In this article I describe how neoliberal hegemony is a deeply disseminated governing rationality that puts the economy at the centre of society, its institutions, and human understanding and action. I argue that if neoliberal rationality and the homo economicus remain at the centre of human understanding and action, the erosion of the institutions, values, and morality organised by non-market rationalities will persevere. I approach this problem by exploring the essentially Christian roots through which the modern Western individual was invented. The acknowledgement and understanding of these religious and moral roots can open up a new perspective of reinventing liberalism and formulating a comprehensive morality for the future

Kooten, M. (Mathieu) van

The liberal tradition, in its broadest sense, has had a prominent role in

shaping Western society as we know it today. Most notably, liberalism has

been a central force in the liberation of countries and their citizens from

aristocratic feudalism as well as political and religious paternalism. Furthermore,

liberalism, especially through its moral foundations, has shaped

our perspective on individuals as free, autonomous, and equal beings. The

first liberals were those in search of a new order after the chaotic times

of early industrial capitalism and three late 18th century political revolutions—

the American, Dutch, and French—that had turned society and

politics upside down. Central to these developments were principles of

freedom of conscience and religion, freedom of thought and speech, the

division of governmental powers, and rights of private property and economic

freedom (Starr, 2007). The leading figures in the development of

these principles were, among others, John Locke, Charles de Montesquieu,

Alexis de Tocqueville, and John Stuart Mill. Based on the thoughts, principles,

and moral convictions of these leading figures, notions like the rule

of law and the free market developed, resulting in a metamorphosis of

Western society from a deeply religious, feudal, and unequal society, to

one with a secular, liberal democracy in which personal rights and liberties

are upheld and protected by the state and its institutions.

These rights and liberties that protect individuals from unsolicited

interference with their private lives and property created a stable basis for

economic progress. This is not to claim, however, that liberal thought has

been completely consistent and unambiguous throughout different regions

or time periods. Despite the lack of unanimity among liberals, Fawcett

(2014) identifies four broad ideas that served as a foundation for liberalism

and reoccurred throughout the history of liberal thought: the acknowledgement

of inescapable ethical and material conflict within society, distrust of

power, faith in human progress, and unconditional respect for individuals.

Thus, even though there is no canonical version of liberalism itself, these

four ideas indicate that liberalism in general can be regarded as the search

for an “ethically acceptable order of human progress among civic equals

without recourse to undue power” (ibid., p. xv). Rooted in moral convictions

of equality and freedom, the purpose of liberalism, therefore, is to

create the conditions for a society in which each citizen can realise his or

her aims without unsolicited interference, and fully develop his or her

capacities to the benefit of society

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Reinventing Liberalism

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Reinventing Liberalism

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