Liberalism Has Proved the Most Successful Ideology - Case Study Example

LIBERALISM HAS PROVED THE MOST SUCCESSFUL IDEOLOGY Do you agree? Give reasons for your answer INTRODUCTION A number of scholars hold the view that liberalism as political ideology has left a significant impact on our society and has successfully maintained its political hegemony. Liberalism is the notable promoter of individual liberty (Liberalism and Freedom, 2001) and aims to establish a liberal society where individuals and private institutions are not dominated by the state. The concept of individual freedom is essential to liberalism. It is in this light that this paper will expound on the cases in which liberalism, for the most part, is the leading philosophy, especially in the West. This paper will also discuss the principles and values of liberalism. Various views on liberalism will be studied, which deal with the concepts of human nature, equality, society, the role of government, market and the change process. There are different kinds of liberalism such as classical liberalism, neo-liberalism and social liberalism. This paper will critically evaluate problems in the classical liberalism and neo-liberalism and will examine the background and reasons for the success of liberalism as a political ideology and system. PRINCIPLES AND VALUES OF LIBERALISM According to liberalism, the individual, as opposed to the community, is the core of social structure. The individual is given importance and provided protection and enough power to exercise his/her own power to meet his/her own socio-economic objectives. The efforts and programs in society are geared towards the enhancement and empowerment of individuals. Liberalism also has high regard for freedom or liberty. According to von Mises (2007), circumstances as they are in the current world present with an insufficient concept of the connotation as well as the likely achievements of liberalism and capitalism in complete blossom. The goal of politics in liberalism is to secure maximum freedom for individuals in society, and the government plays a key role in this process. Its main role is to protect liberty and individuals’ freedom. In general, liberal governments have been successful in the protection of individuals and the encouragement of the exercise of freedom. There are few societies which have not been able to achieve this but striving for liberty is ongoing in the majority of these areas. LIBERALISM VIEWS On Human Nature It can be noted that in liberalism the overall view is optimistic. Liberalism is hopeful, positive and confident in its outlook. Liberalism considers individuals as self-interested and independent utility maximisers. Individuals as rational human beings have the capacity to progress, develop and lead society to a more advanced stage in history. Continuous growth is achieved through the efforts exerted by individuals in society. Nussbaum and Sen (1993) advocate the capabilities approach to well-being. Capability enhancement endeavours further to groom individuals. On Equality With regard to the view on equality, liberalism secures legal equality within the boundaries of its political hegemony. Individuals as citizens of a liberal state have equal legal rights and are not discriminated on the basis of colour, language, faith, gender and ethnicity. They will have the same treatment under the law. Individuals have equal worth but unequal talents and skills. The unequal talents and skills differentiate one from the other. The individual’s position in society reflects the individual talent and effort. Liberalism believes in meritocracy or the recognition of talent and skills. Those who excel in terms of talent and skills should be given the due credit. Those who are doing well in the advancement of humanity are respected in society. Regarding liberty, according to John Stuart Mill (1806-1873), a British liberal philosopher in the nineteenth century, the sole reason for which authority and control can be lawfully put into effect above any constituent of a cultured community, against individual’s will, is to prevent harm to others. This is called the harm principle. In the exercise of power, harming others should be avoided. According to Hamilton (2004), liberty was expressed by Mill to promote individuality as this is one of the leading essentials of well-being. Mill expatiated on the debilitating effect of convention on the creativity of individuals and of nations, insisting that he/she who leads the world has no need for any other faculty than the ape-like one of imitation. On Society Liberalism views society as the aggregation of individuals; the world is composed of civilization of individuals. Society is also based on social contract as individual’s consent to be part of society in order to be governed. Liberalism tolerates diversity and pluralism of values and views. It acknowledges that individuals vary in their respective views. One view may be acceptable to one but not to another. Common respect for the views of anyone should be recognised. Differences naturally occur and this fact should be accepted. But these should be within limits to recognise primacy of individual. They should be within the bounds of reasons (Rawl, 1993). Liberalism has belief in social progress. The society has the capacity for continuous growth. There is no way but continuous development. Even if it goes down from time to time, it will still pick it up and continue to develop. Cultural liberalism is a means by which this society is appreciated as well as formed. At present, liberal societies demonstrate a gradually more unsubstantiated meaning of their relation to cultural and historical individualities. This cultural liberalism as Melleuish (1996) reflects upon, is odd and a mercurial amalgam of a Romantic belief in civilisation inflected by a Bergsonian principle of elan vital, and a civic humanism merged with liberalism's individualism. Melleuish (1996) thinks that in Australia, ideas are advocated at the expense of institutional practices and social relations. On the Role of Government Liberalists see the role of the government as a necessary instrument to protect the exercise of individuals’ freedom. The government can install systems to ensure practice of liberty (Barry, 2000). In Australia, the political demands for democracy and liberation of earlier generations have in recent times, as Hamilton (2004) remarks, been transformed into a personal demand for freedom to create one’s own self. In liberalism minimal intervention in market should be tolerated. Intervention is only given in instances where there is high necessity for them. The government should be an impartial arbitrator of interests and preferences. It is the government which is supposed to ensure the uninterrupted exercise of freedom. There is a need for constant vigilance to ensure that the government does not unduly constrain individual freedoms. In the current years, liberalists have been