Classical vs. Welfare Liberalism Analysis - Coursework Example

ical vs. Welfare Liberalism al Affiliation Liberalism is a philosophical thought that promotes freedom of choice for individuals. Classical liberalism focuses on property, liberty and life and argues that the government should not interfere in the lives of citizens as they pursue their goals. Welfare liberalism on the other hand, focuses on the same rights, but unlike classical liberalism, it supports government interference in the lives of citizens. Classical liberals believe that governments have no mandate to do whatever they believe is good, citizens have no obligation to comply with demands that the government decides to impose, and civil societies should be left to perform their own functions without interference. Reform liberalism accepts the fact that there is need for government intervention in some aspects of people’s lives. It accepts government involvement in the economy and its mandate to take specific actions to get rid of obstacles that block people from enjoying true freedom. Classical and welfare liberals uphold the same basic principles, which are are equality, freedom and individuality. This paper is a discussion on both political philosophies and at the end of the paper, welfare liberalism is chosen as the most preferable political philosophy. Liberalism is a term that political observers and philosophers have sought to define for centuries. Most of the arguments raised revolve around philosophical thought. In both practice and theory, liberalism focuses on promoting freedom of choice in individuals. Reitan defines liberalism as “a philosophy of government and is not concerned with private lives, apart from the responsibility of government and other public institutions to provide the freedom, opportunities, and security needed for the development of human potential” (2003, p. 70). It is important to note that although liberalism supports free individual choice, the choice has to have respect for the rights and freedom of others. Social liberalism upholds freedom in different aspects of life such as lifestyle, sexual orientation, association and movement, religion, expression and thought. This is on condition that the exercise of these freedoms does not violate the freedom of others. In this context, all individuals have equal freedom. Classical and welfare liberalism are two types of liberalism. Classical liberalism was formulated by John Locke (Noddings, 2002). The ideology focuses of property, liberty and life and argues that the government should not interfere with the lives of citizens as they pursue their goals. Welfare liberalism also advocates for civil rights although the theory remains ambiguous when it comes to private property. In this ideology, the government can interfere with the lives of citizens. This paper discusses classical and welfare liberalism and the controversy between them by highlighting the key features and differences between the ideologies, and selects the most preferable ideology. The key concern of classical liberalism is the link between the government and the civil society. Classical liberals believe that governments have no mandate to do whatever they believe is good, citizens have no obligation to comply with demands that the government decides to impose and civil societies should be left to perform their own functions without interference by governments. Rosenblum and Post point out that “classical liberals are committed to civil and economic liberties, and to limited government” (2002, p. 26). They get their inspiration from a number of religious and philosophical traditions, which include Christianity, utilitarianism, Aristotle, natural law and Kant among others. Classical liberals believe that protection of individual’s natural rights is only possible in a minimal state and this is the reason behind their defense for a minimal state. In the years prior to the twentieth century, classical liberalism dominated the United States political philosophy (Goodman, 2005). Government documents, federalist papers, the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence and Thomas Jefferson among others upheld classical liberalism as a political philosophy. During the era when slavery faced a lot of opposition, most of those who opposed it were classical liberals. Although liberty was held in high regard as the basic principle of classical liberalism, most Americans believed that rights were given to them by the government. This changed when John Locke came up with a different interpretation that having rights is part of human nature. People got to know that their rights were independent from the government and the main purpose of a government is to protect these rights. Welfare liberalism is also known as new liberalism, social liberalism or reform liberalism. The key concern of welfare liberalism is the development of the welfare state. In this form of philosophy, there is rethinking on the issue of intervention by government in economic activities (Yorkshire, 2010). Reform liberalism accepts the fact that there is need for government intervention in some aspects of people’s lives. It accepts government involvement in the economy and its mandate to take specific actions to get rid of obstacles that block people from enjoying true freedom. Reform, social, or welfare liberals urge governments to deal with issues of poverty, poor health, environmental damage and long work periods. They also believe that the government can assist individuals obtain freedom and allow them grow from an individual level. The main reason why reform liberals are also called welfare liberals is the fact that they campaign for proper housing, healthcare and quality environments among other aspects (Yorkshire, 2010). In short, welfare liberals believe that there should be programs to provide high standards of living to all people. Such programs include insurance for the unemployed, pensions, healthcare, public education among others. Welfare liberals believe that the government should use the power