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Barack's Collapse Exposes the Profound Failure of Liberalism

Give Obama a Pat on the Back—of Butter—He’s Toast



Obama has utterly failed. He launched an entire presidency upon a tissue of lies, excuses, ignorance and a prickly cult of self-worship. But this proved so unstable it gave way beneath him mere weeks into his tenure. Now he free-falls into oblivion. Future historians might craft "theories" -- obscuring his incompetence, blaming it onto outside forces or resolute foes. But those who witnessed his malfeasance know better.

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What was Barack's biggest mistake? Laying all his chips on the table to bet on Liberalism. He was either too untutored to know socialism always fails; too cagey in craftily sabotaging Capitalism; not mentally fit for the task, or too indifferent to care. Take your pick. Since all of Oabama's possible strategies would still lead to utter failure, it doesn't much matter. He's an anti-Reagan in almost every way possible to imagine. Barack willed himself onto the shipwreck rocks, perhaps goaded by self-loathing animated by the secret knowledge he lacks any training or inclination for leadership. But wouldn't any Marxist worth his salt agree Capitalism must be torn down and burnt to cinders before communism can rise on its ash? But what is Liberalism and why did it fail Obama?

I. What is Liberalism?

There are two general movements in human history named "liberalism" -- one beginning in the Reformation, the other, a modern pretender. We must always remember those of a general modern "Conservative" and "Libertarian" bent, hail back to the age of Classical Liberalism. Modern "liberalism" is actually a highly deceptive code word for socialism and leftism, and is not concerned with liberty, but redistribution of wealth and the control of the masses.

A. Real Liberalism, "Classical Liberalism," aka Liberty

Real "Liberalism" starts back with the Reformation, when Martin Luther began the revolution which challenged the Church over the basis of salvation. When the Church did not back down on Luther's demands, the protesters tore the Church asunder. Eventually, the battle became one for control over human decision making in all spheres of life. The rallying cry for Luther and his supporters became "Freedom!", according to John Witte in Law and Protestantism: The Legal Teachings of the Lutheran Reformation. As Ralph Raico wrote,
Classical liberalism" is the term used to designate the ideology advocating private property, an unhampered market economy, the rule of law, constitutional guarantees of freedom of religion and of the press, and international peace based on free trade. Up until around 1900, this ideology was generally known simply as liberalism. The qualifying "classical" is now usually necessary, in English-speaking countries at least (but not, for instance, in France), because liberalism has come to be associated with wide-ranging interferences with private property and the market on behalf of egalitarian goals.
The demand for freedom to make decisions, outside of any human institution, is really the root of "Liberalism," whose root word is "Liberty." As the Reformation took on strength, new standards were established which eventually resulted in freedom being carved out in the areas of religion, economics, government, education, the arts, and science. Ultimately, both Protestantism and Catholicism helped craft a new vision, which writer Amy H. Sturgis describes in The Rise, Decline, and Reemergence of Classical Liberalism: "The Reformation divided Christian teaching, leaving individualism in the hands of Protestantism via the "priesthood of the believer" doctrine and natural law theory to Catholicism " The end result was creation of the modern world. One writer describes original, or Classical Liberalism,
Prior to the 20th century, classical liberalism was the dominant political philosophy in the United States. It was the political philosophy of Thomas Jefferson and the signers of the Declaration of Independence and it permeates the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, the Federalist Papers and many other documents produced by the people who created the American system of government...Basically, classical liberalism is the belief in liberty.

B. Faux Liberalism: Chains of Bondage

Hundreds of years after classical liberalism emerged, and then found a high point in the works of John Locke, and others, socialism was picking up steam. Socialist and communist writers had long struggled with making their ideas more palatable to the average person. According to Doug Rossinow, in Visions of Progress: The Left-Liberal Tradition in America, a strategic connection between leftists and liberals resulted in what we now refer to as modern American liberalism. Rossinow describes this as "political zone where liberalism and radicalism overlapped." This ultimately led to a misleading change of name, morphing from socialism, communism, or Marxism to "liberalism" created a lasting misconception. The confusion was understandable and continues to this day, comparable to re-branding the Atkins diet as "Veganism." One writer describes the transition,
Most modern "liberals" as opposed to Classical Liberals are, in the end, merely soft-core fascists. The modern liberal agenda is to gain control of the institutional hierarchy of the state and then to use that power to implement their notions of what a just and humane society entails as they see it. How well has that worked out? Are today's modern liberal democracies principally concerned with collective liberty, individual rights, the rule of law, and respect for property? Not really...

