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Liberalism
Introduction
➢ Liberalism is a system of political thought which put the interest or goals of individual
before the interest of society as a whole or state.
➢ The word liber has various meanings. The Latin word liber referred to a class of free men.
➢ The term 'liberalism' denotes a political mobilization which insists on Liberty of individual
as the first and foremost goal of Public Policy.
➢ The central theme of liberal ideology is to construct a society in which people can satisfy
their interests and achieve fulfillment.
➢ Liberal societies are organized politically around the twin principles of constitutionalism
and consent, designed to protect citizens from the danger of government tyranny.
➢ There are significant differences between classical liberalism and modern liberalism.
Classical liberalism supports the 'minimal' state. Modern liberalism in contrast accepts
that the state should help people to help themselves.

Origins and Development

➢ Some thinkers like Paul Seabright argued liberalism can be traced back to earlier settled
communities to find ways of trading and living with strangers.
➢ Nevertheless, liberalism as a developed ideology was a product of the breakdown of
feudalism in Europe and the growth of a market or a capitalist society.
➢ Liberals challenged the absolute power of the monarchy, based on the doctrine of the
'divine rights' of king.
➢ 19th century was the century of liberals. As liberalization spread throughout western
countries liberals advocated an industrialized and market economic order 'free' from
government interference.
➢ Such system first developed in UK in mid-18th century and they spread to North America
and throughout Europe.
➢ From 20th century onwards, industrial capitalism started making appeal to developing
countries.
➢ The character of liberalism changed and moved toward modern liberalism as the 'rising
middle classes' succeeded in establishing their economic and political dominance.

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Core Themes

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Individualism

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➢ As feudalism was displaced by increasingly market-oriented societies, individuals were

confronted by a broader range of choices and social possibilities. They were encouraged
for the first time to think for themselves. Individuals were thought to possess personal
and distinctive qualities, each was of special value.

➢ C.B. Macpherson Characterized early liberalism as 'possessive individualism' in that it

regarded the individual as the proprietor of his own person or capacities, owing nothing
to society for them. In contrast, later liberals believe that egoism is tempered by a sense
of social responsibility for those who are unable to look after themselves.

Freedom
➢ Liberals do not accept that individuals have an absolute entitlement to freedom. If liberty
is unlimited it can become 'license' the right to abuse others.
➢ In on Liberty (1859) John Stuart Mill argued that 'the only purpose for which power can
be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will is to
prevent harm to others.
➢ In his 'Two concepts of Liberty' Isaiah Berlin distinguished between negative and positive
freedom. Early liberals believed in negative freedom which means free from interference.
➢ Modern liberals believed in positive freedom- defined by Berlin as the ability to be one's
own master.

Reason
➢ Liberalism is a part of the enlightenment project.
➢ The central them of the enlightenment was the desire to release humankind from its
bondage to superstition and unleash an age of Reason.
➢ It strengthened its faith in individualism as it believes that human beings are rational.
➢ The power of reason gives human beings the capacity to take charge of their own lives.

Justice
➢ The liberal theory of justice is based on a belief in equality of various kind.
➢ In the first place, individualism implies a commitment to foundational equality.
➢ Human beings are seen to be born equal second, foundational equality implies a belief in
equal citizenship, the idea that individuals should enjoy the same formal status within
society.
➢ Third, liberals subscribe to a belief in equality of opportunity.

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➢ Liberals believe in 'meritocracy'. A meritocratic society is one in which inequalities of

wealth and social position reflect the unequal distribution of talent among human beings
which are based on factor beyond human control.
➢ Classical liberals have enclosed strict meritocracy.
➢ Modern liberals, on the other hand, have taken social justice to imply a belief in some
measures of social equality. For example, in A Theory of Justice, John Rawls argued that
economic inequality is only justifiable if it works to the benefit of the poorest in society.

Toleration
➢ Liberalism celebrates moral, Cultural and Political diversity.
➢ This commitment to toleration, attributed to the French writer Voltaire, is memorably
expressed in the declaration that, 'I detest what you say but will defend to the death your
right to say it.

