Western liberal democracy. The evolution of liberal democracy - Thesis Example

Western Liberal Democracy Liberal democracy, otherwise called constitutional democracy, is the most dominant form of democracies in the contemporaryworld and the phrase 'Liberal Democracy' is a frequently used to describe Western democratic political systems, including the United States, Britain, New Zealand, Canada, Australia, and other nations. To define a liberal democracy, it is "a form of representative democracy where elected representatives that hold the decision power are moderated by a constitution that emphasizes protecting individual liberties and the rights of minorities in society, such as freedom of speech and assembly, freedom of religion, the right to private property and privacy, as well as equality before the law and due process under the rule of law, and many more." 1As against the distinction with the Communist People's Republics or the 'Popular Democracies' of the Cold War period, constitutional democracies in the modern period are differentiated from the direct democracies and participatory democracies. The various constitutional forms of liberal democracies include republics, as in the case of the US, India, and France, and constitutional monarchy, such as the UK and Spain. This paper deals with Western liberal democracy in two sections: the evolution of liberal democracy and the nature of liberal democracy. The Evolution of Liberal Democracy Liberal democracy has its origins in the Age of Enlightenment in Europe in the 18th century at a time when monarchy was the practice of the time. The Western liberal democracy has emerged from the unique history of European civilisation and it has grown to become one of the most important forms of democratic government in the contemporary world. Today, one prevalent question concerning the Western liberal democracy is whether it can be served from its Western historical context and universalised for all nations of the world. The evolution of Western liberal democracy needs to be realised as the result of influential movements in the Europe, including the French Revolution and the English Revolution, based on the theoretical and philosophical thoughts such as liberty, equality etc. The American story of the evolution of liberal democracy is not different. "In part enlightened by European theoretical works, in part influenced by the European history, and in part responding to new life in American colonies, Madison, Hamilton and Jefferson, among others, conceived a federal republic, creating a new version of democracy which is elegant in theory but miserly in fact. It is elegant in the way it structures a durable government. It is miserly in the way it embraces the realities of the eighteenth century America, excluding a vast majority of people from the democratic process. Initially confined to one race and one gender, the base of American democracy has gradually expanded." 2 Thus, the American liberal democracy mixes reality with vision and today it has become the epitome of Western liberal democracy. Today, the eighteenth century liberalism which was based on property has been transformed o a new liberalism which is established on formal equality and liberty. . The Western liberal democracy in the contemporary world demonstrates that civil and political rights of the people can go hand in hand with higher standards of living. "In light of these achievements, liberal democracy is touted as the ideal form of government for all the peoples of the world. Any other system, including any other notion of democracy, is seen as a lesser construct, an inferior design, a recipe for social and economic backwardness." 3 Analysing the chief components in the origin and development of the Western liberal democracy, it is essential to relate to some essential sources of it. Any political ideology has a historical life, growth and development and the ideology of the Western liberal democracy is not different. Thus, it is important to have the background knowledge about the Greek heritage of democracy and the contributions of Christian theology and Roman republicanism. In the medieval Europe there were significant influences by prevalent ideologies and movements. "Constitutional ideas, crucial to the evolution of liberal democracy, were current in medieval political theory. Almost all theorists contended that political rule must be just and in the interest of the people. No earthly ruler was absolute." 4The Protestant reformation also had an important role in the development of the Western liberal democracy. The republican and constitutional tradition in the modern world, the American Republic, liberal democracy in Europe following the French Revolution of 1789 etc played significant contributions to the evolution of the Western liberal democracy of the contemporary age. There were also several political, economic, social, and cultural elements which contributed to the present state of the liberal democracy. "Liberalism began as a movement for political, economic, social, and cultural freedom. It was strongly endorsed by the growing middle class and its allies, because such freedom protected and advanced their vital interests. These interests included a stronger role in government; safeguards for religion, speech, press, assembly, and due process: freedom from adverse governmental actions in the economic domain (that is, governmental monopolies, economic regulations and restrictions); and the opportunity for freer choices in politics, economics, and society." 