Us vs them: Raghavan Jagannathan on why liberalism is dying

Raghavan Jagannathan reveals his take on ‘why liberalism is dying’ as a part of a lecture series organised by Azim Premji University at the Nimhans Convention Centre

NT Correspondent I Huda Khan

Bengaluru: Raghavan Jagannathan, author and editorial director of Swarajya spoke on why liberalism is dying in a lecture series at the Nimhans Convention Centre.

“Liberalism is a logical extension of a Eurocentric civilization,” said Jagannathan, initiating the lecture by discussing how liberalism is one of the oldest ideologies of the post-Christian world. The ex-editorial head of Business Today and Forbes India said, “There is very clear sense of ‘us and them’ in our liberal thought process, which is deeply rooted in the western civilizational experience.”

“When you emphasise rights, the logical outcome is an ever-growing and ever-powerful state,” he said, explaining how the state can become stronger and more powerful by basing the entire argument of liberalism on individual rights.

Jagannat han a lso discussed fundamental concepts like liberty, equality and fraternity in the context of liberalism, explaining how there is no such thing as equality in nature and that inequality of outcomes is a predetermined concept that is rooted in us since birth.

“These concepts are three parts of a triangle. They can either grow together in increments or one of them will affect the other,” he said. “We should focus on reducing inequality rather than bringing in equality,” he added.

Freedom of speech, the critical race/ caste theory and liberalism in relation to the LGBTQIA+ community were a few other notions that were discussed during his elaborate presentation that questioned the existing rights and duties of a citizen in terms of liberalism.

“Liberalism is dying. It has become an antithesis driven by hubris and an ‘I’m right you’re wrong’ thought process”. This is just one out of the many conclusions that were drawn in his argument. During an elaborate Q&A session towards the end of his lecture he said, “Every proposition contains within it the seeds of destruction and the only solution to this problem is to meet half way and rationally discuss each other’s differences rather than resorting to violence.”