Liberalism is an ideology that has had a profound impact on both politics and economics throughout the world. In general, liberalism is centered on the idea of liberty (freedom) for the individual person, and as such is often based upon the principles of individualism, which include: economic freedom, private ownership, competition, self-interest, self-reliance, individual rights and freedoms, and the rule of law. In all, liberalism is one of the most influential ideas in modern history, and has impacted the foundation of democratic societies around the world.
LIBERALISM – MAIN PRINCIPLES
As stated above, the main principles of liberalism focus on the idea of individualism. As such, historians consider the main principles of liberalism to be: economic freedom, private ownership, competition, self-interest, self-reliance, individual rights and freedoms, and the rule of law. At its heart, individualism is a set of principles centered on the belief in the moral worth of the individual. This means, that economic or political systems based on the principles of individualism favor policies that limit the control of the government and instead allow more freedoms for the individual person.
Democracy is another central principle, as liberalism believes governments should be chosen by the people and accountable to them. In fact, liberalism is focused on the idea that the government should reflect the will of the people and not the will of the central authority. As well, the concept of ‘separation of powers’, is also important to modern liberal democracies. This essentially means that the government authority is divided between three distinct branches (executive, legislative, and judicial branches). The idea is that it will help prevent abuses of power, because each branch can act as a check on the others.
Economically, liberalism supports free markets and private property, encouraging competition and innovation. Finally, liberalism upholds human rights and freedoms, such as freedom of speech, religion, and press, as essential for a fair and open society.
LIBERALISM – HISTORY
The ideas of liberalism emerged out of the tumult of the Age of Enlightenment and famous revolutions from the 18th century such as the American Revolution and French Revolution. The Age of Enlightenment was an important time in the history of the world and modern western societies. The Age of Enlightenment, or just the Enlightenment, occurred during the 17th and 18th centuries and is known as a time period of great change and new ideas. Specifically, the Enlightenment involved an intellectual movement, in which famous thinkers and philosophers challenged some of the basic foundations of society, including: role of the government, basic human nature, sources of authority and ideas centered on liberty.
For instance, at the time, Europe was based on the political principles of feudalism and absolute monarchy. Feudalism was a form of government common during medieval Europe that involved society being structured in a very rigid and hierarchical way. It was popular in European society from the 9th century until the 15th century and was the form of government in which the country was dominated by an absolute monarch, in which all power was held within a single king. The monarch would rule over the country while the rest of the people were bound by a hierarchical system in which people were placed into classes in which they were born. The power of the monarch was absolute meaning ‘all powerful’. As such, people in the lower classes of feudal society were unable to question the king because he held total authority over society.
However, during the Enlightenment, many different philosophers began to question this state and some offered alternative theories for how society could and should be structured. For example, John Locke, a famous Enlightenment thinker, questioned the authority of absolute monarchs and instead advocated for a monarch who held the support or consent of the people. In this way, Locke was arguing for the idea of basic rights and freedoms of the individual and a limitation of the power of the monarch. Locke is often credited with the emergence of classical liberal values and his ideas were important factors the in the American Revolution. For instance, the American Declaration of Independence is often cited as being heavily inspired by the works of John Locke. Similarly, the Declaration of the Rights of Man from the French Revolution echoed the individualistic values preset in the American Declaration of Independence and the ideas of Locke.
Central to the concept of liberalism is the notion of individual rights and freedoms. As stated above, famous 18th century revolutions saw the creation of documents that supported the idea that all individuals possess some basic rights and freedoms. For example, the American Declaration of Independence, which was written by Thomas Jefferson, states ‘all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; that to insure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed’. Further to this idea, countries that embrace liberal values usually include basic rights, such as: freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of religion, freedom of association and the right to vote. All of these rights center on the freedom of the individual person and the limitation of power or authority for a centralized government such as an absolute monarchy. As such, individual rights and freedoms are an important principle of liberalism and therefore individualism. As such, modern democratic are based in part on individualism, such as: United States, Canada, Australia, France, England, Germany, etc.
In the 19th century, liberalism continued to grow, especially in Europe and North America, as people demanded constitutional rights, free markets, and democratic reforms. Furthermore, during the events of the Industrial Revolution, liberalism was associated with economic freedom and limited government intervention, which was known as classical liberalism. However, by the 20th century, liberalism evolved to address new social challenges, giving rise to modern liberalism, which supports a greater role for government in promoting social welfare and equality.
LIBERALISM – TYPES
As stated above, like any other ideology, the values behind liberalism have shifted throughout time and now historians identify a few different types of liberalism, including: classical liberalism and modern liberalism. In general, the two types of liberalism differ in the way they handle government intervention in society, but both are centered on the belief in the value of human liberty.
It is important to remember that liberalism as an ideology is not necessarily similar to liberalism in any one country or region. Because of the abstract nature of liberalism, it often means different things to different people. As such, it is difficult to relate liberal ideology with local meanings of the world in a particular political climate. As well, liberalism has fundamentally shifted throughout history which can also make is difficult to understand which form of liberalism people are referring to. In the context of this article, liberalism is an ideology that emerged out of the ideals of the Age of Enlightenment and focuses on the idea of personal liberty in politics and economics for individual people.
CLASSICAL LIBERALISM
Classical liberalism emerged out of the ideas of several prominent thinkers and writers during the timeframe of the Age of Enlightenment between the 17th and 19th centuries. It first developed in Europe and North America and has had a profound impact on the histories of these continents. In general, classical liberalism is a right-wing ideology and based upon the values of political and economic individualism. This means that it highly values individual freedoms and limited government intervention in the lives of citizens. To fully understand the significance of these individualistic values, it’s first important to understand the systems that existed before. The development of classical liberalism at the time was a revolutionary idea because Europe, had previously been based on the following: feudalism, absolute monarchy, and mercantilism.
MODERN LIBERALISM
Modern liberalism is generally considered to be in the center of the economic spectrum and is based upon the idea of a mixed economy that includes elements from both the left and right. It first emerged out of the late 19th and early 20th centuries with the rise of socialist movements and values that swept across Europe and North America at the time. Historians consider the emergence of socialism, and in turn modern liberalism, as a response to some of the appalling conditions present in classical liberal societies of the Industrial Revolution. Modern liberalism was preceded by classical liberalism and both are part of liberalism as an ideology.
