Mini-Theory Blog: Practical Realities

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Practice and Ideology

When studying the broad arc of political movements across Pig Empire history, it is important to separate ideology from practice. For example, while Kings may claim to be enacting the will of God on Earth, history reveals most were selfish tyrannical reactionaries to a fault. In that same vein, you will probably not be surprised to learn that the Nazis were not in fact trying to seize power to “restore national honor” and “make the trains run on time.” Curiously however, despite near universal acceptance of this pattern in historical politics, I’ve found most people are utterly incapable of seeing that same contradiction of word and deed in modern “liberalism.”

By “modern” liberalism I mean a centuries-old ruling political ideology that has evolved in numerous ways over its history. Foundationally however, liberalism has always contained its own fatal contradiction between “freedom” and “capital” which has ensured that it is not, and never will be, possible to reconcile the ideology and practice of liberalism. In practice, this leads to the complete subordination of liberal ideas about “freedom” to the liberal embrace of capitalism; a fact pointed out by liberal thinker Alexis de Tocqueville in his celebrated study, “Democracy in America.” Ultimately, whenever liberal ideals clash with capitalist political realities, the ideals go out the window immediately; what was true in 1835 remains true today.

Astoundingly, even defenders of liberalism who are aware of these realities insist that they’re not determinative. They protest that liberalism enshrines a right to life, freedom, and happiness. Yet when your right to life conflicts with the capitalist’s right extract a profit, who wins? How free is someone forced to sell their labor for poverty wages, or starve? What does happiness mean to a labor class living in a free market dystopia? What guarantees that happiness? Does liberalism fulfil its promise of equality before the law, or is there one law for the poor and another for the rich? Does liberalism provide equal democratic rights for all, or does a wealthy donor class control our politics?

Folks, wishes aren’t fishes. You cannot separate the evils of capitalism from the practice of liberalism because liberal ideology is founded on the rights of people with capital; there is nothing more to it. Anyone who told you otherwise, was definitely selling something.