At first blush, it might seem perverse that liberals are trying to close down the Guardian newspaper; but any considered historical review of the psychopathology of liberalism will confirm that such an auto-destructive, even masochistic, move is wholly in character. At the time of writing, the petition to the Independent Press Standards Organisation –  not previously regarded as a body that is in the business of shutting down newspapers – had attracted more than 20,000 signatures.