Published Jul 1, 2019

Episode #133 ... Carl Schmitt on Liberalism pt. 2

Delve into Carl Schmitt's potent critique of liberalism with Stephen West as he unravels how liberal societies, with their emphasis on tolerance and multiculturalism, foster political apathy, obscure the friend-enemy distinction in politics, and become vulnerable to authoritarian manipulation during crises.
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Episode Highlights

  • Emergency Exploitation

    Authoritarian forces can exploit states of emergency to seize power, a concern highlighted by . He explains that these forces might infiltrate the liberal political process, gain office, and use emergencies as a pretext to assume control, claiming to protect the Constitution 1. Schmitt argues that liberal societies are vulnerable to such tactics, as they often lack clear mechanisms to decide who can declare a state of exception and why.

    Carl Schmitt thought an extremely underdeveloped portion of political philosophy was who gets to decide one of these states of exception and why?

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    This ambiguity leaves liberal societies open to manipulation by those seeking authoritarian control 1.

       

    Liberal Weakness

    Liberal societies, according to , are structurally weak and prone to authoritarian takeover. He describes how liberalism's emphasis on multiculturalism and tolerance undermines the formation of strong political communities, as it discourages clear friend-enemy distinctions 2. This dynamic results in societies that lack a strong identity or purpose, making them susceptible to groups with a more defined sense of identity imposing their will.

    The natural endgame for liberal societies is a population of people that are faced with a political enemy and are like, I mean, I disagree, but look, I'm not going to go get on a boat and dive for something like this.

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    Without a sovereign to protect political identities, these societies are vulnerable to external forces 2.