It’s Not Just the Taliban: We in the West Are Embracing Medievalism, Too
28th August 2021
For years progressives, neo-conservatives, libertarians and business “visionaries” embraced the notion of inexorable progress leading humanity to more enlightened times. Optimistic notions about an “arc of history” bending toward greater prosperity and social justice were embraced by both President George W. Bush and President Barack Obama. But these days, the arc of progress seems to have done an about face and become something of a circle, bending all the way back to autocracy and intolerance, while the optimism of the Bush or Obama years appears more naïve in retrospect with every passing day.
Indeed, “the notion of inexorable progress leading humanity to more enlightened times” is the very foundation of the progressive ideology; to the extent that ‘neo-conservatives’, ‘libertarians’, or ‘business visionaries’ embrace it, they signal that they are neither conservative, libertarian, nor visionary. The progessive icon of ‘the Right Side of History’ has become the new Golden Calf toward which all are expected to bow, and in whose honor all are expected to dance.