What does Liberalism value? (Reviewing Kemi Badenoch's ARC speech)

ARC 2025__Enter...__Part 6

COMMENT COLLECTION

We are still in safe territory with a single comment per post, which makes this delightfully easy for me. Marcie’s comment comes from Part 5 of this ARC miniseries.

My mother, Marcie, has always been out ahead of me. I continue to find her ash-strewn campfires after wide rivers I swore she never crossed. She is full of wisdom and grace and I cannot imagine life without her, though a day will come where I will have to.

And today is another day to start and stay consistent, whether it be eating food that heals you or writing posts that expose you. Whatever you are on the verge of getting up to that is good or beautiful or truthful or unifying: start and stay consistent.

Thank you Mother.

INTRO

“The explicit understanding of the centrality of that principle [the principle of voluntary self-sacrifice] in my estimation, allows for the intelligent union of the traditional Western Conservative with the traditional Western Classic Liberal.”

Jordan Peterson, ARC 2025

So today we will be covering Kemi Badenoch’s speech at ARC 2025. Kemi is a politician and I do not know enough about British politics to say anything more. Here is her bio from the YouTube description: “The Rt Hon Kemi Badenoch MP is the Leader of the British Conservative & Unionist Party and Leader of HM Opposition. She has served as the Member of Parliament for North West Essex, previously Saffron Walden, since 2017.”

The various marketing titles for this video:

1. "The problem isn't liberalism, the problem is weakness"

2. “BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR”

And the full YouTube description:

"Western civilisation is in crisis—this is not a crisis of values, it’s a crisis of confidence that has set in at the exact same time that we face existential threats." In her bracing speech, Kemi Badenoch called us to remember the worth of what we're defending in the West - a culture built on the values of classic liberalism. As she put it "a country cannot be successful if it’s people and it’s intellectual elites don’t believe in it." - her call is for us to renew our confidence in the society we have built.

So we have something like a call from a politician to people from across the globe to re-strengthen their confidence in a specific vision of the West that I can only assume aligns with the political party that Kemi represents.

And here are the sections of the talk which come from YouTube:

1. Crisis of Western civilization

2. Self-doubt and decline

3. Weakness, not liberal values, as the issue

4. Failures of strongman politics

5. Exploitation of liberalism’s loopholes

6. Weakness emboldens totalitarian states

7. Katherine Birbal Singh’s defense of values

8. Crisis in leadership and immigration

9. The importance of free speech and pride

10. The need for a new conservative movement

The word “crisis” is jumping out at me from the marketing materials. So let’s jump in:

The transcript below is my own as are any mistakes; Kemi’s speech is in quotes and in bold. Kemi is a strong speaker, full of confidence and certainty.

Crisis of Western civilization

“Western civilization is in crisis. Our ideas and our culture have dominated the world for well over two centuries. This is not a crisis of values. It’s a crisis of confidence that has set in at exactly the same time that we face existential threats.

On the left, this self-doubt manifests as an embarassment of the West’s legacy and in extremists: a hatred of Western history and even its culture.”

Apparently, it’s not possible to link the lacking confidence to the values. So from the outset, the values are cemented as right and the lessening confidence is painted as wrong. Kemi has set the stage for us.

Self-doubt and decline

“But what about the right? We know that the West has given the world amazing ideas and values: from democracy and free markets to our banking systems.

Yet around us, we see so much cultural and economic decline… we doubt ourselves. We doubt our ability to build like our predecessors did. We doubt liberal values of tolerance or free trade, demanding a post-liberal world.

It’s not liberal values that are the problem, it’s weakness.

Last week, two surveys were released that should alarm everyone in this room. Almost half of young Brits think their country is racist. Nearly 60% of them are not proud to be British. Nearly 40% of the fighting age population wouldn’t fight for our country under any circumstances. More than half of those aged between 13 and 27 said the UK would be a better place if a strong leader was in charge, who does not have to bother with parliament and elections… a dictator.”

It is incredibly strange that she admits there is cultural and economic decline, only to immediately sweep it under the rug with fear and terror.

And again, it is definitely not anything to do with liberal values. In fact, if you lack confidence then you are weak. And nobody wants to be weak, therefore, you can be strong like Kemi if you embrace liberal values.

I agree with her that the surveys she’s referencing should set off alarm bells. As a country, you need the youth to continue the project of the old in order for the country to remain the same. The youth are not interested in maintaining the project of the old, which means the country will change.

