Classical Liberalism as a Quasi-Religion

The Liberty Exchange
S01E06 -

The spirit of liberty depends on the spirit of religion.

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Guests
Daniel B. Klein

Daniel Klein is professor of economics and JIN Chair at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, where he leads a program based on the work of Adam Smith. His most recent book is titled Central Notions of Smithian Liberalism. Klein is the chief editor of Econ Journal Watch and has published widely on a great variety of topics in the classical liberal tradition, including the idea of spontaneous order, the discovery of opportunity, the demand and supply of assurance, the puzzling question of why government officials believe in the goodness of bad policy, and the relationship between liberty, dignity, and responsibility. Klein holds degrees from George Mason University and New York University.

Jonathan Fortier

Jonathan Fortier is the director of Lib​er​tar​i​an​ism​.org. Over the past 25 years he has worked to promote the principles of a free society with many organizations, including Liberty Fund, the Institute for Humane Studies, and the Fraser Institute. He earned his MPhil and his doctorate at the University of Oxford.

SUMMARY:

Dan Klein says classical liberalism is a quasi-​religion. First, classical liberalism preaches against making certain things sacred—for example, big government. It does preach to people about what they identify with and draw enduring meaning from; it is not neutral about the higher-​things space. Second, Klein says that proper ethics are patterned after benevolent monotheism; he says that one should affirm the spirit of religion, even if one does not consider herself a theist. Classical liberalism will fare better once its votaries understand that it is a quasi-​religion.