Hermitix The Collapse of Global Liberalism with Philip Pilkington
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Feb 18, 2026 
Philip Pilkington, macroeconomist and author, discusses the decline of global liberalism and its roots in anti-hierarchical thought. He explores how economics became liberalism’s language, the geopolitical shifts accelerating the collapse, demographic and care crises, and policy ideas like family support and trade-bank reforms. Short, provocative takes on civilization, freedom, and near-term risks.
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Liberalism's Origins And Core
- Philip Pilkington traces liberalism to the English Civil War and John Locke's reaction against hierarchical authority.
- He argues liberalism's core is smashing arbitrary hierarchies and promoting homogenized competition as justification.
How Liberals Legitimize Hierarchy
- Pilkington says liberals justify new hierarchies via procedural competition and utilitarian language.
- Capitalism is compatible with liberalism because market competition provides a procedural rationale for authority.
Negative Freedom Versus Natural Law
- Negative freedom for Pilkington is freedom as negation of constraints, rooted in existentialist thought.
- He contrasts that with Christian natural-law freedom, which defines freedom as conformity to a higher moral order.
