Many socialists have ambivalent feelings about liberalism. Depending on the day, they may see liberals as well-meaning but naive centrists, parroting nice-sounding platitudes but unwilling to mount a serious challenge to the unjust status quo.

But there are deep commonalities between liberalism and socialism, both of which are modernist doctrines emphasizing the moral equality of all human beings. Socialists should have no problem embracing many important liberal principles, while liberals should be open to getting on board with the project of securing the demos’ economic well-being.

Naturally, this doesn’t mean accepting the unimaginative, resigned attitude of centrist Democrats, who assume the best way forward is to go backward to stock neoliberal policies dug up from the Obama years. It means taking what is best in liberalism — its historic defenses of civil liberties and moral equality — and conceptually marrying it to the socialist quest for greater equality in fact.