Shikha Dalmia on ISIS's Existential Threat to Liberalism

One of the
things that has contributed to the freak out against ISIS is that
it is attracting recruits from the West. Many commentators worry
that these Westerners are a product of liberalism’s spiritual
weakness—its inability to provide a “transcendental” purpose, a
cause to die for. And if ISIS is not defeated decisively, they
fear, liberalism will only look weaker, producing a loss of
confidence and an existential crisis in the liberal West.

But if anything bespeaks a loss of confidence, it is what counts
as an “existential crisis” now, notes Reason Foundation senior
analyst Shikha Dalmia.

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