The Partially Examined Life Philosophy Podcast Ep. 374: Discussing Liberalism (Lincoln, et al) with Walter Sterling (Part Two)
Sep 1, 2025
In this engaging discussion, Walter Sterling, president of St. John's College and a scholar of liberal education, dives into the complexities of liberal democracy. He reflects on the critiques of Patrick Deneen, contrasting individual rationality with communal norms. The conversation touches on the challenges of identity politics and the need for robust civic education. Sterling argues that liberal democracy can protect minority cultures while exploring the fragility of judicial independence and the hope for civic renewal through shared virtues.
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Institutions Channel Vices Into Order
- Liberal founders designed political institutions assuming human vice rather than civic virtue.
- Institutions channel selfishness into stable public outcomes through structure, not moral perfection.
Liberalism's Threat To Tradition
- Deneen claims liberalism dissolves tradition, replacing inherited norms with individual rationality.
- Critics worry this creates 'thin' social virtues and weakens communal guides for action.
Don't Blame Liberalism For Everything
- Walter objects to treating 'liberalism' as a single totalizing actor that caused modernity's ills.
- He argues the historical forces (technology, pluralism) are broader and not reducible to one ideology.
