ANNALS OF LEFTIST AUTOPHAGY: The Conflicting Dogmas of the Liberal Clerisy. “What modern liberals believe instead is that a clerisy, an educated elite that favors personal autonomy and open-mindedness and fairness, should write the rules for everybody else. Today’s liberal elite do not look backward for their authority—there are no scriptures and no inviolable traditions in modern liberalism. They look to the future. The rules issuing from the modern liberal clerisy are thought to be the latest manifestation of moral progress, to which educated people must adhere if they wish to be thought of as good people.”