5 The development of liberal democracy has been through various threats surrounding it and the position it enjoys today is the result of a long process of evolution. In the West as well as in the former Soviet bloc of the contemporary world, liberal democracy has become the dominant model of government. More importantly, it is gaining momentous ground in other parts of the world today and its influence all over the world has been spreading for a long time. "Liberal democracy has evolved its distinctive institutions -- parliamentary representation, executive accountability to parliament, multiple political parties -- which embody both liberal and democratic values." 6Therefore, a clear understanding of the nature of the liberal democracy is most pertinent. The Nature of Liberal Democracy The liberal democracy of the West transformed significantly between the nineteenth century and the twentieth century and the laissez faire tradition of the nineteenth century gave way to the economic and social intervention by the government in the contemporary times. It is the nature of liberal democratic governments which has primary importance. "To advance their vision, liberal democrats support and justify a government that is (1) popular, (2) respectful of human rights, (3) constitutional, (4) representative, (5) responsible, and (6) dedicated to human welfare." 7 These are the characteristic features of any liberal democratic government and the people of the state are the judges of this form of government. The mounting importance of the liberal democracy today, based on their features, makes the thinkers advocate for its prevalence all over the world. "In the aftermath of the collapse of communism in the erstwhile Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, many in the west have begun to argue that western liberal democracy is the best form of government discovered so far and ideally suited to the modern age. Some even think that as the 'moral leader' of the world the west has a duty to encourage its spread and to create a new world order on that basis... The nature and universalizability of western liberal democracy have become a subject of great philosophical and political importance." 8 A good understanding of the nature of liberal democracy requires the awareness of its definition and it is greatly a challenge to define this form of government. It is also difficult to identify the central themes and common attributes of the liberal democracy. However, a liberal democracy can be comprehended "as a political system in which democratically-based institutions of governance co-exist with strongly-embedded liberal values which recognise the rights of individuals and the legitimacy of market-based mechanisms for economic production and distribution." 9The historical and philosophical construction of the liberal-democratic model, which was a global fashion of the 1990s, embodies the two distinct conceptual strands of the liberal tradition and of the democratic tradition. There are four most noteworthy attributes of liberal democracy which require special mention. Thus, first of all, a liberal democracy is roughly identical with free markets and it protects ownership rights and allows the market economy to decide economic relations. Next, the liberal democracy establishes a Trinitarian governmental structure where the legislature is a representative body elected by the people and the judiciary independent. "Third, liberal democracy severs law from religion, arguing for the separation of church and state. Fourth, it recognizes the dignity of the human person, respects personal decision-making, and empowers the individual to reject many, not all, norms of traditional society." 10 In conclusion, the western liberal democratic model of government has become the most popular form of government in the contemporary world and it is the result of a long historical evolutionary process. This paper was an attempt to understand Western liberal democracy in two sections: the evolution of liberal democracy and the nature of liberal democracy. It concludes that the specific nature of the model has been one of the chief reasons for its fame in the modern world. Bibliography Carter, April and Peter Chalk. "Introduction: Threats to Liberal Democracy." The Australian Journal of Politics and History. 44. (3). 1998. P. 325. Khan, L. Ali. A Theory of Universal Democracy: Beyond the End of History. Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. 2003. P. 14. Parekh, Bhikhu. "The Cultural Particularity of Liberal Democracy." Prospects for democracy: North, South, East, West. David Held. (Ed). Stanford University Press. 1993. P. 156. Parkin, Andrew. "Liberal Democracy and the Politics of Criminal Justice in Australia." The Australian Journal of Politics and History. 44. (3). 1998. P. 445. Riemer, Neal and Douglas Simon. The New World of Politics: An Introduction to Political Science. Rowman & Littlefield. 1997. P. 105. "What is a Liberal Democracy" WiseGEEK. On-line. Available from Internet, http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-liberal-democracy.htm, accessed 21 March 2009. Read More