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| '''Liberalism''' |
'''Liberalism''' may be used to describe any ideology not bound by orthodox tenets or established forms in political or religious philosophy, in contrast to ]. | ||
| ⚫ | 1. One usage denotes a nineteenth-century movement in ]; see ]. | ||
| 2. An alternate usage denotes a particular class of sociopolitical ideologies. | |||
| '''Liberalism''' is rooted in the Enlightenment, the central developer of which is seventeenth century English political philosopher ]. Liberalism is the view that the autonomy and dignity of the individual should be protected and not infringed by the state. Consequently, liberalism holds, we have certain civil and political liberties and rights that it is the duty of the government to uphold, and ] derives its authority to govern by law by the consent of the governed. In Locke's day, liberalism was contrasted with ], ], and various kind of religious ]; since then, it has developed in many ways and been contrasted with many different other political theories, especially ] and various forms of ]. | |||
| ''Liberalism'' more specifically (and confusedly) refers to two distinct tradition, a philosophical tradition more precisely known as ] and a political tradition that can be called ]. | |||
| ], ], ], and ] developed the concept of the "]", though the writings of Hobbes and Rousseau include many illiberalisms. Also ], ]. | |||
| Early liberals believed in individual rights and limited government. This is now, in the United States anyway, called "]." The word "liberal" still has this meaning in ], but not in the ], where it more closely describes the ideology known as "]" or an alternative purely political doctrine known as ]. | |||
| Modern liberal thought may be distinguished into ] and ] (also "revisionist liberalism"). | |||
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| At present in the U.K. and Europe, Liberalism is a political current which regards freedom as the most important thing and as such rejects large ] influences. Ethically, liberals prefer to have the person decide his or her ethics himself or herself, without government influence. Government should only forbid behaviours that have a substantial negative impact on others. Economically, liberals are in favor of a ], again with as little influence from government as possible. In their opinion, everyone doing what (s)he thinks is best, is the best way to ensure that the total outcome is best for all. The opponents of liberals are ] in the ethical range and ] in the economical. | |||
| ⚫ | In the ], starting with the increase in size of government with the ] during the 1930s, liberals advocated government programs as a solution to many economic and societal problems. | ||
| In Europe, liberalism usually means ]; while in the U.S., it refers to ]. The usage in countries in other parts of the world varies; some use it in the European sense, others in the U.S. sense. | |||
| === Two distinct traditions: political liberalism and classical liberalism === | |||
| ⚫ | In the ] liberalism is generally connected with the history of the ] and the "moderation" sense of the word liberal. Attempts to use this term in the UK in the American sense by the right as a derisory term for people they don't like has caused a fair degree of confusion. See . | ||
| ⚫ | Minarchists in the U.S. are known as ], but this in turn causes confusion in other countries, where the word libertarian was traditionally used to denote some kind of ]. | ||
| Minarchists also lay claim to the term "]". | |||
| ] have an identified theory of liberty, that insist on notions of spontaneous order, natural law, property rights, and individual responsibility. They tend to strongly differentiate genuine classical liberal authors from their contemporaries, and recognize among them ] (as opposed to Hobbes), ] (as opposed to Kant), ] (as opposed to Rousseau); they consider ] as an author who wrote quite interesting things but missed essential points and does not quality as a genuine classical liberal; they much prefer ] as a contemporary. They favor ] and reject any kind of government influence in society. They thus tend to be defiant to any kind of politics, including politics done by liberal politicians. Historically, ] has opposed ] and ] (as well as any form of ]). | |||
| ] vary considerably in what they consider are the "liberties" they defend, and they do not generally refer to any consistent theory of it. Depending on countries, political liberalism may refer to some form of ] (see in France "liberals"), although often with a more or less deeply marked evolution toward ] (see UK "liberal-democrats"). In the USA, "liberals" have gone all the way to extreme form of social-democracy and even socialism, whereas in other countries, liberal parties are conservative (Japan) or even far-right (Austria). Liberal-democrats tend to equally consider as part of their tradition many classical authors of contrasted opinions such as ], ], ], and ], although with a slight preference for classical liberal authors, in as much as they tend to more consistently claim to defend liberty; they often consider ] (who was also MP) as a great author very representative of their ideas. They tend to identify to great leaders of liberal parties, particularly in Great Britain (e.g. ] or ]). Historically, ] has opposed ]; later evolutions of political liberals views around the world depend completely on national specificities of liberal parties. | |||
| === Comparing Political Liberalism with Classical Liberalism === | |||
| These two traditions have in common that they claim to defend invidividual liberty against the arbitrary power of ], and there has been some influence of the philosophy on the politics at specific points in history, but they are quite distinct. | |||
| Historically, both traditions see part of their roots in the seventeenth century english movement that has opposed (absolute) ], ], and various kind of religious ], preaching liberty and tolerance; but even then, they have different interpretations of this heritage. ], a paradigmatic political liberal, was mostly a classical liberal, but had socialist influences from his wife that some political liberals embrace whereas classical liberals reject them. ], a political liberal, was influenced by his correspondance with ], a classical liberal. | |||
| Since late nineteenth century, english political liberals seem to have identified with some kind of ] (see ]) as a moderate way between conservatism and socialism. In the ], liberalism is generally connected with the history of the and the "moderation" sense of the word liberal. | |||
| ⚫ | In the ], starting with the increase in size of government with the ] during the 1930s, |
