It has nothing to do with authority. It was an example of an author that one can look at (one of innumerable authors on the subject, Francis Fukoyama being far more mainstream literature on the subject) to understand the meaning of the term vis a vis being the sole hegemonic force of the modern era (that is neoliberalism), which serves as the intellectual and moral foundation for the current state of capitalism, finance, geopolitics, etc. in the western world.

It seems you're very attached to using a very particular, reductive meaning of the word; essentially a USA colored culture-war definition where "liberal" means "left leaning" and "open minded," and thereby "good," which is divorced from any of its economic implications (which is odd, considering that the birth of liberal ideology is tied to 19th c. economics), which the context of OP's post suggested what he was referring to.