Is "Liberalism" a Bad Word? Towards a Conservative, Communion Liberalism

No! Liberalism is a marvelous word:  it means freedom! Who of us prefers bondage, oppression and slavery? But there are many liberalisms; and some of them are at war with each other. The ultimate question: What is the inner nature of freedom? The second question: how do we express, shape and structure that freedom in culture, politics and economics? The most immediate meaning for liberalism would be the politics of the Democratic Party since FDR: freedom from oppression and poverty by way of a strong federal government that regulates the market, avoids depression, ensures safety and health, provides an adequate safety net for the poor, protects the disadvantaged (minorities, workers, disabled, elderly), and countervails against excessive concentrations of wealth and power. In tension (if not full scale war) with this is the classic economic liberalism we call "conservatism" and associate with Ronald Reagan and the mainstream Republican Party: free markets, low taxes and regulation, and enhancement of individual liberty and agency. Moving into the realm of culture we have another duality: life-style, sexual liberalism advocates release from traditions of restrain on behalf of sexual liberty as well as the option of disposing of useless human life on the margins of life. Reactive to this is an emergent religious liberalism insisting upon freedom of religion and refusing to be coerced into participation in the cult of abortion, sterile sexuality and the hegemony of technology over life, death and procreation. A third, analogous culture war over freedom operates in Catholic theology: the creative, articulate, and brilliant theologians at the Vatican Council (including Ratzinger, DeLubac, Woytija, etc.) were almost immediately recast as "conservative" immediately after that Council by more radical liberals who advocated a break with Tradition at significant points. We might call the former group "conservative liberals" in that they fiercely valued freedom (schooled in the battle with Nazism and Communism) even as they understood freedom, in continuity with centuries of tradition, as oriented from the interior to Truth in Love and a context of given, gifted relationships. This Catholic-Conservative-Communio liberalism is a striking contrast with the  individualism, autonomy and loneliness that Dineen (and many others) see underlying our culture.

Dineen is right:  liberalism as individualism has, indeed, failed. But that is a reductive, distorted, even perverted kind of liberalism. The antidote: a wholesome, integral, rooted liberalism that conserves the best of the past, and explicitly roots itself in deeper pre-political communities of faith and family. Dineen lucidly unveils the toxic consequences of secular, individualistic liberalism but he (like Rod Dreher and many others) is prone to an exaggerated negativity that pervades our culture, a despair that all institutions are falling apart. This results from an overload of information and the reality that much of it comes to us from extreme left and right wings that exaggerate the failings of the other. The unhappy consequence can be a loss of trust in fundamental liberal institutions just when these need support and strengthening. Such prophesies of doom can have a self-fulfilling dynamic and provoke what they dread. We know from 20th century developments in Russia and Germany what happens when the center, rooted in reason and faith, does not hold against the resentment and fear of the right and messianic utopianism from the left.

The liberal, free institutions which we defended against the competing ideologies of Nazism and Communism are still valid and promising: democracy, free markets, freedoms of speech/religion/etc, jury by peers, separation of powers, federalism, and so forth. These sound institutions cannot rest on the absolute sovereignty of the Imperial Self; but they need not depend upon a narrow denominational theocracy. The communio, conservative liberalism advocated here includes:

1,  An understanding of Freedom as a gift from a transcendent, holy realm and interiorly oriented to that realm and to all that is True, Beautiful and Good. Freedom is not, at its core, arbitrary choice; the godlike, really diabolic, ability to determine for oneself what is true and good; the power to impose ones own will as one wishes. It is true that negatively Freedom includes a certain release from coercion, oppression, necessity and slavery. At its core Freedom is movement to the Good!

2. As Yuval Levin suggests, such a conservative, contrast to a progressive, liberalism is a freedom to move organically, creatively, patiently and gratefully into the new in a way that appreciates the past, tradition, authority and Nature. In line with Burke, deToqueville and our Constitution, this view gratefully receives the bounty and logic of Nature as well as the legacy of history even as it critically appropriates and develops it.

3.  In continuity with the robust Catholic liberalism of the post-war period, it passionately practicses a solidarity with the poor, marginalized and oppressed as it corrects the blind spots of that legacy in regard to subsidiarity (correcting the concentration of power in the federal government) and a clear sexual ethic (as developed by St. John Paul as an answer to the Sexual Revolution).

4.  In continuity with the (conservative) legacy of Ronald Reagan, it  defends innocent, powerless life and protects economic liberties in the face of an expansive state even as it is critical of global, unrestrained capitalism and renounces the underlying libertarian (Randian) individualism in favor of an ethos of community and communion. Such a conservative liberalism is moderate and balanced in evaluating  the positives and negatives of big government and globalized capitalism, neither idealizing nor demonizing either of the two but recognizing the impersonalism inherent in both.