Weakness, not liberal values, as the issue

“We shouldn’t be surprised. Young people see a parliament obsessed with trivia, presiding over stagnation, despite making more and more laws, a parliament with only a few defending our values and many more too scared to challenge those who attack what we believe in.

I would say to those young people, ‘I understand your anger, but be careful what you wish for.’”

And here we have the classic, “Shut up kid! I don’t want to hear what you are seeing. Just do what I say. You don’t understand the world like I do, so stop complaining.”

Kemi’s not wrong to offer a warning. There are alarm bells ringing, but what kind of fool tries to silence the ones ringing the bells? That’s kind of an easy answer actually: the kind of fool who has power and is unwilling to share.

It is my claim that the youth are concerned with problems of value. I have no evidence for this claim. And it wouldn’t matter if I did because Kemi has already stated plainly that she will not consider any liberal value to be part of the problem.

“I was born in London, but grew up in a country with a military dictatorship and strong leaders, who did away with pesky liberal values like democracy because people voted in bad politicians. They stopped free speech because some used it to offend.

In the 1960s, many former British colonies in Africa decided to move on from British values. A lot of people preferred strongman politics and ethnic nationalism to democracy and pluralism. But when they got it, they didn’t like it.”

So Kemi’s claim is democracy and pluralism are better for all, even non-Western countries, and this is in direct opposition to strongman politics and ethnic nationalism.

I’ve been hearing the word pluralism quite a bit as of late and to be honest… I’m not sure what to do with it. I went to Grok seeking a definition and this is what I got:

“Pluralism is the recognition and acceptance of diversity within a society, system, or framework, where multiple perspectives, beliefs, values, cultures, or groups coexist and are valued without requiring assimilation into a single dominant norm. It emphasizes mutual respect, tolerance, and the legitimacy of differences, often fostering dialogue and cooperation among varied entities…

Pluralism contrasts with monism (a singular dominant framework) and relativism (where all perspectives are equally valid without critical engagement). It requires active engagement with differences, balancing unity and diversity while navigating tensions through dialogue and mutual respect.”

Pluralism predates Liberalism and can be seen in the Roman Empire as well as in medieval Islamic Spain. However, Liberalism pushes Pluralism to the forefront, making it an easy option. One more tidbit from Grok on the relationship between Liberalism and Pluralism:

“In modern Western contexts, pluralism is often seen as a practical outcome of liberal policies, like freedom of religion or speech, which enable diverse groups to thrive. However, pluralism goes further by actively valuing diversity, not just tolerating it, which can challenge liberal frameworks when they prioritize individual rights over collective identities.”

I think that last sentence highlights a major tension. I also think the youth are opting out of individualism, even if they can’t articulate it yet. I do not think the notion of the individual will stand the test of time. I even think The Meaning Crisis is in part a direct result of expecting a single human being to be capable of navigating Reality on their own. You and I can’t even digest a single meal without the help of foreign bacteria residing in our guts. And that’s before we even begin discussing what it means for a human being to have a relationship with spiritual beings.

Failures of strongman politics

“Strongmen had lots of words, but no plan. They ran everything and delivered nothing. They flogged teachers, shot journalists, people disappeared, dead bodies were found on the streets.

Without the ability to speak freely or trade freely, the government controlled everything and wealth became hard to create and easy to destroy.

So let’s remember what we are defending here. Not just our wealth, but our culture.”

OK, so I think this is key here. Kemi’s natural assumption is that we are defending our wealth. Whose wealth? I don’t have wealth worth defending. But I bet Kemi does. And I bet her wealth is directly attached to her political power, which means if the youth grow weary of her political positions which are based on human beings supporting her political values, then her wealth is threatened.

And that begs the question, “Who is she talking to?” She is clearly not aiming her speech at the youth. She is mentioning the youth and their lack of belief, but she’s not trying to convince them. I think she’s talking to the people who have wealth and who might be afraid of losing it. And I think she’s telling them that her political party will take care of them and their wealth while couching all this in language about crises and saving the West. It’s good politics, I’ll give ‘er ‘at; she didn’t get where she is without skill, I’ll tell ya ‘at.

“A culture built on those values we’ve taken for granted. Classic liberal values, not left wing liberalism, but classic liberalism: of free markets, free speech, free enterprise, freedom of religion, the presumption of innocence, the rule of law and equality under it—no matter who you are or where you come from.

