TaraElla Films: The Liberal Crisis in Western Intellectualism
In recent years, there has been a growing crisis within liberalism. It is losing its identity, its ideals, and perhaps its very reason for existence. We can see this from several different angles.
Compared to all other available options (e.g. postmodernism, criticalism, identity politics, neoconservatism etc.), liberalism is still the most morally sound path for Western democratic societies going forward, and most likely to get us to the best resolution for the controversial social issues we face. This film will make the case for this argument.
As a citizen of a Western democratic country, given the crossroads we find ourselves facing at the moment (e.g. conflicting identity politics claims, the 'history wars', the 'woke' vs 'reactionary' culture wars, the questioning of the long-standing social contract), I feel that it's my responsibility to speak up, before it's too late.
As the 2nd decade of the 21st century progressed, something unsettling was developing. Culture and politics in the Western world was becoming increasingly polarized. I mean, people have always been passionate about the causes they support, and that’s not a bad thing. Debates inevitably become heated sometimes. But what’s new is that there was a qualitative change in the way social debates proceeded. People became strongly polarized on two extremes on many hot button issues, and they increasingly believed they could and should do everything to win. No compromises, no principles, no civility. People stopped debating in good faith, and productive dialogue started to suffer.