II. Modern Liberalism is Based Upon Untruths

We owe a great debt to Obama. Mostly for his willingness to recklessly follow socialistic liberalism to its logical conclusion, which is utter failure. Does Obama realize he's been "punked"? That he's been made to play the fool to move the ball further down the left side of the field? Does he even care? It doesn't matter any longer as Obama will soon be stripped of his lieutenants in the House and Senate. Then let the blaming begin. The fact that what is called "modern liberalism" is actually composed of socialist or Marxist ideas in stealth mode is all one needs to know in terms of the transparency of current leftists. But if ever an ideology were misnamed, "modern liberalism" must be it. First, there is nothing "modern" about current leftism, as the ideas were hatched around the French Revolution, and have not changed much since. More unsettling, there is nary a sentiment treasuring liberty, ie freedom, in the entire plank of the modern liberal agenda.

A. Consider These Leftist failures:

Family: Modern liberalism teaches the family is an artificial construct that has no profound meaning. For instance, a single mother is every bit as much of a complete family as a married mother and father. Further, a gay couple have every right to create a family, even if the children must be contracted out. We simply assume that all our decisions must be honored by nature or the gods, and cannot have bad outcomes. Yet the result has been a society that seems to have given up on the idea of romantic love, and treats all sexual topics in a transactional instead of a relational manner. Obama's love of his daughters is canceled out by his bloody fight for all abortions, even partial-birth abortion. Liberalism is anti-life. Education: Modern liberal ideas about education, focus upon the misbegotten ideas of John Dewey, an original signator of the Humanist Manifesto. Dewey was at minimum a radical atheist humanist, but many scholars believe he was a Marxist, as well. Dewey's education method was based upon experiential instruction that eschewed the classics and sought to prepare youngsters for a trade or some other skill. In doing this he destroyed the world's greatest public education system and replaced it with what we see today, a method resulting in Johnny not being able to think. Yet, this fits the Marxist world-view where the few elites rule the ignorant masses with an iron hand. But Obama agrees with Dewey, a fellow Pragmatist. Immigration: Modern liberal immigration is premised upon the notion that the world is a giant country, and therefore all people who want to get into America are already its citizens. While this might seem insane, it is a crafty policy for those who would make these untutored foreigners instant citizens capable of voting the day they cross the border. But it goads illegals to jump the border, creating a permanent problem because all of these people have been rightly led to believe they might hit the lotto and receive instant citizenship. Barack won't even increase border security for fear of offending Latinos, despite constant danger. Economics: Modern liberal economics is based upon the idea that capitalism is a theft where the rich steal from the poor. And since there is no God, and only one life to find justice in, we must break down the wealth of the rich factory owners/millionaires/billionaires and give it back to the poor, from whom it was stolen. This simple, antagonistic, class-warfare Marxism, disproved a thousand times and killed dead as a duck, is yet back from the grave for another regime. Obama's nearly $1 trillion Stimulus is a classic example of failed policy that made the situation worse than doing nothing at all. Foreign Policy: Modern liberal foreign policy is premised upon the idea that if the stronger nations lay down their arms and kneel at the feet of the weak, they will be blessed for their love and mercy. Then peace will reign across the earth. Of course, appeasement has always egged bullies on, as Chamberlain could explain after Germany attacked Poland despite Hitler's assurances. Obama seems to think that because he considers himself a "nice guy," so will everyone else, and this will create good foreign relations. It hasn't. Taxation & Spending: Modern tax and spend liberalism is premised upon the notion that the more a society spends, the better place it will be. Instead, there is no causal relationship in taxing and spending for the good life, but an unfortunate negative relationship. In other words, after servicing basic needs, every dollar a society takes from its private citizens and spends for the public larder, the quality of life diminishes. Now America is about to experiment with the Obama's giant tax hike, during a recession of epic dimensions. Now America enters a death spiral of ever increasing deficits, once interest is added. Welfare: The modern liberal welfare state assumes that people who are in bad situations are there for no fault of their own, and must therefore be helped. Instead, outside of supporting the literally worst off -- being handicapped, widowed and orphaned -- all support for the indolent causes the numbers of poor to rise since they are being rewarded. What gets fertilized, grows. And now the medical system has been co-opted into the welfare state, and Americans are furious at Obama's deafness on the issue, with 55% wanting it repealed. Church & State: Modern liberal theory presumes that religion is a negative, as Marx taught, so must be pushed to the side. A wall must be built between church and state. The net result is that public policy is no longer infused with the West's spirit of Christianity but, instead, increasingly becomes informed by humanism, secularism and atheism. The net result is moral impoverishment. In the meantime, Obama -- when he is not slamming the church and Christianity, is doing what he can to encourage Islam. Energy Policy: The earth is treated as a living being and mankind's activities akin to a deadly attack against it. What is strange is how, even when Global Warming is exposed as a hoax, Obama ignores this, and insists Cap'n Tax, which only exists formally to fight Global Warming, must still be passed. American Exceptionalism: Modern liberalism teaches there is no such thing as American Exceptionalism. Instead, there is only each state's self-interest, according to Obama. Therefore, to help the globe, we must break down America and its delusions about being better than any other place. Many have detected a great anger in Obama towards America, which explains him saying, "I believe in American exceptionalism, just as I suspect that the Brits believe in British exceptionalism and the Greeks believe in Greek exceptionalism."

