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August 2019 – Western liberalism

On Monday, 5th August, the Sylvans debated the motion:

This House believes that Western liberalism is now obsolete.

It was proposed by Rodrigo Aguilera and opposed by Tony Koutsoumbos.

The proposer opened with a history of liberalism, and affirmed that the principles of liberalism were nearly universally supported. However he highlighted in stark terms the a long list of atrocities committed under the liberal system – including slavery, colonialism and ruthless capitalism. He also posited that many of the truly liberal ideas, such as universal suffrage and workers’ rights, were actually co-opted by the ‘liberal’ system from progressive or radical groups, rather than growing organically out of the liberal system itself. He then criticised the current political and economic situation for failing to create a just society, and arguing that free markets lead to a loss of freedom and ultimately, kleptocracy. His shared his view that the centre of politics will not hold and inequality and climate change will not be solved by liberalism.

The opposer framed the debate in terms of the recent comments by Vladimir Putin, that inspired the debate topic, and proceeded to attack Putin’s views. He broadly agreed that Western elites have lost touch with the people, though that this was exaggerated and would moderate over time. However he strongly rebutted Putin’s view that the liberal idea has no answer to the issues of mass migration and social conflict. Further to this he argued that liberal political systems have tremendous capacity to evolve to changing conditions and cited Greece’s recent change in government, with the belief that other Western democracies would follow in a similar way. The question in his view rested on whether liberalism would be here tomorrow, and whether we want it to be.

Floor speeches varied widely, with a number of speakers attempting to provide a clearer definition of liberalism. While a straw poll indicated that most members and guests were self-declared liberals, a few vocal anti-capitalist views came forth.

In the final vote the motion carried.

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