Liberalism: ‘the belief that it is the aim of politics to preserve individual rights and to
maximise freedom of choice’. Brown, G., Mclean, I. & McMillan, A. (2018) The Concise
Oxford Dictionary of Politics and International Relations. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Key Questions:
What are the key features of Liberalism?
From Andrew Vincent and Barbara Goodwin.
Individualis In liberalism, everyone is seen to be of equal value (egalitarianism).
m
Classical liberalism: all individuals have been endowed with rights and are the
proprietors of their own body (possessive individualism). The goods an
individual produces are their own and they have rights towards them (anti-tax
and redistribution). Reason and interests are sovereign, and everyone is
rationally driven by self-interest.
Libertarians: believe in unconstrained individualism where no morality or
discipline can constraint individual desire. This has been linked to Max
Stirner’s Egoism and Murray Rothbard’s anarcho-capitalism.
Neoliberals: humans are rational and driven by self-interest; therefore,
capitalism is a moral issue and a right as it enables self-interest to flourish.
Ayn Rand stated: ‘[liberals] must fight for capitalism, not as a ‘practical issue’,
not as an economic issue, but, with the most righteous pride, as a moral
issue’. This is an example of individualist thinking.
Social liberalism: whilst the minimal state should be advocated, utilitarianism
means that interference should be used to ‘secure the individual from pain
and loss’ (Henry Sidgwick – Liberal Utilitarian)). Collectivist Liberals such as T.
H. Green believed that individualism and development can only be secured if
the state interferes in health and education to protect the development of all
citizens. This links to freedom: individuals can only be free where ‘all minds
have that fullness of scope’ (Hobhouse -Social Liberal). This is often called
idealist liberalism.
From Barbara Goodwin: Liberalism assumes the individual to be rational, with
knowledge of their best interests and how to secure them. According to Locke,
the pursuit of human self-interest is natural and a component of the ‘Laws of
Nature’; man has the God-Given right to ‘preserve his property. That is his life,
liberty and estate’.
Liberals have an atomistic view of society and the individual, with directly
confronts Communitarianism. It is assumed that people are ‘mutually
indifferent’ because of their free and unrestrained nature. Self-interest can
either lead to mutual cooperation, or competition.
, Liberals also have opinions on private and public life. The idea of freedom
leads liberals to respect the private realm. Locke believed the government
should not intervene in the private sphere, and developed a the view of civil
society; ‘the sphere of autonomous social institutions which are protected by
the rule of law but should be immune from state interference’. (Goodwin). A
major liberal criticism of Marxism is its interference in the private sphere; they
perceive this as damaging to individualism and development. For this reason,
Liberals do not advocated compulsory voting systems as in Aus. However, the
result of this distinct separation is the exclusion of citizens from politics, which
in representative democracies like the UK, has seen elitist politicians pursue
what they think is the common good, when actually, they are furthering the
agendas of the few. In 1960s, the British Liberal Party became an advocate of
decentralisation and devolution to extend public participation in politics.
Mill is contradictory on this subject; whilst advocating political education and
participation for development purposes, he also advocates the withdrawal of
the citizen to the private realm. Here, the tensions between liberal views on
democracy come into play.
Liberty Classical Liberals: adhere to negative liberty; the individual is free when
unrestrained. Any state intervention undermines freedom and offends the
principles of liberty. It is incorrect to assume that disease, poverty and
unemployment link to freedom. According to Hayek, they are not intentional
restraints and therefore do not justify state intervention to protect freedom
from poor conditions.
This notion of liberty is linked to property rights; John Gray states ‘private
property is the embodiment of individual liberty’ and an extension of bodily
rights. This freedom is necessary for development and innovation.
Justifiable versus. Unjustifiable constraint: If an individual uses their freedom
to restrict the freedom of another, it is justified for the state to restrict the
perpetrator’s freedom. This is in line with JSM’s Harm Principle.
Social/ Collectivist Liberals: adhere to positive freedom; an individual can only
be ‘free’ when they are free from external constraints such as socio-economic
disadvantages and disease. John Rawls’ ‘Veil of Ignorance’ is a perfect
example of this and justifies state intervention to secure the freedom to
develop for all citizens.
From Barbara Goodwin: According to Locke, man’s natural state is that of
freedom, and the government’s role is to ensure the conditions for freedom
and enjoyment, within the framework of the law. The conception of man as
‘free’ has resulted in liberals condemning social arrangements which see
citizens as unfree. According to Locke, servants who have condemned their
lives to their masters do not deserve voting rights, as they had forgone their
freedom.
Liberals associate freedom closely with the ‘human essence’, meaning
political, economic and social freedom is a human necessity. This has been
interpreted by neo-liberals such as Hayek, as the freedom to spend one’s
money and protect it. These ideas influenced the 1980s Thatcherite
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