POLITICAL SCIENCE

Can We Live with Liberalism? An Investigation into the Sustainability of the Dominant Approach (O)

Presenter: Merry Ashlyn Gatewood

Faculty Project Advisor: Hunter Baker

Classical liberalism has failed America. “Liberalism” is used here to refer to the political ideology which advocates the free market, limited government, and the protection of individual and political freedom. This paper seeks first to explain the long-term effects of liberal ideology in America and outline some of the failings of classical liberalism, specifically the gradual breakdown of faith, plural society, and community. Second, this thesis seeks to address liberalism’s nexus with capitalism and its accompanying ill effects, including in greater detail one specific case study, the recent phenomenon of “surveillance capitalism.” This paper hypothesizes that surveillance capitalism has thrived in America because of “free market” dogmatism, social atomization, and the unbalanced nature of the private, public, and plural sectors in America. Last, a set of solutions is proposed. n