Related Issue #2: To what extent is resistance to liberalism justified?

The only part of the conduct of anyone for which he is amenable to society is that which concerns others. In the part which merely

concerns himself, his independence is, of right, absolute. Over himself, over his own body and mind, the individual is sovereign.

John Stuart Mill

The word liberal comes from the Latin liber, meaning free

Liberalism is associated with being open-minded and supporting freedom of speech and freedom within actions

Renaissance and Reformation: sparked a belief in the importance of the individual

Renaissance: Rebirth of classical Greek and Roman thinking

Reformation: Faith in the rationality of the individual and not in the hierarchical concentration of religious power within the Roman Catholic Church

Enlightenment/Age of Reason – late 17th century and early 18th century – promoted the beliefs of classical liberalism

While Enlightenment thinkers believed that these new ideas could lead to freer and tolerant societies, the ideas were not widely accepted because they challenged the established foundations of society.

Classical liberalism - stresses the importance of human rationality, values political freedoms, holds freedom to be the basic standard in economics, and a free market that operates with limited government intervention.

Many people who believed in liberalism during this time believed that

• individual freedoms and rights should be protected

• nobody should be above the law• what is good for individuals within a community

can also be good for the community as a whole• most individuals, if left alone, will make good

decisions for themselves as well as their communities

• government intervention should be limited so as to allow individuals as much freedom of choice about their lives as possible

• individuals and companies should be allowed to create, market, purchase, and sell products with a minimum of government intervention (a free-market economy)

Personal freedom: refers to the absence of coercion (force) and includes free speech, religious liberty, the right to private property, and the right to political opposition

Limited government: means that the state (government) is an instrument serving a function in society and not in general charge of ALL society

The government is there to prevent people from having each other through force and fraud

Equality of Right: all must abide by the same laws, which the government enforces with impartiality

Belief in the Rule of Law – no one is above the law.

Consent of the governed: Government is responsible to people and may be changed by them

Thomas Hobbes John Locke Baron de

Montesquieu John Stuart Mill Adam Smith Aboriginal

Contributions

Was concerned with the problems of social and political order: how human beings could live together in peace and avoid the danger and fear of civil conflict

IMPORTANT: His ideas are born out of the horrors of civil war and conflict!!! Hence a reason why he supported a strong central authority.

As a result of the civil war he saw human beings as inherently selfish, and if left unchecked this selfishness would result in chaos and harm to everyone.

Hobbes's goal was the security of all individuals, which could be achieved if they gave up their individual sovereignty

John Locke, an English philosopher was the first to argue that individuals had innate rights of life, liberty and property

Government comes about through the agreement of free individuals that their rights are best protected by associating with one another.

If the Contract was broken the people have the right to rebel

Locke’s ideas justified the Glorious Revolution in Britain in 1688, the American Revolution of 1776 and the French Revolution of 1789

The purpose of government is basically to protect the people in their ‘life, health, liberty, or possessions’. Locke believed that government should be directly accountable to the people.

Locke believed that people should have a ‘private sphere’ that the government could not interfere with – religion in particular – the state should be tolerant of all religions

“Reason must be our last judge and guide in everything.” Locke believed that individuals had the right to use their reason and logic to make their own decisions.

Let’s take a look at ‘Schoolhouse Rock’ to learn about the U.S. Constitution and the Declaration of Independence of 1776

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_TXJRZ4CFc

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that 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 secure these rights governments are instituted by men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed……

The National Assembly also took to Locke’s ideas and put those very ideas into their Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen

“The end of all political associations is the preservation of the natural and imprescriptable rights of man; and these rights are liberty, property, security, and the resistance of oppression.”

Portrays the idea called ‘Rule of Law’.

Montesquieu was critical of the Church and the divine right of kings

Montesquieu believed in the worth of the individual, the equality of individuals, and the accountability of government.

Supported the separation of powers – the government divided in to three branches: executive, legislative, and judicial

Three branches were dependent of each other and could not exceed the power of the other two branches

People need to be involved in government – need for a democracy Citizen must participate in and be aware of the law and workings

of government. “The tyranny of a pribnce in an oligarchy (rule by a few) is not so

dangerous to public welfare as the apathy of a citizen in a democracy.”

John Start Mill put together many themes on liberalism in his book entitled ‘On Liberty’.

Interested in the protection of individual freedom and the promotion of individual decision making as the core of societal institutions.

His ideas impacted many people throughout history.

Here is a quote from Mills about liberty and the use of power.

“The only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others.”

A citizen should be able to act as he or she wants, so long as his or her actions would not harm others.

As a result of the Industrial Revolution in England mercantilism was replaced by the capitalism and the factory system.

Laissez-faire (leave people alone to so as they wish) capitalism emerged from the theories of physiocrats and their criticism of mercantilism. They believed that the individual’s selfishness and competitiveness would inadvertently improve their own societies.

The government should leave business entrepreneurs alone to follow their natural self-interest.

The ideas a free market economy were brought to life by Adam Smith in his publication ‘The Wealth of Nations’.

Smith believed that the government’s role should be limited to maintaining the rule of law, to ensuring contracts were followed, and to providing some public works.

Adam Smith wrote about the Invisible Hand – this implies that human needs are best served by free competition in the marketplace which follows the same premise as liberalism.