Political Analysis and Global Affairs

 How fear, moral symmetry, and cultural panic are quietly reshaping Western democracy Something revealing happened in the responses to my earlier piece on antisemitism and Islamophobia. Not outrage. Not denial. Something quieter, and far more dangerous. A number of commenters argued that since a culture is perceived to seek dominance, and since violence has been justified in its name elsewhere, then resistance by any means becomes noble. Moral restraint, they suggested, is a luxury liberal societies can no longer afford. What’s good for the goose is good for the gander. At first glance, this sounds pragmatic. Even tough-minded. Look closer, and it marks a profound shift in how liberal democracies are beginning to justify abandoning their own foundations. This is not an argument about religion anymore. It is an argument about whether liberal values are conditional . From principles to reciprocity Liberal democracies were built on a simple but demanding idea: people are judged by...