Similarities Between Liberalism And Fascism

1865 Words4 Pages

Liberalism and fascism present two very different understandings of freedom. On one hand, liberalism provides freedom whereas fascism provides a lack of liberty. This essay will argue that liberalism and fascism provide two different ideas of freedom and to discuss this through the differences and similarities between the two. In order to argue that point, we need to address the meanings of freedom, the idea of freedom in both ideologies, and then the key similarities and differences between liberty in fascism and liberalism.
Before freedom in liberalism and fascism can be discussed, freedom must be first clarified. John Stuart Mill (1859) and Isaiah Berlin (1958) classified two sorts of freedom; negative freedom and positive freedom. Berlin …show more content…

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

Show More
Related

  • Patterson, Foner, And King's Typological Analysis Of Freedom

    824 Words  | 2 Pages

    Liberal freedom is the absence of subjective legal or institutional restraints on the individual, containing the idea that all citizens are to be treated equally. Freedom as self-government involves an assumed individual state of independence, self-determination, superiority, and self-confidence. Participatory freedom includes the right to the individual to partake fully in the political process. Collective deliverance is agreed as the liberation of a group from outside control-from imprisonment, bondage, or domination. (Walton Jr & Smith,

    Read More

  • Conservative and Liberal Ideologies in Regard to Health Care

    715 Words  | 2 Pages

    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 ...

    Read More

  • Defining Freedom in Eric Foner's The Story of American Freedom

    1177 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Eric Foner’s book, The Story of American Freedom, he writes a historical monograph about how liberty came to be. In the book, his argument does not focus on one fixed definition of freedom like others are tempted to do. Unlike others, Foner describes liberty as an ever changing entity; its definition is fluid and does not change in a linear progress. While others portray liberty as a pre-determined concept and gradually getting better, Foner argues the very history of liberty is constantly reshaping the definition of liberty, itself. Essentially, the multiple and conflicting views on liberty has always been a “terrain of conflict” and has changed in time (Foner xv).

    Read More

  • Freedom: Jackie Robinson And The Pursuit Of Freedom

    1283 Words  | 3 Pages

    According to the Collins Dictionary, “freedom” is defined as “the state of being allowed to do what you want to do”(“freedom”). The definition of freedom is simple, but make yourself free is not easy. Concerning about some common cases which will take away your freedom, such as a time-cost high education attainment. In this essay, I shall persuade that everyone should try his or her best to insist on pursuing freedom. For the individual, it appears that only if you have your personal freedom, can you have a dream; for a country, it seems that only if the country is free, can the country develop; for mankind, it looks like that only if people has their own pursuit of freedom, can their thoughts evolve.

    Read More

  • Aldous Huxley's View On Government Essay

    702 Words  | 2 Pages

    The subject of freedom often is the forefront of discussion when examining any sort of politics or government. The two basic sides include those for more freedom, and those

    Read More

  • The Sixties

    1370 Words  | 3 Pages

    Freedom has been discussed and debated for a while now and yet no one can completely agree that it exists. Since the Civil, War America has been conditioned to be divided politically. The conflict over the meaning of freedom continues to exist from the civil war, throughout the sixties and in the present. The Civil War was fought over the question of what freedom means in America. The issue was in the open for all to see: slavery. Human slavery was the shameless face of the idea of freedom. The cultural war in the sixties was once more about the question of what freedom is and what it means to Americans. No slaves. Instead, in the sixties and seventies four main issues dominated the struggle for racial equality: opposition to discriminatory immigration controls; the fight against racist attacks; the struggle for equality in the workplace; and, most explosively, the issue of police brutality. For more than two centuries, Americans demanded successive expansions of freedom; progressive freedom. Americans wanted freedom that grants expansions of voting rights, civil rights, education, public health, scientific knowledge and protections from fear.

