The Liberalist View
Liberalism is a political ideology that was founded on the basis of equality and liberty. According to Liberalism, life, liberty, and property are rights people are born with and they should not be taken away. In Liberia, the main political party is the Unity Party which is a liberal party that focuses on economic Liberalism. In South Africa, the Democratic Alliance is a liberal party that wants an open opportunity society. Although these two nations are faced with many issues involving the liberty of their citizens, they hope to better their country through the ideology of Liberalism.
According to Liberalism, people should be granted liberty and equality. This political view is one in which it believes in free and fair elections, a Bill of Rights, and most importantly, civil rights. The foundation of the Liberalist political view can be traced all the way back to the 17th century when philosopher John Locke introduced the philosophy of people having natural rights. Locke’s philosophy included what is known as the Law of Nature in which he states that people use reason to pursue their own self-interest and that they are born with an innate sense of right and wrong. Locke also introduced the idea of State of Nature in which people live within reason without a government. Locke believed that in an absolute State of Nature, people could live together in a rational matter. For example, there would be a rational limitation on property. This means that people would only use as much land as they needed in order to survive. Of all the ideas Locke introduced, his most important one would be that people are born with natural rights. These natural rights Locke is referring to are the right to life, liberty, and property....
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...f South African language and culture, acknowledgement of the racial oppression in South Africa, past and present, that it was wrong and positive action is required to make it right, and finally that all South Africans are legitimate and enjoy full moral equality (“About – DA”). In order for all this to be possible, the state must ensure it does not compromise the freedom of the individual (“About – DA”).
I believe that the Liberal view will be politically successful for the rest of the 21st century. I think that this political ideology has the people’s best interest as its main priority and that is the most important ideal of any political ideology. I feel that this ideology is on the rise instead of the decline due to that fact that its focus is on life, liberty, and property. I feel that any issue that has a strong basis for human rights will last for a long time.
Liberalism is an ideology which advocates equality of opportunity for all within the framework of a system of laws. It includes a belief in government as an institution whose primary function is to define and enforce the laws. Furthermore, a Constitution, must be developed not solely by one ruler but by representatives of the elite groups. Therefore, liberalism invariably involves a belief in the need for legislative bodies which represent the influential groups. The Constitution then defines ...
According to John Locke everyone has natural rights. John Locke came up with natural rights, by thinking about what they could be for a long and vigorous time. Locke said that natural rights are “life, health, liberty, and possessions” (9). Life is something that no one can take away from anyone. Locke said, “no ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty, or possession” (9). Life is not an absolute right. An example of this is if there was a train full of ten thousand people about to hit a rock, and you are by the switch that could save the ten thousand people, but if you use the switch you are killing a twelve-year-old girl on the other track. Liberty is doing what ever someone wants to do, and they can’t be punished for
- Liberalism is a form of political structure where the powers of the government are limited against the people and their property
Liberalism is an ideology and due to the changing views of historical persons, who have each viewed themselves to be Liberals, is difficult to define precisely. There are five agreed defining tenants of Liberalism. The most important of these, percolating through the ideology, is the ‘Importance of the Individual’, and closely interlinked with this is ‘Freedom’, which leads on to the concept of ‘Individual Freedom or liberty’. Liberals believe that humankind is a rational species, and thus ‘Reason’ is a third tenant. Furthermore Liberalism advocates that the principle of ‘Justice’ and Toleration’ are fundamental in the well being of society and each of these aspects relates directly back to the quintessential first tenant. Liberalism, according to Habermas “emphasizes individual freedom from restraint and is usually based on free competition, the self-regulating market, and the gold standard; c: a political philosophy based on belief in progress, the essential goodness of the human race, and the autonomy of the individual and standing for the protection of political and civil liberties.” As an individualist, rather than a collectivist ideology the individual is placed as the building block of society. J. S. Mill says ...
