Matthias Müller is a young Swiss lawyer who works for Homburger, one of Switzerland’s most prestigious law firms. He is a member of the Swiss Liberal Party (FDP), someone who combines economic libertarianism with a certain degree of social conservatism.
I’m not sure if Matthias would recognise himself in that description (please amend!!), but what I mean by it is that his liberal value horizon includes the following core convictions:
A) There is no real freedom without free enterprise and risk-taking, which doesn’t mean that politics should be subservient to the interests of big corporations.
B) Even if our societies are not perfectly meritocratic, we better pull up our socks and try to work hard, for our own benefit and for the benefit of the societies in which we live.
As someone who wasn't born with a silver spoon in his mouth, Matthias can hold on to those beliefs with a great deal of conviction.
P.S.: Matthias and I intend to continue our conversation over the next few weeks with a series of short Socratic debates of 12 - 15 minutes duration. What I mean by this is that we shall both respond to a pointed statement of the following kind: “Today’s democracies consist, for the most part, of elective aristocracies”. One of us will then endorse the argument conveyed in the statement, while the other will oppose it. The rationale behind it is very simple: we no longer engage, seriously rather than superficially, with a view that we do not share. Besides, it’s fun to debate things.
So, stay tuned…
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