(applause break)

As the world becomes more complicated, we need to bravely fight for these values now. Instead, we are distracted: too busy critiquing and deconstructing what previous generations built, rather than making sure that the very best of our inheritance is left in tact for the next generation.

This is the real poison of left wing progressivism. Whether it’s pronouns or DEI or climate activism, these issues aren’t about kindness, they are about control. We have limited time and every second spent debating what a woman is, is a second lost from dealing with these challenges.

(applause break)”

So we have a clear, broad attack on Postmodernism and she’s urging those listening to not waste time with any Postmodern critique of Modernism. Apparently, time is limited and Kemi needs help shoring up Modernism and Liberalism before wealth is lost by foolish youth pursuing post-liberal ideas. At least that’s what I’m hearing. But I’m just one set of ears, so what do you hear? The comments are down below; shout out.

Exploitation of liberalism’s loopholes

“In order to fix things, we need to know what went wrong. I believe that loopholes in liberalism have been found and easily exploited. We have been hacked.

Rule of law is what built so much of the West. It is in the corruption of the rule of law itself that we see where the problems begin.”

If a loophole was so easy to find and so easy to exploit, then maybe you weren’t hacked? Maybe your system could be better? Sorry, I forgot that we’re not able to discuss values because there is no way that liberal values are part of the cultural or economic decline that the youth are ringing alarm bells about by telling a surveyist how they honestly feel.

I’m sure Kemi will clearly lay out where the decline is actually coming from. She sure sounds sure, so she must have a plan.

“The most extraordinary example is how the European Convention on Human Rights, designed to stop the persecution of individuals by the state is now weaponized by those who wish to erode our national identity and border security.

The current system is being exploited. The public are enraged at the perception that the UK has become a haven for foreign criminals. One case involved a man who was allowed to stay; it was claimed that his son disliked foreign chicken nuggets. In another, a drug dealer reportedly avoids deportation because of his daughter’s gender identity issues.”

So this is kinda weird. She talks about ‘the perception’ and uses the words ‘claimed’ and ‘reportedly’ when talking about the most extraordinary example of a bad thing. Is that all she’s got? Perceptions, claims and reports? Do we not have facts? Did the drug dealer avoid the deportation or not? Why is the public enraged at a perception and not at Reality? What is Real here?

“But we were members of this convention for half a century without this madness. What’s changed? It’s not the values; it’s the people. They are afraid of creating any kind of conflict; they use the most novel and expansive interpretations of human rights law to avoid it.

And we see that lack of confidence now in everything from law and order to national defense. The fear of sticking up for young girls being abused by rape gangs over so many decades so as not to upset community relations.

(applause break)

Totalitarian states, like Russia, Iran and North Korea, are coordinated in their efforts. Failing to spend more on defense is not peacemaking, it is weakness and it only emboldens their threats to democracy and global stability.”

We’ve got some serious FEAR entering the speech. The perception of a haven for foreign criminals. Rape gangs. The coordinated efforts of Russia, Iran and North Korea. And I’m to believe a lack of confidence in liberal values ties all this together?

Again, Kemi does not want you to question liberal values, but she’s more than open to you questioning “the people,” whoever “they” are. “The people” have changed, not “the values.” OK, whatever. That’s where I’m at currently. Whatever you say lady; none of this is authentic; everything is to be used for political gain.

Weakness emboldens totalitarian states

“So how do we defend? Conservatives are the guardians of Western Civilization. We do need to defend what we have, but many have forgotten how to do so. It requires bravery and not endless compliance at the threat of legal challenge.”

Real quick! We now see the fusion of Classic Liberalism and Conservatism, that Jordan Peterson referenced above, in her speech. Pay attention and don’t fall for the marketing or fear-mongering and that extends to the cart I’m dragging behind me as I head into the market.

“So I’m going to give you a brilliant example of a woman who has done this. She is known as Britian’s strictest headmistress and runs the Michaela School, the best school in our country. Her name is Katharine Birbalsingh.

(applause break)

The Michaela School is secular, however, religious tolerance was being exploited to harass and bully others. This led to segregation and tensions, with some students beginning to pray in the playground, violating school rules, pressuring their peers to follow religious practices they hadn’t before: like wearing a head scarf or stopping choir practice.

