LIBERALISM The Main Ingredients!

CORE VALUES Individualism Rationalism Freedom Justice Toleration

THE INDIVIDUAL The individual is at the heart of liberal ideology Attainment of individual happiness is one of its supreme goals The individual is supreme, sacrosanct and inviolable The liberty of the individual is of prime importance (see Mill)

THE INDIVIDUAL Liberal regard for individual human life thus rules out war and violence, except in preservation of the liberal society itself In elevating the individual, liberalism inevitably diminishes the importance of society as a whole

THE INDIVIDUAL Liberalism had to provide a contrast to feudal society, hence its emphasis on individualism Individualism promotes liberty, originality and self-distinction.

THE INDIVIDUAL Liberalism assumes the individual to be essentially rational This is essential given the individual’s importance in liberal ideology – difficult to value irrational beings! Rationality helps liberalism determine the form of political organisation chosen

THE INDIVIDUAL This is participatory government, as opposed to authoritarian government Rationality also suggests individuals can pursue their own interests effectively Seems to make a virtue of selfishness

THE INDIVIDUAL From Hobbes and Locke onwards, pursuit of self-interest is seen as man’s proper motivation Bentham (utilitarianism) talked of enlightened self-interest

PROBLEMS WITH INDIVIDUALISM The conception of man as a free being leads liberals to condemn arrangements which put him in a state of dependency Since man also knows his own interests best, liberals also oppose authoritarian or paternalistic governments

PROBLEMS WITH INDIVIDUALISM Both of these premises lead classical liberals to have problems with the interventionist welfare state

PROBLEMS WITH INDIVIDUALISM Early liberals also largely ignored human capacity for self-improvement Bentham said ‘higher’ and ‘lower’ pleasures were qualitatively the same Government had no role in elevating or improving people’s outlook

PROBLEMS WITH INDIVIDUALISM J.S.Mill, however, did talk of ‘man’s interests as a progressive being’, and recommended intellectual pursuits and self-improvement through education and political activity. He opposed state education, however, as a dangerous extension of government activity.

PROBLEMS WITH INDIVIDUALISM Liberal views of man as a social creature are also vague Pursuit of self-interest is believed to lead to natural co-operation Competition may arise as a result of shortage of resources Locke’s social contract was envisaged as entered into co-operatively, in everyone’s benefit.

EQUALITY Individuals are ‘born equal’, in the sense of having equal moral worth They should enjoy equal opportunities They will not necessarily take the same advantages of such opportunities No ‘equality of outcome’ in liberalism Belief in meritocracy

LIBERAL SOCIETY Pluralistic and diverse Enshrines individual liberty in, e.g., a Bill of Rights Limits government through constitutionalism Asserts need for government to be by consent of governed

THE LIBERAL SPLIT – 1. Classical Liberalism Belief in minimal state – negative freedom Function limited to maintenance of domestic order and personal security Economic belief in free, unregulated market Importance of natural rights theories and utilitarianism Key element of libertarianism

THE LIBERAL SPLIT – 2. Modern Liberalism Positive Freedom Unregulated capitalism produces new forms of injustice, oppressive to individuals State intervention is acceptable to promote individual liberty Overlaps with social democracy