Modern liberalism, for most liberals is not a consciously understood set of rational beliefs, but a bundle of unexamined prejudices and conjoined sentiments. The basic ideas and beliefs seem more satisfactory when they are not made fully explicit, when they merely lurk rather obscurely in the background, coloring the rhetoric and adding a certain emotive glow.
Interpretation
Modern liberalism often consists of unexamined beliefs and sentiments rather than rational thought.
In this quote, James Burnham suggests that many liberals may not be fully aware of the foundational beliefs that underpin their ideology. Instead, these beliefs linger in the subconscious, influencing their rhetoric and emotional responses without being critically examined, which can lead to a lack of clarity and rationality in their approach to liberalism.
In practice
In a discussion about political ideologies, you might use this quote to emphasize the importance of critical thinking.
At the beginning of human history, as we struggled to light fires and to chisel fallen trees into rudimentary canoes, who could have predicted that long after we had managed to send men to the moon and areoplanes to Australasia, we would still have such trouble knowing how to tolerate ourselves, forgive our loved ones, and apologise for our tantrums?
I hate facts. I always say the chief end of man is to form general propositions - adding that no general proposition is worth a damn.
Gay men are guardians of the masculine impulse. To have anonymous sex in a dark alleyway is to pay homage to the dream of male freedom. The unknown stranger is a wandering pagan god. The altar, as in pre-history, is anywhere you kneel.
It is preoccupation with possessions, more than anything else, that prevents us from living freely and nobly.
And now each night, I count the stars. And each night I get the same number. And when the stars won't come to be counted, I count the holes they leave.
In any dispute, each side thinks it's in the right and the other side is demons.
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