Perhaps the most valuable parts of the book from a liberal perspective are not the policy prescriptions, as important as those are, but rather the full throated condemnation of Malthusianism, the belief that increasing populations outstripping their resources is the root of poverty and misery. The process is perilous, but Yglesias walks the line successfully, managing not only to make a decisive case for several critical policies but also to confront some malignant beliefs historically present in liberal thought, all while appealing to American national pride. Jonas Rosenthal has argued that these two strands of thought need not necessarily be at odds, but it is impossible to ignore the differences in perspective.Įvaluating Matt Yglesias’s book One Billion Americans, which argues persuasively for liberal policies in the service of a nation-building agenda, requires examining the extent to which these two ideologies can be productively combined. Liberalism and nationalism are thus odd but frequent bedfellows. Despite these inherent tensions, however, any roster of prominent 19 th century liberals will be full of nationalists as well-individuals like Benito Juarez, Friedrich List, John Stuart Mill, and Frederick Douglass combined a dedication to liberal principles with a strong patriotic streak.

This has frequently put it into tension with nationalism, another ideological movement that grew up alongside and gained power at the same time as liberalism, in which the value of the individual derives from being part of a larger whole, the nation. Liberalism assumes an inherent moral value in each person and defends their right to make their own decisions for their own lives. It is difficult to offer a definition or even description of liberalism without referring to some kind of individualism.

Matt yglesias 1 billion