Net Assessment: Can Conservatism Save the Liberal Order? And What Are We Conserving?

What is the best way to preserve the liberal international order (such as it is) going forward? Some counsel conservatism. Jennifer Lind and William Wohlforth argue that “the United States and its partners should consolidate the gains the order has reaped,” back away from democracy promotion, and resist the urge to add new members to existing alliances, especially those countries that bring more liabilities than capabilities. Are they right? Must the United States practice more discernment (Bryan’s word) or restraint (Chris’s), or does the order still depend upon American military primacy? Would it collapse or atrophy if the United States were less likely to employ force in the service of certain desirable, but non-essential, ends? Or would democracy and human rights flourish if promoted chiefly by the power of America’s example, and carried forward by non-governmental organizations, as opposed to entities of the U.S. government? Also, Chris remembers Rep. Walter Jones, Melanie praises California Gov. Gavin Newsom, and, in a first, Germany earns both a grievance and (minor) attaboy in the same show.

Links

• Jennifer Lind and William C. Wohlforth, “The Future of the Liberal Order Is Conservative: A Strategy to Save the System,” Foreign Affairs, March/April 2019
• Tony Bizjak, Tim Sheehan, and Rory Appleton, “No, Gov. Gavin Newsom Didn’t Kill High-Speed Rail. But What’s His Plan B?,” Sacramento Bee, February 18, 2019
• Adam Brinklow, “San Francisco Delay Mission Housing over Potentially Historic Laundromat,” Curbed SF, February 14, 2019
• Christian Britschgi, “New Kamala Harris Bill Asks Federal Taxpayers to Subsidize California’s High Housing Costs,” Reason, July 20, 2018
• Peter Moore, “Most Americans Still Back the US’s Defense Commitment to Other Members of NATO, Though Doubts Creep in When Asked About Specific Countries,” YouGov, April 01, 2014
• Stephen Calabria, “Americans Conflicted About Which NATO Countires They’d Defend From Russia: Poll,” Huffington Post, April 01, 2014
• Kathryn Krawczyk, “Mick Mulvaney Says, ‘Nobody Cares’ About the Deficit. He Used To. A Lot,” Week, February 06, 2019
• Jonathan Chait, “Mulvaney: Trump Not Mentioning Debt Because ‘Nobody Cares’,” New York Magazine, February 06, 2019
• “Mullen: Debt Is Top National Security Threat,” CNN, August 27, 2010
• Felicia Sonmez, “Walter Jones, ‘Freedom Fries’ Congressman Who Became Iraq War Critic, Dies at 76,” Washington Post, February 10, 2019
• David Gelles, “They’re Rich and They’re Mad About Taxes (Too Low!),” New York Times, February 12, 2019
• Patricia Cohen, “In Amazon Fight, Progressives Showed What They Want: A New Economic Agenda,” New York Times, February 16, 2019
• Katrin Bennhold and Steven Erlanger, “Merkel Rejects That US Demands That Europe Pull Out of the Iran Nuclear Deal,” New York Times, February 16, 2019