Liberalism, Government and Democracy

➢ Liberals believes that balanced and tolerant society can only be provided by a sovereign
states Freedom can therefore only exist under the law as John Locke put it, where there
is no law there is no freedom.' Therefore, we need a liberal state to safeguard our
freedom from us.
➢ Liberals are convinced that government exercises sovereign power and so poses a
constant threat to individual liberty. This was expressed in Lord Actons' famous warning.
Power Tends to Corrupt, And Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely.'
➢ Therefore, we need a constitution or a set of rules. The most important of these is a so-
called written constitution. The first such document was the US constitution
➢ Second, constitutionalism can be established by the introduction of internal constraints
which disperse political power among a number of institutions. This separation of power
was proposed by Montesquieu as he puts it. Power should be a check to power.

Types of Liberalism
Classical Liberalism
It emerged during the early industrialization of the nineteenth century. Classical Liberalism
draws on a variety of doctrines and theories. The most important of these are:
➢ Natural Rights
✓ The idea of natural or human rights has affected liberal thought in a number of ways.

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✓ For example, Locks says the contract between state and citizen is a specific and
limited one; its purpose is to protect a set of defined natural rights.
✓ As a result, Locke believed in limited government.
✓ The legitimate role of government is limited to the protection of 'life liberty and
property.'
➢ Economic Liberalism
✓ Early Nineteenth-century economist believed in the principle that the economy works
best when it is left alone by government.
✓ They believed that the market operates according to the wishes and decisions of free
individuals for whom pleasure is equated with the acquisition and consumption of wealth.
✓ Smith's idea of a self – regulating market reflects the liberal belief in a naturally existing
harmony among the conflicting interests within society.
✓ The high point of free-market beliefs was reached with the doctrine of laissez-faire. But
in late 20th-century faith in the free market has been revived through the rise of
neoliberalism.
✓ It believed in market fundamentalism. Smith book 'The Wealth of Nations' was a first
economic textbook. He is also known as the father of market economics.

Difference between Classical Liberalism and Libertarianism

➢ Classical Liberalism was a strong counter to previous political movements that placed
authority in the hands of churches, monarchs, or governments.
➢ Its central theme was the freedom of individuals rather than central authorities.
➢ The idea was spawned by a number of original thinkers like Adam Smith, John Locke, and
others as a response to the industrial revolution and population growth in the late 1800s.
➢ Libertarianism is a strong form of Classical Liberalism that argues that individuals should
be left alone—without much influence from central government, and that personal
responsibility is the most powerful ingredient of success.
➢ Pure Libertarians believe the government should stay out of both social and economic
issues.
➢ The difference between Classical Liberalism and Libertarianism is that Classical Liberalism
was a backlash against theocratic monarchies and oppressive governments, whereas
Libertarianism is more of a response to a bloated and overreaching government and
welfare state.
➢ Classical Liberalism wanted to reduce government involvement and focus on individual
freedoms.
➢ While Libertarianism is challenges aggressive Progressivism that advocates for the use of
the government to accelerate progress towards fairness and equality.
➢ Classical Liberalism and Libertarianism came from different times and had different
catalysts.

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➢ Classical Liberalism was removing the oppression of theocracies, monarchies, and the very
notion of it being permissible for a small group to rule over the masses.
➢ Libertarianism is addressing the overreaches of imperialism, bureaucracy, and
progressivism.
➢ According to Mario Rizzo “Classical liberalism is the philosophy of political liberty from the
perspective of a vast history of thought. Libertarianism is the philosophy of liberty from the
perspective of its modern revival from the late sixties-early seventies on.”

Libertarian Thinkers
➢ Ludwig von Mises - His work on economic calculation proved that a completely centrally
planned economy cannot exist due to the lack of vital information signals that result from
market activity. His famous book is “Human Action”.
➢ Murray Rothbard- His book Man, Economy and State is widely regarded as the most
comprehensive text on Austrian economics. He coined the term “anarcho-capitalism”, and
developed the most widely accepted theory of libertarian property rights.
➢ Friedrich von Hayek- Hayek developed spontaneous order into a coherent theory of social
progress, providing the intellectual foundation for the idea that the private sector generally
does things better than the state.
➢ David Friedman- Friedman is sometimes thought of as the founder of the consequentialist
version of anarcho-capitalism. He provides a robust case for anarcho-capitalism in his book
The Machinery of Freedom,and has contributed to the theoretical and historical body of
knowledge of non-state legal systems.
➢ Milton Friedman- Milton Friedman is perhaps the most recognizable proponent of free
market libertarianism.
➢ Robert Nozick - was a renowned American philosopher who first came to be widely known
through his 1974 book, Anarchy, State, and Utopia (1974), Nozick remained best known for
the libertarian doctrine advanced in Anarchy, State, and Utopia.