Locke’s view of the pre-political state begins with his statement that “man is ‘naturally in,’ the state of ‘perfect freedom’ and equality,” (Christman 42). Locke believes that man naturally has the capacity for Reason which in turn allows man direct access to moral laws. Reason provides man with his own individual rights and obligations and moral rights and duties. Furthermore, Locke writes that “‘The State of Nature has a Law of Nature to govern it, which obliges everyone: And Reason, which is that Law, teaches all Mankind, who will consult it, that being all equal and independent, no one ought to harm another in his Life, Health, Liberty, or Possession,’” (43). Moreover, man needs an authority to protect and preserve these moral rights which can only executed when, as Locke states, when the “ ‘power and jurisdiction is [are] reciprocal,’” (42). Therefore a social contract is created when human beings unite and the majority of a people agree upon a particular state which protects mans natural freedom and equality.
Locke firmly denies Filmer's theory that it is morally permissible for parents to treat their children however they please: " They who allege the Practice of Mankind, for exposing or selling their Children, as a Proof of their Power over them, are with Sir Rob. happy Arguers, and cannot but recommend their Opinion by founding it on the most shameful Action, and most unnatural Murder, humane Nature is capable of." (First Treatise, sec.56) Rather, Locke argues that children have the same moral rights as any other person, though the child's inadequate mental faculties make it permissible for his parents to rule over him to a limited degree. "Thus we are born Free, as we are born Rational; not that we have actually the Exercise of either: Age that brings one, brings with it the other too."
Considered to be the ‘Father of classical liberalism,’ John Locke established the core values of classical liberalism, which included liberty, individualism, protection of natural rights, consent and constitutionalism. Classical liberalism that developed in the United States focused on a ‘minimal state’ in terms of government restriction while John Locke centralized his focus on the social and political means of the individual. Generally, egalitarianism is defined as “a belief in human equality in terms of social political and economic affairs.” Under this standard, John Locke cannot be labeled an egalitarian in all terms since he does not believe in equality of persons in all aspects. John Locke’s form of classical liberalism can be best categorized as egalitarian because of his emphasis on the idea of tabula rasa, equality of opportunity and natural rights.
Liberalism is a political or social philosophy that advocating the freedom of the individual, parliamentary system of government, nonviolent modification of political, social, or economic institutes to assure unrestricted development in all sphere of the human endeavor, and governmental guarantees of individual rights and civil liberties.
...aditions of certain cultural practices, but not to the extent of making it a political theory. In todays world, we need a solid foundation to each individual in order to have a working, non-oppressive, self-respecting society. The liberal approach respects the ideals of certain cultures, but not to the extent of the communitarian. Overall, the liberal theory of justice is a more relevant political theory in our globalized world.
Liberal today stands for a variety of beliefs and ideas that are based on liberty, equality, and tolerance. So in order to fully understand the word, we will travel back into the past to look at the events that helped shape the word into its present day definition. In 1375, liberal was first used to describe liberal arts as the “desirable education for a free man.” In 1640, fighting between the English parliament and King Charles I led to the English Civil War.
To understand these morality and mutual support government has a number of key themes that I will explain in this paragraph. The first key theme is the individual and his/her rights in the liberalism. The liberalism is the hearts of the individuals (Harrison and Boyd 202). Each individual has equal value and they are capable to understand what is good or bad for them. Equality and justice are the best form to understand the liberalism. Some individual claims that as a matter of fact, they think that some individual act rationally and choose what they need to be in their own interests. In the 20th century, liberals have promoted the homosexual rights, gender and racial equality, rights for the disabled and civil rights in general (Harrison and Boyd 203). Liberals are also given the authority of the freedom of speech and with that we have the authority to say what is right or wrong. The second key theme is a belief in progress. Belief in progress, we can say that how the individual (human nature) believe in themselves that they can do anything they wish want to do and they are aware that what is bad or good for them. Liberals look to the future with optimism and believe that social improvements not only possible and desirable but is also likely to take place over the long term (Harrison and Boyd 204). The third key theme is the commitment to freedom. The liberal attitudes to the human nature, progress and the individual, all come together in the very high value place of freedom (Harrison and Boyd 204). This freedom includes so many freedoms. For example, freedom of nations and groups oppression, freedom of economic activity, and freedom of thought and expression. Freedom cannot be absolute, there must be restraint who in exercising their own liberty (Harrison and Boyd 205). The government should therefore create the condition in which moral life is possible and the wildest possible
I am a liberal. Modern liberalism in the United States is associated with the ideas of liberty and political equality; its advocates favor change in the social, political, and economic realms to better protect the well-being of individuals and to produce equality within society. My liberal views align with the Democratic Party on almost every single issue.
