Roger Scruton on the crisis of identity and the nation state

Recorded at the Acton Institute's "The Crisis of Liberty in the West" conference in London, England on December 1, 2016.
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The West today is in a state of crisis. Facing immense domestic economic and political problems, North America, Europe, and other Western nations are also struggling to address existential threats from without. But above all, the West appears to be suffering from a crisis of self-belief: one which touches centrally upon its attachment to the tradition of ordered liberty in politics, freedom in the economy, strong civil societies, and, perhaps above all, the unique synthesis of faith and reason that is at the root of Western civilization.

[@cowabungadude7408]

May we learn from him and may his teachings never be forgotten.

[@evolassunglasses4673]

"We in Britain are entering a dangerous social condition in which the direct expression of opinions that conflict or merely seem to conflict with a narrow set of orthodoxies is instantly punished by a band of self-appointed vigilantes." Roger Scruton. Farewell dear English man, farewell. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

[@sweetcara14]

RIP Sir Scruton. You will be sorely missed.

[@rodrigoparedes7764]

May he rest in peace. You will be greatly missed.

[@evolassunglasses4673]

Please read his work. Rest in Peace Great man. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

[@johnjon1823]

God rest his soul, a great loss at a critical time for all.

[@honkeyness9427]

Intellectuals must begin to fight - Roger spoke and wrote but he never showed anger. Anger is what is needed and our leaders must set the example.

[@grayarcana]

Never, in the long course of human sexuality Have so many genders Owed so much engendering To so few progressive activists

[@grayarcana]

Sr. Luis Raytrace III I did. Some time ago. Upon reflection, what fascist regimes have in common with communist regimes is a disposition to marginalise and suppress all serious dissent, even unto the death of dissenters, but internment and even ridicule may do. They pursue this to the limits beyond which they are suppressing the dissenting discourse of loyal cadres, and others heavily invested in the success of the regimes. This not infrequently leads to the failure of such regimes. The Western polities have, for some decades now, gone down this road. Ridicule and media marginalisation have been their weapons, and have proved far more effective than any legal sanction could have been. The disparate, radical Right have been their principal targets, particularly as the new social media wars have come about. This has included traditional conservatives and traditional religious conservatives, whose views may not have much changed, but who are now at a very considerable departure from the Neo-liberal, progressive-social orthodoxy of the political ascendancy. There is little in the way of any real political consolidation on the real, radical Right, but there are deep, turbulent undercurrents flowing, animated by the conviction that their cultural patrimony and commonwealth are being dissipated, and many among them entertain genocidal apprehensions, and some few harbour genocidal aspirations. The radical Left was not regarded as a danger in the UK until Jeremy emerged with some Momentum, whereupon the big guns were turned round, with some difficulty, but with enough public and media credibility to win the battle. Prior to Jeremy, the Left were marginalised by patronisation, and media indulgence where they were just gently ridiculed. I refer specifically to instances where the mainstream media have entertained members of Novara Media, an excellent Left wing news agency, by the way. If fascism comes to the UK, it is unlikely to come from the real, radical Right. It is likely to come from the Liberal ascendancy in crisis, through emergency measures and the weaponising of ‘patriotism’ against the radical Left and the radical Right. In such circumstances, we may well see mass internment of activists, perhaps even down to those, like us, whose comments may betray a certain lack of faith in the integrity of our noble philosopher rulers.

[@KirurUwU]

He should have brought up his problems with Islam in his conversations with Hamza Yusuf. Then he could have had a fruitful discussion about the topic that could bring his criticism across to the community he is talking about and he might have got a critical response he could have been critical towards again. Unfortunately, it all went into echo chambers where groups suffer from confirmation bias and prefer to listen to slogans.