East and the decline of the West are not inevitable.
Internal division and a lack of clarity about our values therefore has the potential to pose risks geopolitically – if old alliances lose their coherence or nations like the United States are divided within themselves – as well as to the prosperity of citizens.
Many of the old choices remain the same:
We must choose between freedom and control, responsibility or regulation, democracy or dictatorship, privacy or surveillance, the rule of law or rule by law.
It is critical that we do not underestimate the value of our heritage. It is a privilege to hold these ideas to be self-evident:
The freedom of conscience means that each individual can pursue meaning without the iron fist of theocratic control mandating bowing before idols.
Freedom of speech allows the pursuit of truth and inquiry – from intellectual pursuits to financial forecasting it has underpinned prosperity.
Human dignity and the fundamental value of every human life is taken as ‘self-evident’. It should go without saying, but the West is profoundly pro-human.
The vote and the franchise is extended to all – the freedom to remove those who seek to laud power over others and fail to represent the people.
Material prosperity has two key pillars. Free exchange is the driver of innovation and prosperity. Affordable energy is the driver of abundance.
We no longer live in a world where these ideas can be taken as a given. But this way of life is still the best way forwards. We must recover our foundational stories, revive our economies, and reduce the risk canvas to geopolitical shocks if we are to see the liberal democratic model continue to underpin the modern world.
We have an enormous amount to be grateful for in our heritage. Will we be able to build on the rich legacy we have inherited?
Ultimately, a flower detached from its roots may be sustained for a period, but it will eventually whither, and die. The world cannot afford the decline of the West. This is the moment to relay our foundations. This is the moment to remember who we are.
