Liberal Currents no longer posts on X. We do still post elsewhere.

“As Americans contemplate whether and how to reverse War on Crime policies, it’s important to recognize that strategies of resistance were staked out decades ago.”

"Judgment, hatred, and fear are easy attitudes to have. Looking for the best in people, situations, and values that we don’t identify with and practicing and sustaining hope and joy is difficult."

“The positive political vision contained in what we might call a “politics of joy” is an expression of the ideals of liberalism taken to their logical conclusion, and as such is a natural companion to the fight against reactionary Christian nationalism.”

"So what is to be done? Answer: prove to people in a visceral way—prove in their lived experience—that change is growth and difference isn't dangerous."

"The rediscovery of Keynesianism has exploded the horizon of liberal policy thinking in recent years. We are getting out of our defensive crouch and starting to think big about America's economic future."

"Antiliberalism has returned in full, more muscular and threatening than it has been in decades. But it was always with us, the other child of the Revolution that we are frequently either too proud or too ashamed to acknowledge."

"The zero-sum mindset is an identifiable suite of emotional and ideological reactions to the world—though you may be more familiar with it under the name 'authoritarian personality.'"

“The plutocrat-populist axis is not some shaky coalition of exigency, but a robust and enduring power bloc. It does not depend on misinformation or false consciousness.”

"If you despair hard enough, you might just break any and all faith in the institutions we actually need in order to exercise power. What results from this corrosion of institutional trust is not the end of oppressive power, but its concentration."

"As evidence quickly mounted that FEMA was not, in fact, bankrupt and inert, some online began to declare that this lie was, nevertheless, their emotional support disinfo."

“The demand of Markbreiter’s piece, near as I can discern, is for the reader to mummify themselves in a doomscroll of white guilt and pious inertia.”

"Capital can flow freely between most countries with few restrictions, allowing businesses to seek out the most favorable environments. Labor, on the other hand, is often trapped within national borders, restricted by immigration laws and policies."

Liberal Currents has published defenses and discussions of liberal ideals since 2017. Please become a member to support our writers.

RT @kvallier: I am grateful to @peonpaul for his thorough review of All the Kingdoms of the World at @LiberalCurrents. .

"While we should defend press freedoms from governmental encroachment, too often liberals see the press as a natural ally and are at a loss when that ally seems to turn on them."

"Rent-seeking has receded from the forefront of political debate, leaving many of its most egregious forms to persist unchecked. hidden behind the rhetoric of free markets and economic liberty, even though it thrives on government intervention."

“Reviving an aggressive focus on fighting rent-seeking is essential to returning liberalism to its roots and combating the distortions in the economy that harm consumers, stifle innovation, and concentrate wealth in the hands of the politically connected.”

"He would use the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to authorize deportations…[putting] a lie on the notion that Trump would only be going after illegal immigrants, as nation of origin is the only criterion…targeted individuals need not have broken a single law"

"Vallier implores the integralist and their illiberal and liberal brethren to reject politics as war—to move beyond politics as a venue in which to decimate opponents and gain fidelity through domination."