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The spirit of liberty depends on the spirit of religion.
Dan Klein says classical liberalism is a quasi-religion. First, classical liberalism preaches against making certain things sacred—for example, big government. It does preach to people about what they identify with and draw enduring meaning from; it is not neutral about the higher-things space. Second, Klein says that proper ethics are patterned after benevolent monotheism; he says that one should affirm the spirit of religion, even if one does not consider herself a theist. Classical liberalism will fare better once its votaries understand that it is a quasi-religion.
Daniel Klein is a professor of economics and the JIN Chair at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, where he leads a program in Adam Smith. He is the author of Smithian Morals and Central Notions of Smithian Liberalism and chief editor of Econ Journal Watch.
Jonathan Fortier is the director of Libertarianism.org. Over the past twenty-five years, he has worked to promote the principles of a free society with many organizations, including Liberty Fund, the Institute for Humane Studies, and the Fraser Institute. He earned his MPhil and his doctorate at the University of Oxford.