The Return of History: Liberal Values and Global Realities

Many liberals assumed that their values would spread by contagion after the Cold War .

Lithuanians understand that the default state of human beings is not cooperation and humanist values.

If liberals wish to see their core principles survive, they must be willing to defend them. This does not require support for military adventurism in every instance.

Popper said that because people do not all value the same social goods, liberal tolerance would need to be applied in moderation and robustly defended.

But events in the 1990s only reinforced European complacency.

For a short time, Russia was a shining example of peaceful end of ideological conflict after the fall of the Soviet Union .

Frida Ghitis : Russia 's invasion of Ukraine is a reality unimaginable in a Western country.

Ghitis says it's a distortion of reality to deny that this represents something fundamentally different from U.S. culture.

She says the liberal world must use its power to respond ethically, humanely, and justly to a world of tradeoffs. As liberals, we should strive for peace among nations and have self-confidence in the attractiveness of our core principles over the long-term.