Liberal Horizons Revisited - Progressivism's Failed Predictions
Source: nationalreview.com
- Ross Douthat revisits his 2016 predictions about liberalism's future amid today's political shifts.
- Key misses include overestimating Hillary Clinton's win and underplaying Trump's staying power.
- Liberalism faces a crisis as its optimistic visions clash with populist realities.
Ross Douthat looks back at his 2016 book The Decadent Society, where he outlined three possible futures for liberalism: a technocratic triumph, a woke authoritarian turn, or a return to normalcy. He checks how those scenarios have played out after eight years of Trump, Biden, and cultural battles. The core argument is that liberalism's boldest dreams have faltered, leaving it vulnerable to conservative populism. Readers should care because it questions whether progressive dominance is inevitable