Liberalism prompting

So I asked: Compare and contrast the substance of the ideas and the context in which they are presented between Cass Sunstein On Liberalism and Matt Yglessias recent posts on Liberalism on his Substack Slow Boring.

And here are some of excerpted reply.

Both Cass Sunstein and Matt Yglesias present liberalism as a broad, pragmatic framework rooted in core values like freedom, pluralism, and the rule of law, but they emphasize different aspects and respond to distinct critiques. Sunstein’s work, primarily through his 2025 book On Liberalism: In Defense of Freedom and related Substack posts, offers a philosophical and historical defense, portraying liberalism as a “big tent” that unites diverse thinkers from John Stuart Mill and Friedrich Hayek to Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama. He defines it via a “holy trinity” of freedom (e.g., speech, religion, property), pluralism (respect for diverse ethnicities, religions, and ways of life), and the rule of law, extending to human rights, security (freedom from fear, echoing FDR’s Four Freedoms), democracy, and “experiments of living” where individuals pursue varied paths without coercion. Sunstein incorporates economic elements like free markets with regulation, FDR’s Second Bill of Rights for social and economic guarantees.

For Sunstein, liberalism is not static but actively constructed, a “fighting faith” that promotes innovation, fairness, and self-correction, making it essential for freedom and self-government amid modern threats.

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In contrast, Yglesias’s recent Substack series on Slow Boring (spanning late 2024 to early 2026) takes a more policy-oriented, U.S.-centric approach, framing liberalism as pragmatic technocracy tied to Enlightenment roots like John Locke and Adam Smith, emphasizing individual rights, non-radical governance, and impartial benevolence (e.g., evidence-based policies that benefit broadly without favoritism).

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Similarities in substance include a shared emphasis on pluralism, freedom, and pragmatism—Sunstein’s “experiments of living” aligns with Yglesias’s technocratic impartiality—and both see liberalism as adaptable, blending markets with social protections (e.g., Sunstein’s FDR-inspired guarantees; Yglesias’s public order as progressive). They reject extremes: Sunstein critiques illiberal left/right; Yglesias warns against socialist purges or cosmopolitan overreach.