5.  Grounding freedom in relation to Truth and Love, this cultural liberalism of communion rejoices in the liberty that springs from promise/fidelity/ purity, the generativity/generosity of the natural family, and the iconic splendor of sexuality. And so it engages, passionately and untiringly, in a peaceful, patient culture war with that lifestyle liberalism that trivializes and sterilizes sex; that empties it of its meaning and beauty; and leads to pernicious forms of interior slavery (e.g. pornography).

6. According to a wholesome subsidiarity, it gives reverence and primacy to smaller, intermediate communities that flow from and into family and faith. Modifying the Benedict Option, it attends first and foremost to the immediate and the concrete, without losing interest in the big picture.

7.  In foreign affairs, a Catholic liberalism is necessarily internationalist, entailing a modest patriotism that opens up into a universalism that is neither an American Imperium nor the hegemony of  secular, cosmopolitan elites. Profoundly conscious of the Mystery of Evil, such liberalism avoids utopianism in favor of a realism (R. Niebuhr) capable of forcefully restraining explosisons of terror and violence. And so, it deeply honors vocations to the military and police even as it holds these to the highest standards of conduct.

8. With Adrian Vermulle, this approach practices a "Christian Strategy" of engagement in public life in the ancient traditions (Joseph of Egypt, Daniel, etc.) of serving the broader empire and one's own people without compromise of principle. Avoiding full allegiance to any specific party or platform, there is freedom to work in alliance with various players on behalf of the common good. In our polarized environment, such a sober, confident and positive movement might have a reconciling effect as it is refuses to demonize ideological adversaries but looks for the positive in both sides of an issue. Such might entertain an ambivalent, ironic, and constructive relationship with each of the prevailing ideologies (Trump, Democrats, Republicans) even as the absolute reverence for innocent life, religious liberty and marriage means a passionately adversarial engagement with the forces of lifestyle liberalism that control the Democratic Party.

Perhaps most significantly, conservative liberalism,  drawing from deep resources of faith, communion, and history, enjoys a quiet and serene confidence, a resolute hopefulness, and a restfulness that expresses itself in fervent, fruitful action. It can, therefore, practice a "noblesse oblige," a relaxed generosity and liberality. Free from fear and resentment and unburdened by utopian illusions, it flourishes in contentment, sobriety, hope and gratitude. And so it delights in the current world, with all its flaws and in all its splendor, even as it awaits the coming of a Greater Kingdom. 

Outstanding Catholic Leaders of "My Time"

Now 70, I ponder: In my lifetime, who were the greatest influences on my faith and my Church? I identify four groupings: my own generational peers, those of my parents' generation, those of my grandparents, and an "honorable mention" group who influenced me. (You will note that the generational boundaries are imprecise.) The standouts in my own generation are:  First, David L. Schindler who has applied the "comminio theology" in a profound critique of American culture.  Second, Ralph Martin has synthesized the Charismatic Renewal and the legacy of the saints into a sharp-edged, profound spiritual theology. Thirdly, Gil Baile combines the philosophical anthropology of Rene Girard with communio theology into a fresh, novel but thoroughly faithful Catholic narrative. Forthly, Giuseppe Genereni is the apostle of the Neocatechumenal Way to the USA and so an immensely significant historical figure.  Fifthly, Neal Lozano (Unbound),  also out of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal, has presented the Church with a method of deliverance from satanic powers that is gentle and yet powerful, psychology-based and yet Jesus-centered, and miraculously liberating! Lastly, Paul Vitz has contributed more than anyone to a synthesis of good psychology with Catholic principles. The second grouping, my parents' generation, is led, first of all, by the theological trio of Balthasar (who is actually older), John Paul and Benedict whose combined work rivals that of the two Catholic giants, Augustine and Thomas. The great founders of the lay renewal movements come next: Giusanni, Kiko and Vanier. While not a participant in these currents, I consider myself a friend of each as they have directly touched my children and marvelously influenced the Church. The third, and most important group is a remarkable cohort of women (more or less of my grandmothers' generation) who lived through most of the 20th century, buried themselves humbly in service of the poorest as they drew from a deep, prayerful union with God. These are:  St. Theresa of Calcutta, Dorothy Day, Catherine DeHueck Dougherty, Madeleine Delbrel, Adrienne von Speyr, and Caryll Houselander.  Lastly, honorable mention includes:  Avery Cardinal Dulles S.J., who...erudite, balanced, broad, loyal... taught me and generations of Jesuits and theologians; Father Joseph Whelan S.J., a saintly contemporary of Dulles who taught me that Christ is inseparable from his bridal Church and that holiness is integral to sound theology; Ivan Illich, an eccentric genius who impacted my youth with his profound critique of technology and modernity; Fr. Benedict Groeschel who interwove psychology and theology into a splendid,, spiritual and practical synthesis; and Sister Joan Noreen who has influenced my wife, myself and my family through her leadership of Our Lady's Missionaries of the Eucharist. Above all, of course, I am grateful to my own Mom and Dad and an army of family, friends and collaborators! "My time" has been a glorious one in which to be Catholic:  my hope is that my children and their generation and their children will see even greater marvels!