Illiberalism

For the usage of the term in a political sense, see Illiberal democracy.

Historically, the adjective illiberal has been mostly applied to personal attitudes, behaviors and practices “unworthy of a free man”, such as lack of generosity, lack of sophisticated culture, intolerance, narrow-mindedness, meanness.^[1] Lord Chesterfield, for example, wrote that “Whenever you write Latin, remember that every word or phrase which you make use of, but cannot find in Caesar, Cicero, Livy, Horace, Virgil; and Ovid, is bad, illiberal Latin”^[2]

Contemporary usage indicates an opposition to liberalism or liberal democracy. Fritz Stern, a historian of Germany, understood by illiberalism anti-democratic mentality and anti-democratic practices such as suffrage restrictions.^[3]

Marlene Laruelle defines illiberalism as a backlash against today’s liberalism. According to her, illiberalism is “majoritarian, nation-centric or sovereigntist, favouring traditional hierarchies and cultural homogeneity”, calling for “a shift from politics to culture and is post-post-modern in its claims of rootedness in an age of globalization”.^[4]

Zsolt Enyedi defines illiberalism as opposition to the main principles of liberal democracy: limited government, open society and state neutrality. He distinguishes between authoritarian, populist, traditionalist, religious, paternalist, libertarian, nativist-nationalist, materialist and left-wing varieties.^[5]

See also

• Illiberal democracy