In response, Katharine banned those prayer rituals to restore order and refused to provide a dedicated prayer space, aiming to maintain the school’s secular environment and treat all pupils equally. The response was an orchestrated attempt to destroy her reputation and her school.

She was sued by one child’s parents. The BBC ran a headline saying the school made being Muslim seem toxic. Most politicians are afraid of that sort of headline for fear of being labeled islamophobic. Most teachers would have relented the minute they were challenged. Katharine Birbalsingh took her case all the way to the high courts and she won.

(applause break)”

And this is where things get interesting. Weakness is the problem, but don’t be a strongman. Fight for freedom of religion, but don’t let kids pray on the playground. I don’t know the whole story behind this, so I don’t know how accurately Kemi is relaying it.

However, as of this morning, I finished Daniel 10 and have two chapters to go. There’s a fascinating story in the middle of Daniel where a ruler bans prayer and Daniel continues to pray and faces the consequence for his continued prayer rituals—the consequence was getting tossed into a den of hungry journalists…AHEM,EXCUSEME…lions.

To be clear, I think a school can set policies and enforce them however they like. But I am curious if Kemi would be using this example if Christians were the ones being told not to pray.

And more than that, when did being secular become the highest value of Liberalism? I’ll admit, this is not something that I’ve thought about before. What comes to mind first is that we are playing pretend as if the pretension is what is most real. Perhaps the youth are sick of Liberalism’s pretend games. Perhaps the youth want greater access to Reality and are willing to suffer for it. This is indeed a dangerous game, but the dice are being rolled whether you hear them clinking or not.

Katherine Birbal Singh’s defense of values

“Katharine showed how you defend Western Civilization. Contrast this courage with Keir Starmer, the prime minister, who took the knee during Black Lives Matter protests in response to a problem that was not in his country and did not apply. Why? Because he was cowed by the mob.

The problem isn’t liberalism; the problem is weakness.

(applause break)

Millions of people all around the world want to live in the West because they want the benefits. However, some of them bring behaviors, cultures, and practices that will undermine the West and the values that helped make us great. They find common cause with our useful idiots who don’t appreciate their own inheritance.”

So the West doesn’t have a place for Progressives and Muslims? And strongman politics is bad, so therefore Kemi can’t be a strongman and is just being courageous?

And again, defending Western Civilization is equated with upholding Secularism by fusing Classic Liberalism with Conservatism.

My gut is screaming, “Deism! Deism! Deism!” I’ve long thought Deism was central to the founding of America and central to what I see as the declining sphere of influence / relevance of the Church in America. I’m exploring that in another series here on Substack, but I’m starting to view ARC’s project as a rebirth of Deism, or maybe as a refusing of the underlying threads that make Deism powerful.

Crisis in leadership and immigration

“The conservative party in Britain has just lost an election. We have a crisis, just like the West.”

And here’s the quiet part out loud. The real crisis is that Kemi’s party is losing and this is the same crisis the West is facing, which means the West she’s talking about is her global allies.

“People ask me, “What difference new leaderhsip will make?” Well take a look at President Trump. He’s shown that sometimes you need that first stint/extent(?) in government to spot the problems, but it’s the second time around when you really know how to fix them.

(applause break)

And it starts by telling the truth. A country cannot be sucessful if its people and its intellectual elite don’t believe in it. This means dealing with the poisoning of minds that is happening in higher education.”

This whole poisoning of minds thing is interesting, although I doubt she’d argue against ideology. I imagine she sees her ideology as good and posion-less, so that’s what should be taught.

It is interesting to wonder why Postmodernism has been attractive to the youth. Why does that collection of stories seem to resonate so deeply and call so many to action? Perhaps its related to Secularism…DAMMIT,IDIDITAGAIN…I forgot that Liberal values are not the problem; the people are the problem.

“We have been naive on economic growth. We have been naive on issues from net zero to immigration, weakening ourselves and strengthening our competitors. Immigration is far too high, we cannot support all those who wish to come to our country. We have no obligation to do so. The British people must come first.

(applause break)”

I could have sworn that just a few minutes ago she said ethnic nationalism was bad and that pluralism was good. Lucky for her the crowd is cheering and doesn’t seem to notice the contradiction. It’s gotta be nice to be speaking from stage where no one is actually reading what you’re saying; everybody’s just going off vibes!