III. Why Liberalism Always Fails

Given modern liberalism's presumptions, there are a few unavoidable facts that dictate socialism and Marxism must always fail.

A. Ignoring Human Nature

Human beings have a "human nature," which according to Bible believers is largely resultant of being made in God's image. Human nature was also noted by pagan classical writers, such as the Greeks and Romans. It is simple human nature to seek rewards for doing well, and the opposite for those who fail. But in the modern liberal mindset, where religion is dismissed as a fantasy for the dense, people are seen resembling robots. Under socialist systems, its assumed everyone will work and be willing to share with others, even the lazy and indifferent. But, this never works. Yet, instead of adapting their socialist system to the realities of how people decision make and what motivates them, the typical communist tyrant rolls up his sleeves and begins to kill people who resist him. After awhile, killing people becomes an end in itself, as under Stalin.

B. Pretending ParasitesMake for A Strong Economy

Another huge shortcoming in modern liberal, aka socialist, theories is the belief an economy can absorb any number of free riders and still be functional. In other words, it doesn't matter how many people are on state aid and not working, because the industrious can always take up the slack. But when people realize they are not rewarded for their diligence, and further -- that others who refuse to work will gain, motivation collapses.

C. No Belief in Right or Wrong

It is a truism that there is no right or wrong in a socialist or Marxist system, because there is no God to lay down the law, says T. B. Bottomore in A Dictionary of Marxist Thought. This is a well-known problem within socialist circles which is routinely swept under the rug. But how can one claim that the greatest good is wealth-redistribution when there is no greatest good, by definition? A main reason hundreds of millions of people were liquidated in communist states in the 20th century is that the church was made defunct and Marx disputed the Ten Commandments. So there was no longer a set of over arching rules to block evil.

D. Lack of Scientific, Logical or Historic Rigor

It's possible the ultimate problem with modern liberals is they have no mental rigor when approaching problem solving. So often policies are instituted which are either not tested, patently ill-advised or, worse -- already attempted and failed. For example, socialism always debases an economy because of the problem of ignoring human nature, meaning the free riders destroy incentive for the entire group. Interestingly, according to Eric Voegelin, one can see the entire liberal world-view as an insane attempt to get rid of God and save mankind by the deeds of enlightened men, as first envisioned by Joachim of Floris done by his Dux e Babylon, ie the Duke of Babylon. The Duke was meant to build paradise on earth and wipe away every tear, while he was at it, while boldly abandoning all thought of a Creator/Redeemer.

IV. What Can We Do to Avoid Future Obamas?

America will be lucky if we can regain our feet after the Obama disaster. He's either clueless, the best friend Marxists ever had, or both. But what can be done to avoid another Barack? In a word -- education. We need to return to our roots and re-school ourselves on American history, from the Founders forward. This is the only way to avoid another illiterate leftist demagogue, like Barack. And we also need to retain to a society of virtues, by cultivating them in ourselves and family, and encouraging our friends in the same manner. This is the only way a democratic republic can avoid becoming a police state. Based upon the fact that the American Founders built a lasting society, creating the fairest, most prosperous state ever conceived, we ought to move back to their ideals. And also not forget that the first settlers here came for religious freedom so they would have opportunity to practice Christianity, not treat it as a intellectual laughingstock and the Church as a modern-day leper colony. (An essay that could get people thinking about the Founder's ideas, based upon the negative rights found in the Constitution, and Obama's positive rights of redistribution of wealth -- can be discovered in Isaiah Berlin's seminal essay, Two Concepts of Liberty.)


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Kelly O'Connell -- Bio and Archives

Kelly O’Connell is an author and attorney. He was born on the West Coast, raised in Las Vegas, and matriculated from the University of Oregon. After laboring for the Reformed Church in Galway, Ireland, he returned to America and attended law school in Virginia, where he earned a JD and a Master’s degree in Government. He spent a stint working as a researcher and writer of academic articles at a Miami law school, focusing on ancient law and society. He has also been employed as a university Speech & Debate professor. He then returned West and worked as an assistant district attorney. Kelly is now is a private practitioner with a small law practice in New Mexico.


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