Classical liberal ideas often form the basis for opposition to the use of government to attain social objectives. They stress instead reliance on private initiatives or the free market to determine the best outcomes. Liberals believe in the government action the allows equal opportunities and equality for all. Liberals have a more fact-based, rather than faith-based, ideology. They are not so motivated by self-serving but actually negative emotions, such as prejudice, greed and fear, and thus can see the great advantages to a society of justice for all The basic duty of the government is to protect the common good and private rights of individuals. They consider the governments duty to help protect the individual and human rights. They emphasize the need for the government to solve their problems. Liberals are usually called the "extreme left"; social wealth, oriented toward change and more government. Liberals credit in socialism, meaning they value social equality in jobs, race, wages, education. Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security are all apart of Liberal beliefs. Liberals also reflect that more people should be working and participating in government projects like voting. Each person should get what they need: wealth, food, shelter, education. They also trust that
Liberalism is strict the notion of equality for all individuals and the recognition of their voice in society. The source states “at every opportunity, the principles of liberalism should be challenged”. The interpretation of the source would say that is it disagreeing with liberalism and its principles. The source would agree that economic equality, co-operation, and collective interest are the principles that should be seen in society. Since liberalism supports individualism, the source would be agreeing with the opposite of liberalism, collectivism. Collectivism is the notion of the government playing a significant role in society. The source would agree with the philosopher Thomas Hobbes and his idea of complete government control in society. Those who disagree with the source would agree with philosophers like John Locke and Adam Smith and their ideas of being an open society ran by the people. The source would disagree with the notion of a free market economy. The source states that liberalism is the cause of the world’s economic, political, and social inequality. There are many examples in present day history when liberalism is or should have been the way to run a nation or nation-state. In Nazi Germany, liberal principles were ignored leading to the death of many people. Also in history there was the development of labor unions and that significantly changed the working world in a positive way. The source would disagree with labor unions and how it gave the individuals power to enforce liberal principles onto their superiors. Labor unions support the important principles like individual rights, economic freedom, and self-interest. Having liberalism implemented in society has been shown many times to improve society. I fir...
Locke (1995) claims that it is the living under the government which provides freedom through the use rules, no restraint besides the law, and free from arbitrary power. Liberalism tends to support the idea of limiting constitution government and their power. It was liberal thinkers James Madison and Baron de Montesquieu that designed the idea of the separation of powers, to equally distribute the power the government has (Young 2002). This then causes it to help to ensure that there are individual freedom, rights and that individuals have autonomy. Liberals tend to be suspicious of the government and the power that they possess which can be used to limit an individual and their freedom. By restricting the government, it makes sure that they are not using their power to target citizens and to constrain their liberty. Friedrich von Hayek (1960) debated for the rule of law, where individuals under this law can make choices and act upon them without constraint. With a rule of law and the separation of powers, it ensures that no single person can rule over the citizens and rob them of their freedom. Unless, of course, their state is a form of fascism to which there is an absolute power leadership. Although, while more modern forms of liberalism support the restrictions placed on governments they are still supportive of the continued use of services provided to ensure equal rights and freedom (Young 2002). Having personal liberty would be pointless if they lacked the supplies to be able to benefit from having these rights. Locke (1960) vowed that if a government truly breaches an individuals’ rights and liberty, these individuals may legitimately rebel against the government. Hence why liberalism rejects the idea of an absolute rule. As one of the main concepts of liberalism is freedom, there is no way they would have an absolute