successful, says Berry (1999), in getting governments to respond to their advocacies. On Market In liberal ideology, the market must allow individuals to exercise their freedom and minimise the role of the government. Market maximises economic wealth. When it comes to market the various types of liberalism reflect dissimilar outlooks. Richardson (2003) explains that individuals taking actions without hindrance within the liberated market is one of the efficient systems for achieving the needs of the individual. Therefore, the Australian liberalists give attention on the individual as an economic entity. This society is also inclined to sustain economic deregulation. Roe (1984) suggests that intellectuals as much as anyone else are prey to the human tendency to hover between belief systems. On Change Process When it comes to the change process, the individual’s freedom should be ensured. The individual’s liberties should not be sacrificed just to accommodate the change process. There is therefore a need to ensure that when effecting changes, the freedom of every individual is not jeopardized. The rule of law should be observed. This is specially taken into consideration when infusing changes in society. There should be primacy of political institutions. Liberalism, through the years, has experienced several changes. Liberalism's history is marked by a sense of crisis and discontent as well as a proliferation of critics and challengers. It remains our dominant public philosophy. DIFFERENT VARIETIES OF LIBERALISM Classical Liberalism In classical liberalism there is free trade and laissez-faire. Freedom is regarded higher than equality. Negative freedom is freedom from interference by others. This is not freedom to realise potentials. Classical liberalism had its heyday in the mid-1800s (Starr, 2007), when the conditions of world politics were relatively benign. Utilitarianism is prevalent in a liberalist society. There is also monetarism. Classical liberals acknowledged that the relationship between liberty and happiness is fraught with ambiguity (Hamilton, 2004). Neo-Liberalism Neo-liberalism came into existence in late 20th century as a new version of classical liberalism. In this type of liberalism the state intervenes to prevent market efficiency. Under neo-liberalism, individual freedom is paramount. According to Margaret Thatcher, “there is no such thing as society only individuals and families” (Wilson, 1999). Under neo-liberalism, inequalities are inevitable. Attempts to end them are futile. The neo-liberalists advocate to role back the state. They believe in privatisation in order to give more economic freedom and systems that will lead to economic progress. Problems Facing Classical Liberalism and Neo-Liberalism The problem with classical liberalism and neo-liberalism is the tendency for business to distort market. This is done through monopoly. One case in point is the AIDS Therapeutic Trials Committee. Economic instability is associated with market. This is exemplified by the boom and crash in 1920s and 1930s. Operation of market leaves some citizens facing poverty and hardship. This can be observed in cases of starvation, homelessness, and others. In practice, legal equality often does not equal real equality. This can be shown by what happened to the gay kids in Hawaii (Gay Marriage and Homophobia, 2007). Social Liberalism Social liberalism is characterised by regulated market. This type of liberalism considers both equality of opportunity and outcome. It is also characterised by positive freedom, welfare underpinnings and Keynesian economics. Liberalism in the modern days is still thriving. It stresses lifestyle, culture, rights, status and morality (von Mises, 2007). CONCLUSION Liberalism’s core principle is individualism since the individual is regarded as more important than the social groups. The role played by the government in liberalism is critical since it protects the exercise of liberty and individual freedom. Liberalism views the human nature as self-interested utility maximisers with rationality and capacity for progress. On the other hand, liberalism views equality as formal or legal. Merits should be given to the talented or smart. Individuals must consent to be part of this society in order to be governed. Liberalism tolerates diversity and pluralism of values and views but they should be within limits that recognise primacy of individual. Only minimal intervention in market should be tolerated such that the government remains impartial arbitrator of interests and preferences. However, there is a need for constant vigilance to ensure that the government does not unduly constrain individual freedoms. In classical liberalism, there is free trade/laissez-faire where freedom is regarded more important than equality. Negative freedom comes when there is interference by others or there is the absence of freedom to realise potential. Utilitarianism and monetarism are prevalent in a liberalist society. In neo-liberalism the state intervenes to prevent market efficiency where inequalities are inevitable. Attempts to end them are futile, hence, the neo-liberalists advocate to role back the state to institute privatisation. Social liberalism is characterised by regulated market where equality of opportunity and outcome are considered. There is positive freedom, welfare underpinnings and Keynesian economics. Overall, history reveals that liberalism has turned out to be stronger and more effective in war than its adversaries have expected. It has become a greater tool to counteract war and chaos in society. Through the years, it has proved to be more resilient under the pressures from various sectors. As a whole, liberalism has proven to be successful since it gives more importance to individual’s freedom and refrain from restriction of market and economic competition. Through time, it has proven to eventually lead to economic development. REFERENCES Barry, N. 2000, An Introduction to Modern Political Theory, 4th edition, Macmillan: Basingstoke. Berry, J. M. 1999, The New Liberalism, Brookings Institution Press: Massachussetts. Gay Marriage and Homophobia, 2007. About, Inc. News, Information, Events Hamilton, C. 2004, The Disappointment of Liberalism and the quest for Inner Freedom, The Australia’s Institute.Melleuish, G. 1996, Cultural Liberalism in Australia, Cambridge University Press: New York. von Mises, L. 2007, Liberalism, Ludwig von Mises Institute: Auburn. Nussbaum, M. C. and Sen, A. (eds.). 1993, The Quality of Life, Clarendon: Oxford. Rawls, John. 1993. Political Liberalism, Columbia University Press. Richardson, M., The Confusion of Right Liberals, Conservative Central, December 5, 2003. Roe, M. 1984, Nine Australian Progressives, Vitalism in Bourgeois Social Thought, 1890-1960, University of Queensland Press, chapter 7. Starr, P. War and Liberalism, The New republic, March 5, 2007. Wilson, David Sloan. 1999, Evolutionary Support, Boston Review. Read More