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PaperclipPerfector  4d ago (text post)   15456 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of August 10, 2026

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The past decade? Many hypothetical, pre-civilization states of nature thinkers like Rousseau came up with don't really seem congruent with our evolved history.

I interpreted Nerd's comment to mean that not only does (political) conservatism represent defense, which is an inherently passive activity unlikely to generate much enthusiasm about its prospects, but that it also comes across as pathetic and uninspiring when it tries to defend itself. I'd argue that Western liberalism has also been on the defensive since 2016 or so, for a decade, or at least that is surely how its believers see themselves, and I don't think the defense they're putting up appears that impressive or convincing either. I see a lot of bitterness, pessimism, despair and a lack of vision for the future on their side.

I'd argue that Western liberalism has also been on the defensive since 2016 or so, for a decade, or at least that is surely how its believers see themselves, and I don't think the defense they're putting up appears that impressive or convincing either.

It really isn't. But liberals/progressives have an additional asymmetry in their advantage: even though people may not like their own proposed solutions they don't actually have to deal with a return to some older regime because it's been practically foreclosed. Multiculturalism may not win, but you're not getting back to the old white majority, secularism may have failed but adherence to faith and the power of the church has collapsed regardless, liberalization to divorce law was only supposed to impact a few cases but now you can't roll it back, etc.

So, once conservatives have failed, the solution will be some form of "progress". Even the reactionaries often can't fathom a real RETVRN.

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