Beyond Western Civilization: Toward the Recentering of Catholic Politics

Abstract

A number of Catholic political movements have developed in recent decades contesting Catholic accommodations with political liberalism since World War II, particularly in the areas of human rights and religious liberty. Some of these thinkers, such as Remi Brague, Pierre Manent, and to some extent Pope Benedict XVI, seek to reconstruct liberal rational discourse around its Catholic roots in pursuit of civilizational defense. Others, such as Patrick Deneen, seek to move past liberalism in favor of a more organically grounded localist (or nationalist) politics. This essays argues that such a turn against liberalism is mistaken and should be opposed by a “liberal post-liberalism” integrating the most important elements of liberalism and the postwar consensus while embracing course corrections in certain areas. Dialogue partners in this effort include Martha Nussbaum, Enrique Dussel, and Pope Francis. Ultimately, the turn Francis has made in Catholic social teaching toward the common good and the earth is far more constructive than the anti-liberal trajectory.|Keywords: Western Civilization, Antiliberalism, political theology, Catholic politics, Postliberalism