How liberal ought a state to be - Essay Example

In most general terms, the term liberalism relates to a political tradition, a school of political philosophy, and also represents a more general philosophical world view that gives its peculiar definitions of value, offers a vision of the nature of personality, and develops a moral theory. Due to its involvement into the field of political philosophy, liberalism has accumulated within it several ideologies that promote concepts of society that maintains what liberals call individual liberty and human rights, among which are rights to entrepreneurial activity and private property.

The very term liberalism has some distinct, although usually cognate, connotations. In its classical meaning, the word "liberal" relates to a political philosophy based on the world view of the Enlightenment, which attempts to limit the political power and to defend the case of individual rights. As we have mentioned, today different ideologies have developed that allege their kindred to the heritage of the classical liberalism, for example modern (or American) liberalism, neoliberalism, and libertarianism.

Moreover, as a political tradition liberalism has different manifestations in different countries. For instance, in England, which to a large degree gave birth to liberal ideas, the political liberal tradition has accentuated tolerance between religions, importance of the consensual government, and the protection of personal and economic independence.