“Why Liberalism Failed” is the title of a bestseller published in 2018 by Patrick J. Deneen, an American political scientist. It is a book that would have been unthinkable 30 years ago. Back then, liberalism seemed to be the only possible future: the Iron Curtain had fallen and free democracies were on the rise. How quickly times can change.
Just three decades later, Moscow is now exercising military pressure again on the West and the principles of the Enlightenment are being challenged around the globe. The liberal model of society, still considered superior to other models in the 1990s, seems to have lost its appeal. What has happened?
Let’s begin with the most important and often forgotten fact: liberalism is a success story. Some three hundred years ago, the European philosophers of the Enlightenment liberated the individual from religious and secular constraints. The resulting free societies still hold great appeal. And they have developed an enormous power for innovation: life expectancy increased, material deprivation has become less common.
However, liberalism’s promise of progress is increasingly being called into question. Doubts are particularly high among young people. According to the latest edition of the Credit Suisse Youth Barometer, less than a fifth of young people are confident about the future of society. Anyone who is concerned about the continued existence of free societies takes such concerns seriously.

Liberalism made groundbreaking technological innovations possible. Its ideological foundations provide a strong foundation that must be preserved. (Adobe Stock)
A policy geared towards creating prosperity makes sense. But it is not enough. And more often than one would like, such a policy turns into the protection of vested interests, which is a disservice to liberalism. Liberals are therefore well advised to cultivate the ideological foundations of liberalism, which is no easy task.
Around half a century ago, the German constitutional law expert Ernst-Wolfgang Böckenförde stated that the liberal state depends on conditions that it cannot guarantee itself. A free society is therefore dependent on a certain public spirit among its individuals. Liberalism is not simply the political ideology of materialism or hedonism. Rather, a liberal society only works if everyone constantly looks beyond the end of their nose and sees themselves as part of something bigger.
The crux of the matter is that this sense of community cannot be ensured by the state, as this would undermine individual freedom and thus the liberal society itself. Despite this, certain liberals are also increasingly relying on state initiatives. This is usually counterproductive. Contrary to the spirit of the times, more government does not mean more public spirit, and all too often such measures turn into a policy of preserving vested interests for a selection of players – probably one of the main reasons why the chainsaw metaphor of Argentinian President Javier Milei is so popular.
Of course, Switzerland is nothing like Argentina. There is a long tradition of community mindset within a liberal spirit, also known as the principle of subsidiarity which is deeply rooted and refers to the idea of tackling problems at a personal or local level wherever possible. And yet the spirit of the times has also left its mark on our country. Too many private actors are now claiming public funds for themselves. Examples range from subsidized tourism businesses to middle-class representatives living in state-subsidized apartments.
Such privileges for a selection of players are not always significant on an individual basis. However, all in all, they are doubly damaging to the liberal cause. Firstly, they distort incentives and thus reduce the creation of wealth. Secondly, they gradually destroy community spirit. Of course, we must help the poorest. But when large circles cast envious glances at taxpayers’ money and receive it, they are undermining the functioning of a free society.
Deneen’s thesis is still just a snappy book title (for now); liberalism has not failed. But anyone who reads the signs of the times is right to worry about its future. We must not lose sight of liberal ideas, in addition to the material aspects. Progress and prosperity are not the only key issues. It is also important to cultivate the community mindset that arises from individual will. For one thing is clear: however desirable a liberal society may be, it is anything but a piece of cake.
This article was published in German in the «NZZ am Sonntag» on December 28, 2024.