According to
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberalism, this is a (paraphrased) fundamental principle of liberalism:
The legitimacy of a government is based on the (informed) consent of the governed.
Meanwhile, this diary advocates benevolent dictatorship, 'seriously' in his own words, and commenters seconded it overwhelmingly. I balked and got troll-rated. I'm really curious now, how people feel about this, so take the poll if you please.
Here comes my (pompous?) take on the matter:
It's your right to not be a liberal, if you feel that social/economic/environmental/cultural/security/racial/sexual/religious/LGBTQ/etc issues are so important that they should trump liberal principles. Just don't confuse the matter by claiming to be liberal.
There are other ways to legitimize government. Here are some time-tested alternatives, enormously simplified:
-Pre-modern elites invoke(d) religious authority, from divine right to the mandate of heaven, and individual consent was a religious duty.
-Fascists assert that their nation inherently has a racial/cultural mission, and the legitimacy of government is based on its ability to lead the nation to success in that mission, so individual non-consent is a dereliction.
-Traditional Communists assert that humanity has a collectivist egalitarian mission, and the legitimacy of government is based on its ability to lead humanity to success in that mission, so that the individual non-consent is 'false consciousness'.
It is easy to forget that all of these doctrines have been supported by people who were more intelligent than most anyone on this board, even the grad students :). The dark side of their appeal is that they let the power-craving individual justify lording it over other people, sometimes vicariously. Every despot thinks they're enlightened, by their standards!
I'm sorry if this is obvious or pompous, and I know my viewpoint is just one take on this... but as far as I am concerned, this idea is the heart of liberalism, and should never be compromised.
Liberalism in America is respectable if and only if liberals know and take pride in their principles, in case you haven't noticed yet.
OK I laid it on pretty thick but that's how I feel.