Neoliberalism
➢ Neoliberalism is a policy model that encompasses both politics and economics and seeks to
transfer the control of economic factors from the public sector to the private sector.
➢ Many neoliberalism policies enhance the workings of free market capitalism and attempt to
place limits on government spending, government regulation, and public ownership.
➢ Neoliberalism is often associated with the leadership of Margaret Thatcher–the prime
minister of the U.K. from 1979 to 1990 and leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to
1990–and Ronald Reagan, the 40th president of the U.S. (from 1981 to 1989).
➢ Neoliberalism is sometimes confused with libertarianism. However, neoliberals typically
advocate for more government intervention into the economy and society than
libertarianism. For example, while neoliberals usually favor progressive taxation,
libertarians often eschew this stance in favor of schemes like a flat tax rate for all taxpayers.

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➢ The distinction between neoliberals and libertarians is merely a threshold of how much
trust one puts in the government’s ability to cope with problems.

Modern Liberalism
Modern liberalism is sometimes described as 20th-century liberalism. Modern liberalism
represents a marriage between new and old liberalism. The distinctive ideas of modern
liberalism include:

Individuality
John Stuart Mill's ideas have been described as the 'heart of liberalism'. He provided a
'bridge' between classical and modern liberalism. It was the ideas developed in on liberty
(1859) that show mill most clearly as a contributor to modern liberal thought. Mill believed
in individuality, The value of liberty is that it enables individuals to develop, to gain talents,
skills and knowledge and to refine their sensibilities. For Mill, there were 'higher' and 'lower'
pleasures. He was concerned to promote those pleasures that develop an individual's
intellectual, moral or aesthetic sensibilities.

Positive Freedom
The so-called 'new liberals' such as L.T. Hobhouse and J. A. Hobson were influenced by T.H.
Green. T.H. Green presented an optimistic view of human nature. Individuals, according to
Green, have sympathy for another, their egoism is therefore constrained by some degree of
altruism. Such a conception of human nature was clearly influenced by socialist ideas that
emphasized the sociable and cooperative nature of humankind. As a result, Green's ideas
have been described as 'socialist liberalism'.
In place of the minimal state of old, modern liberal endorsed an enabling state, exercising an
increasingly wide range of social and economic responsibilities.

Social Liberalism
During the twentieth-century modern states became welfare states. Modern liberals defend
welfarism on the basis of equality of opportunity. If Particular individuals or groups are
disadvantaged by their social circumstances, then the state possesses a social responsibility
to reduce or remove these disadvantages to create equal life chances.
Social liberalism was further developed in the second half of the 20th century with the
emergence of so-called social-democratic liberalism, especially in the writings of John Rawls.

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In a theory of justice, Rawls developed a defence of redistribution and welfare based on the
idea of 'equality as fairness.' He proposed the 'difference principle'.

Economic Management
The wall street crash of 1929 was the most dramatic demonstration of the failure of the free
market. After world war II, all western states adopted policies of economic intervention in
an attempt to a return
to the pre-war levels of unemployment. These policies were guided by the works of the UK
economist John Maynard Keynes. In the general theory of employment, Interest and Money,
Keynes rejected its belief in self-regulating market. The first attempt to apply Keynes' ideas
was undertaken in the USA during Roosevelt's 'New Deal'.
He argued that government can regulate demand primarily through adjustment like
'Taxation'.

Liberalism in a Global Age

● The first 'face' of global liberalism is neoliberalism which is closely linked to the
economic globalization.
● The second 'face' of global liberalism is liberal democracy, which has now developed
beyond its western heartland and become a worldwide force. The high point of liberal
optimism came in the aftermath of the collapse of communism, when end of history'
theorists, such as Francis Fukuyama, proclaimed that western liberal democracy had
established itself as the find form of government.
● The third 'face' of global liberalism arises from the fact that the advance of globalization
had an important ethical dimension. As people know more about events that occur in
often parts of the world, it becomes more difficult to confine their moral sensibilities
merely to members of their own state. This cosmopolitan thinking is linked to the idea
of global justice.

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