Quote Originally Posted by Burney View Post
This is from the stage of the Labour Party Conference.

I know precisely what 'liberalism' is. It is a noble concept of individual freedom wrongly attributed to the political left and its persistent attempts to achieve the polar opposite.

And what is certainly not liberal is the desire to politically indoctrinate children.
Yes, in the 19th century began a conflation of liberal thought -- as characterized by enthusiasm for Enlightenment concepts -- with the emergence of the middle class. This conflation was not an accident: the middle class sought to bedeck itself in principled lofty garb, in part to achieve its ends. The Revolution of 1848 is one such manifestation. Because of the only-moderate success of that revolutionary event, a natural splintering occurred. The middle class grew tired of certain lofty concepts, and others, artists, members of marginalized groups, took upon themselves the mantle of liberal beliefs. You point up some particular segment of these artists or marginalized groups, this guy up on stage. I hardly listened to the clip. But I would not describe these splintered elements as "illiberal," merely as a product of a long history.

But when I come on here, there seems to be a long harangue against these groups, a harangue in favor of Brexit, which may express the mood of the middle class. I don't know that you can say these middle class moods are liberal necessarily. Basically -- I don't insult you by saying that you're middle class. But you may have sympathy for said class -- your point of you represents a churlish hodge-podge, a kind of scabrous carping. I for one do not approve.

For me, Britain should step forward and reinvade India. End of story.