For nearly a century, the Western world has been running a grand experiment, one of dubious origins, and built on the conviction that innovation alone can sustain a flourishing society.

From technology to education to spirituality, we’ve embraced a “move fast, break things, rebuild, repeat” mentality. Yet as the dust settles from decades of unrestrained novelty, a new cultural impulse is emerging: a quiet longing for permanence, rootedness, and the ancient wisdom we once dismissed as obsolete.

In this episode, we step into the growing conversation around post-liberalism, a shift that suggests the pendulum may be swinging back toward tradition. Drawing on a rich conversation that weaves together theology, political philosophy, music, psychology, and Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s brilliant framework of the “party of change” and the “party of permanency,” we explore why societies — and individuals — need both forces in tension.

What happens when innovation outruns our capacity for meaning? Why does the human heart crave both transformation and stability? And how might love — not ideology — be the true binding force that holds tradition and progress together?

This episode offers a thoughtful, grounded look at how we arrived at this cultural crossroads, why the debate is deeper than politics, and what a healthier balance between innovation and obedience might look like for our communities, our technology, and our spiritual lives. If you’ve ever felt torn between the excitement of the new and the comfort of the familiar, this conversation is for you.

Highlights:

The West’s grand experiment: innovation without tradition

Post-liberalism and the cultural pendulum swing back to permanency

Yale theologians who challenged “newer is truer”

Musical mastery as a metaphor for discipline, obedience, and receptivity

St. Paul and the logic of receiving rather than endless questioning

Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s “party of change” vs. “party of permanency”

The modern acceleration problem: tech culture’s addiction to upgrades

How societies need both progress and preservation to stay healthy

The cultural pushback against “move fast and break things”

The human need to aspire and cherish

Love as the true foundation of permanence

Why the debate isn’t reason vs emotion but innovation vs receptivity

A framework for balancing change and tradition in personal and public life

Learning to “dance” with both forces instead of choosing a side

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