That sound you hear is not the world ending – it’s liberalism being monstered | Waleed Aly
Source: Guardian Econ ↗
A sweeping sense of disillusionment with progress has taken hold across societies, prompting many to view a variety of contemporary forces as “monsters” that threaten liberal order. The author lists everything from tech billionaires and AI to social media, gender‑fluid education, migrant youth, far‑right rallies, Middle‑East conflicts, and even Russia, suggesting that each political camp perceives the other’s concerns as monstrous. This pervasive anxiety is framed as a crisis of belief: the conventional system is no longer seen as merely flawed but fundamentally incapable of delivering a good life, a verdict echoed by Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers who describes two decades of cumulative shocks that keep eroding public confidence.
The piece traces the origins of this deep disquiet to a cascade of historic shocks that have repeatedly upended the promise of liberal stability. Starting with the post‑9/11 security focus, the author moves through the London bombings, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the rise of climate‑change awareness, the 2008 financial crisis, the emergence of ISIS, Brexit, Donald Trump’s election, the COVID‑19 pandemic, and the recent Hamas‑Israel war, each event eroding trust in institutions and amplifying a sense of perpetual crisis. The latest accelerant is the rapid development of artificial intelligence, which threatens massive job losses and the specter of autonomous weapons, compounding an already relentless feeling that no policy tweak can restore confidence.
The cumulative effect of these overlapping crises has reshaped political attitudes, particularly on immigration, where concerns once confined to fringe parties now enjoy broad public support—up to 60 % of Australians share One Nation’s view that immigration levels are too high. Commentators like Simon Welsh note that a substantial portion of One Nation’s base aligns with this sentiment, indicating that the “monster” narrative has moved beyond partisan rhetoric to become a mainstream lens for interpreting societal change. The author concludes that this pervasive sense of crisis is unlikely to be resolved through conventional policy measures, suggesting a deeper, structural challenge to liberalism’s legitimacy in the modern world.
⚡ Effects Interpreter
🌍World Economymedium impact
What this means for you
- ▶Distant markets sometimes move on rumour before the facts even settle.
- ▶Cross-border money flows can subtly change direction after events like this.
🏙️Local Economymedium impact
What this means for you
- ▶Your town's economy tends to catch up with big headlines eventually.
- ▶High street footfall and spending can shift subtly after this kind of news.
🏦Rates & Bankslow impact
What this means for you
- ▶A sudden leap in mortgage costs from this alone would be out of character for lenders.
- ▶A change in the cost of money, if it comes, will likely arrive gradually.
❤️Healthmedium impact
What this means for you
- ▶Sleep and appetite can be the first quiet casualties of unsettling news.
- ▶Support networks, formal or informal, tend to matter most in moments like this.
💷Wealthlow impact
What this means for you
- ▶Your household's overall financial health matters more than any one day's numbers.
- ▶Your financial adviser, if you have one, might already be watching this.
🏠Housinglow impact
What this means for you
- ▶Surveyors and valuers tend to factor in wider trends gradually, not overnight.
- ▶The property ladder rarely wobbles much from a single piece of news.
🌍 Effects for your country
The U.S.'s central bank rate currently stands at 3.75%, so a global rates move like this could feed through to local borrowing costs. The U.S.'s economy is growing at 2.3% with inflation at 3.2%, the backdrop this story's effects play out against locally. Housing-market effects like this are usually felt most where mortgage rates track the U.S.'s own central bank rate closely. With the U.S.'s unemployment at 4.4%, personal-finance effects like this land on a labour market that is currently fairly stable. Health-system effects are harder to localise from economic indicators alone — the real impact in the U.S. depends more on local healthcare capacity than the figures above.
The UK's central bank rate currently stands at 3.75%, so a global rates move like this could feed through to local borrowing costs. The UK's economy is growing at 0.8% with inflation at 3.2%, the backdrop this story's effects play out against locally. Housing-market effects like this are usually felt most where mortgage rates track the UK's own central bank rate closely. With the UK's unemployment at 5.6%, personal-finance effects like this land on a labour market that is currently fairly stable. Health-system effects are harder to localise from economic indicators alone — the real impact in the UK depends more on local healthcare capacity than the figures above.
France's central bank rate currently stands at 2%, so a global rates move like this could feed through to local borrowing costs. France's economy is growing at 0.9% with inflation at 1.8%, the backdrop this story's effects play out against locally. Housing-market effects like this are usually felt most where mortgage rates track France's own central bank rate closely. With France's unemployment at 7.9%, personal-finance effects like this land on a labour market that is already under strain. Health-system effects are harder to localise from economic indicators alone — the real impact in France depends more on local healthcare capacity than the figures above.
Romania's central bank rate currently stands at 6.5%, so a global rates move like this could feed through to local borrowing costs. Romania's economy is growing at 0.7% with inflation at 7.8%, the backdrop this story's effects play out against locally. Housing-market effects like this are usually felt most where mortgage rates track Romania's own central bank rate closely. With Romania's unemployment at 6%, personal-finance effects like this land on a labour market that is currently fairly stable. Health-system effects are harder to localise from economic indicators alone — the real impact in Romania depends more on local healthcare capacity than the figures above.
The UAE's central bank rate currently stands at 3.65%, so a global rates move like this could feed through to local borrowing costs. The UAE's economy is growing at 3.1% with inflation at 2.5%, the backdrop this story's effects play out against locally. Housing-market effects like this are usually felt most where mortgage rates track the UAE's own central bank rate closely. Health-system effects are harder to localise from economic indicators alone — the real impact in the UAE depends more on local healthcare capacity than the figures above.