"The liberal, and the group, nation or civilization infected by liberal doctrine and values, are morally disarmed before those whom the liberal regards as less well off than himself ...Liberalism is the ideology of Western suicide."
from The Suicide of the West: An Essay on the Meaning and Destiny of Liberalism.
James Burnham. 1964. [ 1964!!]
Additional comment:
In posts on Suicidalism and Gramscian Damage blogger "Lazarus Long" identified some of the most important of the memes that work to undo the West from within. In a striking synchronicity with my posting of Cold Warrior Burnham, he identifies these as part of the old Soviet propaganda arsenal. They are frighteningly accurate as descriptions of contemporary liberal responses to the Jihad and indeed to any victimist grievance. I hear variations on these themes all the time.
- There is no truth, only competing agendas.
- All Western (and especially American) claims to moral superiority over Communism/Fascism/Islam are vitiated by the West’s history of racism and colonialism.
- There are no objective standards by which we may judge one culture to be better than another. Anyone who claims that there are such standards is an evil oppressor.
- The prosperity of the West is built on ruthless exploitation of the Third World; therefore Westerners actually deserve to be impoverished and miserable.
- Crime is the fault of society, not the individual criminal. Poor criminals are entitled to what they take. Submitting to criminal predation is more virtuous than resisting it.
- The poor are victims. Criminals are victims. And only victims are virtuous. Therefore only the poor and criminals are virtuous. (Rich people can borrow some virtue by identifying with poor people and criminals.)
- For a virtuous person, violence and war are never justified. It is always better to be a victim than to fight, or even to defend oneself. But ‘oppressed’ people are allowed to use violence anyway; they are merely reflecting the evil of their oppressors.
- When confronted with terror, the only moral course for a Westerner is to apologize for past sins, understand the terrorist’s point of view, and make concessions.