“We cannot keep racking up debt for our children. It was fiscal weakness, not just war, that led to the decline of the Roman Empire. We need smaller government and smarter spending. The belief that the state and not business creates wealth has become normalized. The world owes no one a living. Millions of people cannot just sit on welfare and expect to be paid to do so and if they don’t like it, that’s their problem, not the state’s.

(applause break)

Our country is not racist. We don’t need to apologize. We don’t need to pay reparations or give away the ‘Chekhov’s’(?) silence.

(applause break)

Free speech matters. Some cultures are better than others and it’s only contentious to say this because honesty has become impossible. People should not be afraid to speak out. We will be proud of our country. Most of all, we need to get up off our knees and start fighting, not just for the UK, but for the West and our values again.”

Some cultures are better than others…

Is this why they keep saying Classic Liberalism as opposed to Left-wing Liberalism? So you want a global movement to support your politics, but you don’t want the full force of multiculturalism.

I think I get it. ARC is actively looking for a story, (while simultaneously trying out different story combinations to see what resonates; I bet that they’ll look at the YouTube analytics / demographics and dial up what works next time around), that will unite people in order to advance their politics. Jordan Peterson thinks he’s found it in his Deist abstraction and Jungian pscyhologizing of the Hebrew Scriptures and Greek New Testament. Kemi doesn’t care what story she’s pushing as long as she and her frallies (friends + allies) are the ones pushing it, which keeps their wealth secure. And the youth are mucking it all up by thinking new things.

How am I doing so far?

Also, who’s the “we” that’s on their knees? What exactly are they doing kneeling? Keir Starmer is the “them” and not the “us” and it was bad when he was on his knees. Are these knees the same as Keir-knees or should I be worrying about the Chi-nese? I gotta stop now, otherwise I never will.

The importance of free speech and pride

“We will have to decide between the true but hard way that needs tough decisions and bravery. Or whether we have more slogans and announcements, but no plan.

Don’t listen to the media class complain about populism. The very essence of democracy is acknowledging the will of everyday people and then actually making it happen.

(applause break)

Populism becomes corrosive if it is just words without thought, rage without reason, anger without the ability to action. For those of us who seek leadership, we must do better. And that is why in the United Kingdom, my party is starting the largest renewal of policy and ideas in a generation. This conference is part of finding those answers and it fills me with hope.”

ARC is part of finding the answers to Kemi’s political party’s quest for renewal?

And we have yet another ‘ism’ to throw into the mix: populism. So ARC will use populism as a political strategy, much like the MAGA movement?

Speaking of no plan, I’m still waiting for Kemi to help me understand why the West is in decline. All I’ve got so far is to blame the Progressives and Muslims and not to question Liberal values. You really think the youth will buy this shit? Or maybe they’re just trying to sell books to old people? Evangelicalism did a good job at that. I used to save all my buckaroos, so I could buy the majority of books from the Global Leadership Summit at Willow Creek every year. This is kinda like that, but way more aimless. A couple more years and their analytics department will fuse with AI and give them the perfect narrative to sell books and fund movements.

The need for a new conservative movement

“If we get this right, we stand at the dawn of a new conservative century with so much opportunity and possibility. If we throw this opportunity away because of anger or self-doubt or weakness, our country and all of Western Civilization will be lost.

And that is why we, the next generation of conservatives, must lead the world back from the precipice. It is time to speak the truth. Thank you.”

Ohhhh shit. A new conservative century? That is a long time. Is this ARC’s master plan? How am I to understand the speakers on the stage? Do they represent ARC? Kemi says this ARC conference in 2025 is part of what her party is up to and I think it’s fair to treat that sentence as truthful.

100 years of this eh? As they say, all aboard the ARC…

Outro

Talk about ending with a bang: all of Western civilizaion will be lost if you don’t do what I want.

From Kemi’s point of view, I suppose I am in direct opposition to her notion of Western Civilization because I am certainly interested in—not only Postmodernism—but also what comes after—which is what comes next—and I grow evermore certain that there is a next coming in my lifetime and many more nexts after that.

Up next on the miniseries: Sophie Winkleman and “The Most Compelling Argument Against Tech In Schools” which I am greatly looking forward to. I expect that this will be an issue that I’d be happy to partner with ARC on. (As if me partnering matters or is a real thing lolol. Is there inherently more narcissism in writing or speeching?)

Ta ta for now!