    Read More

  • The Political Spectrum

    995 Words  | 2 Pages

    - Liberalism is a form of political structure where the powers of the government are limited against the people and their property

    Read More

  • Martin Luther King Jr Speech Analysis

    605 Words  | 2 Pages

    The idea of Freedom can be seen in Collection 2 in the textbook. Freedom can be seen in the speech “I Have a Dream” by Martin Luther King Jr. in the ideas/rights he introduces to his country. Freedom, or the lack of it, is in of the graphic novel “of from Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return by Marjane Satrapi when citizens rights to dress are limited. Lastly, in the short story “The Censors” by Luisa Valenzuela lacks freedom when the government’s safety rule is to proofread all letter that go through the system to avoid their secrets being revealed or gossip about them.

    Read More

  • Stuart Mill and John Locke Conception of Freedom

    1907 Words  | 4 Pages

    John Locke (1632-1704) and John Stuart Mill (1806-1873) are two important thinkers of liberty in modern political thought. They have revolutionized the idea of human freedom at their time and have influenced many political thinkers afterwards. Although their important book on human freedom, John Locke’s The Second Treatise of Government (1689) and John Mill’s On Liberty (1859), are separated 170 years, some scholars thinks that they are belonging to the same conceptual tradition, English Liberalism. In this essay, I will elaborate John Locke and John Stuart Mill view on human freedom and try to find the difference between their concept of human freedom despite their similar liberal tradition background.

    Read More

  • Comparing Classical vs. Modern Liberalism

    1802 Words  | 4 Pages

    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 ...

    Read More

  • Defining Freedom In George Orwell's 1984 And Ishmael Beah

    1482 Words  | 3 Pages

    How would you describe freedom? I would describe freedom as the power to think, act, and speak without hindrance and restraint (dictionary.com). Both George Orwell’s 1984 and Ishmael Beah’s A Lone Way Gone challenges the definition of freedom and how it is attained. In 1984, freedom is diminished quite a bit. They are not able to think, act, or speak freely and are constantly watched by the government. In A Long Way Gone freedom is being shown in the use of symbols. Symbols such as guns, Ak 47, rehabilitation, and the cassettes all provide freedom for Ishmael Beah.

    Read More

  • Satire in Brave New World

    1113 Words  | 3 Pages

    If we start letting simple freedoms go, we could lose some major ones. Works Cited Huxley, Aldous. A. & Co. Brave New World. New York: Harper Perennial Modern Classics, 2006.

    Read More

  • Negative and Positive Freedom

    885 Words  | 2 Pages

    Individual freedom is often seen as the core value of Liberalism. Nevertheless, freedom can be divided into two categories: negative and positive. Negative freedom, which is traditionally associated with Classical Liberalism, advocates the belief in non-interference, the absence of all external constraints upon the individual. This implies that individuals should be free to pursue their own interests free from outside restrictions or pressures.

    Read More

  • Compare Fascism And Nazism

    1059 Words  | 3 Pages

    Nazism and Fascism where both successful political parties in Europe because of the bullying tactics used by their leaders during a compromising time in Europe. The interwar period of Europe between 1918 and 1939 was a time many European countries encountered uncertainty as Europe struggled to recover from the devastation of the First World War and the destabilizing effects of that loss. Between the end of World War I and the commencement of World War II, the interwar period, many European countries faced dramatic rise in popular support for extreme political values. Of the many political parties that were birthed in that era, Benito Mussolini and the fascism party were widely popular in Italy whereas Adolf Hitler and the

    Read More

  • Essay On Liberalism

    1391 Words  | 3 Pages

    Modern day society is engrossed in a battle for protection of individual rights and freedoms from infringement by any person, be it the government or fellow citizens. Liberalism offers a solution to this by advocating for the protection of personal freedom. As a concept and ideology in political science, liberalism is a doctrine that defines the motivation and efforts made towards the protection of the aforementioned individual freedom. In the current society, the greatest feature of liberalism is the protection of individual liberty from intrusion or violation by a government. The activities of the government have, therefore, become the core point of focus. In liberalism, advocacy for personal freedom may translate to three ideal situations, based on the role that a government plays in a person’s life. These are no role, a limited role or a relatively large role. The three make up liberalism’s rule of thumb. (Van de Haar 1). Political theorists have

    Read More

More about Similarities Between Liberalism And Fascism

Open Document