https://philpapers.org/archive/ANOILS.pdf
Abstract: Liberal political institutions have been an enormous boon for humanity. The free market aspect of liberalism has led to an explosion of innovation, ranging from new kinds of technology and novel forms of entertainment to advances in science and medicine. And the emphasis on individual rights at the core of liberalism has increased our ability to explore new ways of living and to construct an identity of our own choosing. But liberal political institutions around the world are facing two crises: low fertility and declining social trust. In particular, liberalism’s focus on individual liberty rather than group cohesion can increase economic productivity by encouraging the free movement of people and capital, but this movement is associated with declines in social cohesion and fertility. While causation cannot be inferred from correlation, there are reasons to think liberalism tends to cause these problems and is ill-suited to solve them. In this essay, we hope to identify some key features of liberal political institutions and outline a set of challenges to the longterm evolutionary stability of liberalism. In other words, we raise the question: can liberalism last?
