Editor’s note: If you would like to submit a letter for possible publication, please email it to editor@rationalist.com.au. See our Publishing Guidelines.
Dear Editor,
I am neither academic nor really that clever, but I have a good sense of what’s right. The idea that liberty is a universal moral seems very modern and very, very Western.
As noted in the RSA Daily recently, Asian countries, and indeed any now Western European or anglophonic cultures, have a different take on liberty as far as society goes. And this is for the purpose of maintaining a solid society.
The liberty principle is brought from the French and the American revolutions, and has little to do with the rest of the world.
Indeed, if one bothered to observe – which I note few Western-inclined thinkers are willing to do – you would notice the cohesiveness of older, pre-industrialised societies that did not have the stupidity to throw away all the old ways in a fit of self-indulgence.
You’d also notice that the idea of liberty – manifested in the West as “I do what I want and justify it after” – does not exist as each person understands it. They are part of a whole, not just an individual.
The so-called Western enlightenment project, while in many ways a good way to move forward, has created a false ideology of liberty that is anti-social. And this has hamstrung society.
We need to relearn cooperation over selfishness.
James Faulkner
Dear Editor
In regard to Michael Shermer's 4th moral principle ...
Blog
Tags:
Related Posts
10
Nov
Recognising the right to have no religious belief
Editor’s note: If you would like to submit a letter for possible publication, please email it to editor@rationalist.com.au. See our ...
06
Nov
Can we save liberalism by becoming better liberals?
Liberalism is at a turning point. The rise of the far right in Western democracies has challenged liberal values and institutions and, ...
23
Oct
What will AI really mean for science?
Artificial intelligence (AI) has taken centre stage in basic science. The five winners of the 2024 Nobel Prizes in Chemistry and Phy...
10
Oct
It’s time to take a stand against far-right politics
Political operatives on the far right have long spoken about their ambition to shift the “Overton window”. The aim is to ...
03
Oct
Agnosticism the ‘only rational choice’
Editor’s note: If you would like to submit a letter for possible publication, please email it to editor@rationalist.com.au. See our ...
07
Sep
Charity for the rich
Editor’s note: If you would like to submit a letter for possible publication, please email it to editor@rationalist.com.au. See our ...
07
Aug
When all meaning is thrown overboard
Editor’s note: If you would like to submit a letter for possible publication, please email it to editor@rationalist.com.au. See our ...
11
Jul
Will AI help or hinder trust in science?
In the past year, generative artificial intelligence tools — such as ChatGPT, Gemini, and OpenAI’s video generation tool ...
05
Jul
Do religious schools still have a place in modern society?
Editor’s note: If you would like to submit a letter for possible publication, please email it to editor@rationalist.com.au. See our ...
03
Jun
Are renewable energy projects destroying our environment?
Editor’s note: If you would like to submit a letter for possible publication, please email it to editor@rationalist.com.au. See our ...
07
May
Scomo and the ‘Rapture gang’
Editor’s note: If you would like to submit a letter for possible publication, please email it to editor@rationalist.com.au. See our ...
17
Apr
It takes courage to take on trans issue
Editor’s note: If you would like to submit a letter for possible publication, please email it to editor@rationalist.com.au. See our ...