Andrew Sullivan quotes a beautiful challenge to his book.
Leaving aside all quarrels about the meanings of words, the central fact is that any intellectual position is subject to the danger of authoritarianism. Clearly that happened to Enlightenment liberalism with communism. The right is at least equally susceptible, however. For me, the right is more susceptible precisely because of this business of privileging tradition and longing for the past [….] Our only real hope is constant agitation against tradition, however much loss we risk by it. Don’t worry that it will be overwhelmed – plenty of powerful people will defend it, and love will defend it, too. In almost every age of the world it’s the other side that needs help, I believe.Â
The author might have added that timid and fearful people will always defend tradition, too. In striving for a creative balance between liberalism and conservatism, the odds have always been stacked against the liberals.