The great ideological battles between liberalism and communism, or between democracy and authoritarianism, have been replaced by a general consensus on the desirability of liberal democracy.
The stranger is close to us, insofar as we feel between him and ourselves common features of a national, social, occupational, or generally human, nature. He is far from us, insofar as these common features extend beyond him or us, and connect us only because they connect a great many people.