#96 Shawn Whatley: Conservatism vs. Liberalism (and Neoconservatism), Definitions & Differences

Update on the quest to define conservatism! After almost 100 episodes, I see a way to articulate conservatism coming into view. I hope to capture it all into a short book/long essay later this year.

In the meantime, I offer a recap of liberalism and contrast it with conservatism. I also touch on inheritance, myth, and experience as themes within conservatism.

I also tackle a summary of neoconservatism. Neocons remain the main opinion shapers on the non-left in Canada. Their eminence has waned in America, but it remains strong in Canada.

We end with a review of upcoming guests.

Looking forward to hearing what you think!

Thanks again

Shawn

 

Chapters and AI summary:

 

Host Shawn Whatley shares a scheduling update amid a busy summer and looks ahead to the podcast’s 100th episode, then continues his effort to define conservatism by contrasting it with liberalism. He critiques George Grant’s thin definition of liberalism and Grant’s claim about the impossibility of political conservatism, and instead uses Fukuyama/John Gray’s four-part account of liberalism (individualism, egalitarianism, universalism, meliorism) to frame key conservative objections: the involuntary obligations of life (especially family), equality before law alongside excellence, particularism over universal political templates, and prudential skepticism about reform. He adds conservative emphases on inheritance, regional myth/self-understanding, and shared experience. He then outlines three waves of neoconservatism—its origins, post–Cold War central-planning and interventionist tendencies, and a 2016-era “never-Trump” internationalist turn—before previewing upcoming guests Josh Mitchell, Tim Hagstrom, and Elizabeth Corey.

00:00 Big Questions Intro

00:14 Podcast Schedule Update

01:26 Defining Liberalism

04:56 Fukuyama Four Pillars

06:54 Conservative Pushback

10:45 Tradition Myth Place

13:51 Thin vs Thick Politics

14:58 Neoconservatism Origins

17:04 Second Wave Neocons

20:53 Third Wave Never Trump

22:41 Guests and Wrap Up