Walter Lippmann's Search for a Sustainable Liberalism Eric Schmidt Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, [email protected]
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Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 2016 Walter Lippmann's Search for a Sustainable Liberalism Eric Schmidt Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations Part of the Political Science Commons Recommended Citation Schmidt, Eric, "Walter Lippmann's Search for a Sustainable Liberalism" (2016). LSU Doctoral Dissertations. 1237. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations/1237 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized graduate school editor of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please [email protected]. WALTER LIPPMANN’S SEARCH FOR A SUSTAINABLE LIBERALISM A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy n The Departmenti of Political Science y Eric Schmidt B.A., Hope College,b 2009 M.A., Louisiana State University, 2013 May 2016 Acknowledgments I must first thank my parents, without whom I would not have been in a position to continue my education, much less finish a challenging term in graduate school. Their support has meant everything to me, both when I was a child, first learning to read, and now, having completed the most difficult academic task so far in my life. This dissertation also would not have been possible were it not for the help and guidance of my advisor, Dr. James Stoner, Jr., who provided excellent guidance on form and substance, and whose influence has made me a manifestly better scholar. I must also thank my other theory professors, Dr. Cecil Eubanks, and Dr. Ellis Sandoz. Dr. Eubanks taught my first graduate seminar at LSU, and from the start made evident the seriousness and the joy present in the study of political philosophy, and Dr. Sandoz introduced me to the thought of his teacher, Eric Voegelin, whose influence will perhaps always be present in my thinking and scholarship. Additionally, I want to acknowledge Dr. Jeff Polet, my undergraduate advisor, who first sparked my interest in this field, and my fellow graduate students: Trevor Shelley, for his guidance and friendship early in my graduate career, Sarah Beth Kitch, for supplying me with back-up shirts and astute co-authorship, Drew Thompson for much needed companionship and normal conversations during stressful times, and Freke Ette, for decidedly abnormal conversation no matter the time. I must also thank my brother for showing strength in every aspect of his life and being an inspiration for my own, and my good friend, Forrest Gordon, who after 8+ years of being my roommate, from our undergraduate careers to our graduate careers, has become himself like a brother to me. And, lastly, I wish to thank all of my friends, and extended family, especially my Aunts Lorie and Marcy, for unwavering confidence, and generous gift cards for groceries. I would not be here if it were not for all of these people; I owe them everything. ii Table of Contents Acknowledgments ................................................................................................................................................ ii Abstract .................................................................................................................................................................... iv Introduction – A Hero for Sustainable Liberalism ................................................................................... 1 Chapter One – The Context of Lippmann’s Political Thought: Some Important Features of Liberalism and Progressivism....................................................................................................................... 11 Chapter Two - A Preface to Politics: Reason and Nuanced Progressive Idealism .................... 29 Chapter Three – Drift, Mastery, and Scientific Organization ............................................................ 54 Chapter Four – Public Opinion and the Tyranny of the Masses: A Democratic Critique ....... 75 Chapter Five – Solving Society: The Disinterested Humanist ......................................................... 111 Chapter Six – Economics, Material Well-Being, and The Good Society ....................................... 128 Chapter Seven – Making Liberalism Sustainable: The Public Philosophy ................................. 151 Conclusion........................................................................................................................................................... 168 Notes ..................................................................................................................................................................... 174 Bibliography: ..................................................................................................................................................... 175 Vita ......................................................................................................................................................................... 179 iii Abstract Walter Lippmann’s intellectual journey represents the journey of American liberalism in the 20th century: an attempted return from infatuation with the progressive ideals of inevitable historical development and scientific progress to the stability of human rights and freedom. America’s path to defining its brand of liberalism finds expression in the philosophical works of Lippmann, who was at the center of this struggle. Lippmann was a defender of the liberal democratic state whose value as a thinker derives from his attempt to understand the problem of political freedom (are people competent to self-rule in a mass democracy?) throughout this critical time period. In this struggle Lippmann remains a nuanced, though fierce exponent of political freedom as he sought to verify the foundations of political legitimacy and authority on which true political freedom depends. He began his quest as a progressive, averring scientific realism against entrenched dogmas and traditions, but, by remaining consistent on this question of political freedom (insofar as he sought to preserve and expand it), was led to conclude his quest arguing for a sustainable liberalism characterized by an attentiveness to the human person. iv Introduction – A Hero for Sustainable Liberalism Of all the towering figures in 20th century American political life, few were as versatile and insightful as Walter Lippmann. His intellectual and personal history traced, better than any other single man, the character of America in the 20th century: he began his career in all the hope and optimism of an unchallenged progressivism, and ended it amidst the Vietnam conflict, despair, and disillusionment. Neither academician nor politician, Lippmann is best known for his career as a journalist. His column, “Today and Tomorrow”, ran in all major newspapers in the United States for almost 40 years, regularly commanding the attention of millions of the most politically engaged people in America.12 Yet, despite Lippmann’s fame as a journalist, this is at best only half the story of his career. Beginning with A Preface to Politics in 1913, and culminating with Essays in the Public Philosophy in 1955, Lippmann also authored many significant works of political philosophy. His proximity to events in the political arena, and his access to the public mind through his columns ascribe an unique character and importance to these works of political philosophy as a valuable resource to understanding the American mind, and with it the tumultuous development of liberalism in 20th century America. Lippmann’s intellectual journey represents the journey of American liberalism in the 20th century: an attempted return from infatuation with the progressive ideals of inevitable historical development and scientific progress to the stability of human rights 1 Ronald Steel, Walter Lippmann and the American Century (Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1980) xvii 2 As an additional prefatory note, it must be said that the most outstanding of all works concerning Lippmann is Ronald Steel’s biography, Walter Lippmann and the American Century. Steel places Lippmann in the context of 20th century politics and culture, writing about Lippmann’s personal life as well as his place in the public sphere. It is an exceptional biography, and an indispensable reference for any scholar interested in Lippmann. I have used it extensively to understand the biographical curiosities of Lippmann’s life and times. All quotations hereafter in the format of, Steel, pg. x. 1 and freedom. America’s path to defining its brand of liberalism finds expression in the philosophical works of Lippmann, who was at the center of this struggle. Lippmann was a defender of the liberal democratic state whose value as a thinker derives from his attempt to understand the problem of political freedom (are people competent to self-rule in a mass democracy?) throughout this critical time period. In this struggle Lippmann remains a nuanced, though fierce exponent of political freedom as he sought to verify the foundations of political legitimacy and authority on which true political freedom depends. He began his quest as a progressive, averring scientific realism against entrenched