Ideology Of Classical Liberalism

Typically Liberalism can be categorized into two different strands, Classical and Modern (yet some thinkers advocate a third strand that is referred to as Neo-Liberalism), each characterized by their differing and to some extent unavoidably overlapping attitudes regarding the theory behind the ideology and how it should be put into practice. Prior to examining how these relate to one another and before making any comparisons, it is important to give a definition, as best as possible, of Liberalism as a concept.

Moreover, one way in which modern liberalism has departed from the ideas of classical liberalism is the extent to which the state should involve itself in the lives of the individual. Classical liberals, in particular John Stuart Mill, emphasised a minimal state and believed that an interfering state would impede upon the private lives of individuals. Yet modern liberals fully supported an enabling state; Beveridge believed that citizens should be protected by the state s from ‘the cradle to the grave.’ This implies that, unlike classical liberals, modern liberals supported a government which is fully involved in the lives of individuals and would therefore support policies such as benefits and the national health service. However, classical liberals, notably Samuel Smiles, thought that people should take responsibility for their own welfare because the individual is the guardian of their own prosperity and therefore state intervention is dangerous. This contradicts the belief of modern liberals, who believed that a state should be established in order to help people to help themselves.

During the first semester of 2016 in schools across Nova Scotia, teachers began discussing the potential of a union strike. The Supreme Court of Canada has declared the right to strike to be fundamental and protected by the Constitution (Fine, 2015), therefore a strike within a union is acceptable and a basic human right to express oneself, now and during the period of classical liberalism. On December 5th, 2016, teachers began work to rule, which affects the students and society`s right to proper, free education just as classical liberalism concerns itself with the rights and freedoms of the individual, but individual liberty often conflicts with the rights and freedoms of other individuals or with the rights of society as a whole (Canitz, 2018). In this case in particular, in a classical liberal point of view, it would be completely acceptable in the case of the teachers speaking their minds, although I agree with the ideology of classical liberalism, in my point of view there are also aspects in which I believe to be unfair for the student parties, speaking from experience as this happened during my last year of high

Classical liberal seems to be those who holds high regard for the concept of natural rights, but might still believe in economic controls imposed by a government for various reasons (environmental concerns, poverty concerns, etc.), while libertarians tend to believe in government that exists solely for the protection of individual rights with little to no government control of economic activity. Conservatives usually have a religious or strong inclination towards social order and control than classical liberals or libertarians.

A society can be anywhere on the liberal spectrum; it can support illiberal, modern liberal, or classical liberal views. Source one is clearly in support of classical liberalism, which is on the right of the spectrum. The philosopher who said this quote, Voltaire, believes that the individual is more important than the collective. Therefore, the government should have little interference in the lives of citizens and should only protect their natural rights. This source supports this because Voltaire is saying how, even if he doesn’t hold the same opinion as another individual, he will still allow them to state their opinion; everyone in society has the right to free speech, and no other human has the ability to take away that right. Classical liberalism is parallel to the views of John Locke, who believed that individuals have natural rights which must be protected by a government. Consequently, he believed that the government should only create laws which will prevent harm to others. Voltaire lived during the Enlightenment period in France, which occurred before the French Revolution. Before this period, kings were believed to have a divine right; in other words, God had given them the right to govern so therefore anything they said must be respected. However, individuals such as Voltaire and Locke disagreed and wanted individuals to recognize that they should fight for their rights. An example of a society which supports classical liberalism is modern America; individuals are equal before the law--the rule of law states that everyone must abide by the law--and individuals are free to think what they want and to openly speak it. Republicans and liberals or individuals who believe in capitalism are the most likely to hold this ideology.

The concept of liberalism has been an ever changing political concept since the dawn of humans. In order to dissect liberalism and its main ideas, we must identify what it means as well as the core ideas that compose of it. Generally speaking, liberalism is the ideology where liberty and equality are valued with government constrained by checks and balances. It recognizes the uniqueness of individuals, but also emphasizes that they all share the same status within society. Liberalism also has subcategories or key principles, which include individualism, freedom, rationalism, and toleration to name a couple. The key principles that will be focused on are individualism, freedom, and rationalism. These ideas are essential to liberalism and will