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| Attempts to fit the evolutions of political liberalism as an extension of the classic tradition of liberal thought has led such political liberal thinkers to invent ''new liberalism'' in the 1930s. Classical liberals consider that the ''amends'' to liberal doctrines to allow for extended government intervention in economic matters are actually utter negation of basic liberal tenets, and rather call that ''revisionist liberalism''. Recently, many social-democrats have tried to find within classical liberalism a separation between ] and ], so as to be able to agree with one and disagree with the other. Classical liberals reject such a division, because they assert their tradition is based neither on an economic nor on a political doctrine, but rather on a theory of law. In any case, modern political liberal thinkers tend to not claim any particular filiation with the classical liberal school of thought, and rather to insist on their endorsement of political liberals governments of the nineteenth century. | |||
| Finally, in some countries, particularly european countries, where historical liberal parties suffered complete demise or interdiction by a communist regime, the renewed liberal parties that emerged tended to return to the classical liberal influence stripped of most of the social-democrat distortion. The political programmes of liberal parties are thus some forms of ] that classical liberals view as much friendlier to their ideas than what proposes any other party, but doesn't match either the diversity of their opinions (see ]) or the strictness of their anti-political claims (see ]). | |||
| === Confusion of words === | |||
| The word "liberalism" in the USA conveys some extreme form of ], quite opposite to the classical liberal tradition. | |||
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| In continental Europe where liberal parties tend to defend classical liberal tenets, the term "liberal" is less confusing, but those who feel part of the classical school of thought rather than to any political party insist on being "classical" or genuine liberals. | |||
| Some separate liberalism into ] and ], so as to be able to agree with one and disagree with the other. Minarchists reject such a division, because they believe liberalism to be neither an economic nor a political doctrine, but rather a theory of law. | |||
| Finally, it can mean a nineteenth-century movement in ]; see ]. | |||
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| === External Links and References === | === External Links and References === | ||
| ⚫ | , ] | ||
| ] | |||
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| /Talk | |||
Revision as of 15:43, 25 February 2002
Liberalism may be used to describe any ideology not bound by orthodox tenets or established forms in political or religious philosophy, in contrast to conservatism.
1. One usage denotes a nineteenth-century movement in Christianity; see Liberalism, Religion.
2. An alternate usage denotes a particular class of sociopolitical ideologies.
Liberalism is rooted in the Enlightenment, the central developer of which is seventeenth century English political philosopher John Locke. Liberalism is the view that the autonomy and dignity of the individual should be protected and not infringed by the state. Consequently, liberalism holds, we have certain civil and political liberties and rights that it is the duty of the government to uphold, and government derives its authority to govern by law by the consent of the governed. In Locke's day, liberalism was contrasted with monarchism, mercantilism, and various kind of religious fundamentalism; since then, it has developed in many ways and been contrasted with many different other political theories, especially socialism and various forms of collectivism.
John Locke, Thomas Hobbes, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and Immanuel Kant developed the concept of the "social contract", though the writings of Hobbes and Rousseau include many illiberalisms. Also John Stuart Mill, nationalism.
Early liberals believed in individual rights and limited government. This is now, in the United States anyway, called "libertarianism." The word "liberal" still has this meaning in Europe, but not in the United States, where it more closely describes the ideology known as "new liberalism" or an alternative purely political doctrine known as political liberalism.
Modern liberal thought may be distinguished into classical liberalism and new liberalism (also "revisionist liberalism").
At present in the U.K. and Europe, Liberalism is a political current which regards freedom as the most important thing and as such rejects large government influences. Ethically, liberals prefer to have the person decide his or her ethics himself or herself, without government influence. Government should only forbid behaviours that have a substantial negative impact on others. Economically, liberals are in favor of a Free Market Economy, again with as little influence from government as possible. In their opinion, everyone doing what (s)he thinks is best, is the best way to ensure that the total outcome is best for all. The opponents of liberals are Conservatives in the ethical range and Socialists in the economical.
In the United States, starting with the increase in size of government with the Great Depression during the 1930s, liberals advocated government programs as a solution to many economic and societal problems.
In Europe, liberalism usually means minarchism; while in the U.S., it refers to new liberalism. The usage in countries in other parts of the world varies; some use it in the European sense, others in the U.S. sense.
In the UK liberalism is generally connected with the history of the Liberal Democrats and the "moderation" sense of the word liberal. Attempts to use this term in the UK in the American sense by the right as a derisory term for people they don't like has caused a fair degree of confusion. See Looking for an Enemy.
Minarchists in the U.S. are known as libertarians, but this in turn causes confusion in other countries, where the word libertarian was traditionally used to denote some kind of left anarchism.
Minarchists also lay claim to the term "classical liberalism".
Some separate liberalism into political liberalism and economic liberalism, so as to be able to agree with one and disagree with the other. Minarchists reject such a division, because they believe liberalism to be neither an economic nor a political doctrine, but rather a theory of law.
Finally, it can mean a nineteenth-century movement in Christianity; see Liberalism, Religion.
External Links and References
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Liberalism, Gerald F. Gaus