bestowed on it to provide these resources to all citizens and ensure that the economy runs efficiently. In regard to business, reform liberals believe that businesses should be regulated to ensure that unfair business practices, such as large corporations buying small corporations through malicious takeovers do not prevail. Welfare liberalism also upholds the view of equal rights brought about by classical liberalism and extends it to include equal opportunities. Classical and welfare liberals uphold the same basic principles. These are equality, freedom and individuality. In politics and before the law, classic and modern liberals support equality for all citizens. According to Wissenburg, both political philosophies support “proportional equality of treatment by governing bodies, on the basis of morally relevant characteristics of citizens” and “civil liberties: freedom of information, opinion and expression; freedom of property, ownership and trade; protection of the private sphere and private life” (2003, p. 73). In both classical and welfare liberalism, some kind of a state is viewed as a necessity, since it is what acts to protect the rights of individuals. This way, individuals do not exploit the rights of other individuals. Another similarity is the notion of freedom on both political ideologies. Both social and classical liberals believe that all individuals have free will. Lastly, in both political philosophies, there is the goal of emancipating individuals from obstacles that prevent them from developing their natural capacities. Although classical and welfare liberals share the basic principles of equality, freedom and individuality, the two political philosophies vary in a number of issues. One of the main areas of focus for classical liberals is economic liberalism. On this issue, classical liberals believe that individuals should be left free to carry out economic activities in a free market without the government interfering in their affairs. That is, the government should not have any form of influence over aspects of the market where businessmen, workers and customers carry out their business activities. Modern liberals on the other hand believe that government intervention is necessary so that the society can benefit. For this reason, they prefer a welfare state where benefits are provided to the public in equal measure and this way, the entire society can benefit. This is only possible through a government, which can use its power to make sure that an economy runs smoothly and that there are pension, healthcare, unemployment insurance, and public education programs, for all individuals. Classical liberals uphold negative freedom, which refers to freedom from restriction or any form of outside restraint upon the lives of individuals. From this perspective, classical liberals view the state as a necessary evil, whose only use is to protect the freedom and rights of individuals. For classical liberals, the state should never intervene in any issues and this is why they uphold freedom from it. Modern liberals on the other hand uphold positive freedom, which refers to freedom to some forms of restriction or outside restrain in the lives of individuals. They view the government as a positive force. They believe that opportunities for self-development should be provided by the state. For modern liberals, the state is a necessary requirement so that it can help individuals attain their full potentials. Due to their differing views in a few issues, especially concerning government interference in the lives of individuals, welfare and classical liberals support different government programs and policies. Welfare liberals support government pension programs and policies, healthcare programs for all individuals, insurance from unemployment, public education and proper housing. From this, it is clear that welfare liberals support programs and policies that take power from individuals and bestows it upon the government. Classical liberals on the other hand, support programs and policies that take power away from the government and bestow it upon individuals (Grigsby, 2012). Examples of policies supported by classical liberals include support for gay rights and marriages, abortion, gun ownership and freedom to watch movies and read books that would otherwise be prohibited. Issues such as poverty, poor health, poor housing, environmental damage and long work periods are common in all societies. This calls forth the need for a political philosophy that can come up with ways of dealing with such issues and ensure that everyone enjoys a high standard of living. Between classical and welfare liberalism, welfare liberalism is the preferable political philosophy, as it focuses on the attainment of these needs in societies and in equal measure. In conclusion, classical and welfare liberalism are both strands of liberalism. Classical liberals uphold freedom from the government while welfare liberals bestow freedom to the government. For classical liberals, the government is a necessary evil, while for welfare liberals, the government is a positive force. Both political philosophies however share the basic principles of equality, freedom and individuality. Between the two political philosophies, welfare liberalism is the most preferable, as it focuses on issues that are of common good to all individuals. Reference List Goodman, J. C. (2005). What is Classical Liberalism? Retrieved from http://www.ncpa.org/pub/what-is-classical-liberalism. Grigsby, E. (2012). Analyzing Politics: An Introduction to Political Science. Belmont: Cengage Learning. Noddings, N. (2002). Starting at Home: Caring and Social Policy. California: University of California Press. Reitan, E. A. (2003). Liberalism: Time-Tested Principles for the Twenty-First Century. Lincoln: iUniverse, Inc. Wissenburg, M. (2003). Green Liberalism: The Free and the Green Society. London: Routledge.   Yorkshire, T. (2010). Classical Liberalism, Social Liberalism, and Neo Liberalism. Retrieved from https://suite.io/curtis-nash/4fve2r0.   Read More