The Classical liberalism theory mainly emphasis is sited on shielding the freedom of the individual by restricting the power of the government. Classical liberalism is a wide philosophy of politics, economics, and human society that upholds individual freedom and the acknowledgement of universal human dignity. The most important features of The classical liberalism theory is consist of the following beliefs: All human beings have intrinsic dignity and worth, all individuals have intrinsic natural rights; including right to live, liberty, pursuit of happiness, and property ownership, social arrangements and governments are human constructs; their justification is the establishment of order, to promulgate justice, and to guard

Throughout the last section’s readings, there have been many examples of different political thought through different aspects, from economic to social. One of these ideologies includes Classical Liberalism, which was argued by the philosophers Hobbes, Locke, and Adam Smith. Over time though, many of the future political writers began to alter their views from what Classical Liberalism’s core beliefs were. The political writers in the course we have been reading from have differed from the ideas of Classical Liberalism, and in effect have caused their generations to think differently about the place of people in social, economic, and individualistic ways.

The end of the First World War saw a shift in political thought towards liberalism through the creation of the League of Nations to avoid a recurrence of international aggression, while realism seemed to have lost its credibility. The dramatic failure of the League in stopping another international war gave rise to serious questions and doubts about the effectiveness of the liberal ideas upon which it had been founded. This offered realism a chance to re-emerge as the dominant perspective in international relations. But, unlike the eighteenth-century definition of classical realism that argued that all states are motivated by the pursuit of power and expansion, the postwar realists modified the initial theory. For nearly 2,500 years, classical realism has displayed a principal unity of thought. One of the most important classical realist writer, Hans Morgenthau, came to have the largest impact on this field. His 1948 book, Politics Among Nations, coined an account of realism that dominated international relations for almost three decades.

Ideology is defined as the basis for political action that combines the following: an empirical evaluation of society as it is currently, an ideal situation for how things should be, and finally, a suggested action that will help achieve said goal. Capitalism is currently the most popular economic system, but one’s perspective can create differences in definitions. Breaking down Capitalism can reveal an ideology that some may find to be very familiar, and many believe that Classical Liberalism actually contains the ideology behind the currently most popular type of economic system. First, I will that explain the introduction of Classical Liberalism ideology in history and then discuss capitalism in relation to this.

Classical liberals espouse negative freedom, which is the absence of external restraints on individuals. They believe in freedom of the individual,

The term “Science” originated from French basically meaning “knowledge”. By that definition, Politics certainly is a Science. Politics is empirical; it evaluates both quantitative and qualitative data. While many contest that Political Science is not a science because of the general inability to fully quantify things such as human decision and public opinion, significant portions also deal with demographics, voting patterns, and the economy.

Liberalism is a set of ideologies in which the foundation of a society lies within the freedom of the individuals within it. The basic principles or values of liberalism include freedom, cooperation and the importance of human reason. Although all forms of liberalism were built upon these common principles or values, there are certain factors that assist in differentiating between them. The two most commonly known forms of liberalism include classical liberalism and modern liberalism. Both of these ideologies put an emphasis on the value of human reason and individual freedom however, they are not the same when it comes to their ideas regarding government intervention in social, political and economic factors.

The Classical Liberal theory rests in its very core on the foundation of equality of life and individuality of all humans. Hence, liberals perpetrate the idea of personal freedom and choice to go about one’s business as long as it doesn’t infringe or interfere with the rights of the other (Heywood, 2002). Locke was of the opinion that each individual is bestowed with certain versatile features which are distinct as must be respected. In an ideal form of government, every individual is hence free to pursue all that his individuality allows him to (Parekh, 1997). He believed that humans possess the ability to reason and cognition which

Property has been a main focal point in almost every society, because setting a principle to define one 's possessions is an important aspect in citizen’s lives. This is why the majority of countries contain some form of property rights. In broad terms, property is defined as a thing that someone possesses. Throughout many years the definition of property has changed, and many philosophers have been able to address the different variations of property. Today, the definition of property is complex and contains many sub-definitions. The spectrum for these definitions could range from private property to intellectual property, because one can define property as estate, as another could define property as one’s personal ideas. One philosopher that is famous for his work on defining property is John Locke. Locke uses his ideals of liberalism to develop a reasonable and accurate definition of property. To fully understand Locke’s definition of property, classical liberalism needs to be understood. Locke’s theory of classical liberalism is based on natural rights, private property, and social contract, which helps in defining Locke’s perception of property.