1. Introducción
Libertad, capacidad de autodeterminación de la voluntad, que permite a los seres humanos actuar como deseen. En este sentido, suele ser denominada libertad individual. El término se vincula a de la soberanía de un país en su vertiente de 'libertad nacional'. Aunque desde estas perspectivas tradicionales la libertad puede ser civil o política, el concepto moderno incluye un conjunto general de derechos individuales, como la igualdad de oportunidades o el derecho a la educación.
2. La Libertad Y Sus Límites
Como es lógico, el reconocimiento de una libertad ilimitada haría imposible la convivencia humana, por lo que son necesarias e inevitables las restricciones a la libertad individual. La libertad se define como el
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La Ilustración, fuente intelectual de la Revolución Francesa, definió la libertad como un derecho natural del hombre a actuar sin interferencias de ninguna clase, al tiempo que estableció la necesidad de limitaciones a la libertad para con ello procurar la existencia de una organización social propia. Enterrada la teoría del origen divino del poder real, las nuevas teorías ponían el fundamento del poder en el pueblo, y que la tiranía comienza cuando, ignorando esa procedencia, se violan los derechos individuales. En la Revolución Francesa se encuentra el origen ideológico de la Declaración de los Derechos del hombre y del ciudadano, que sirvió como modelo para la mayoría de las declaraciones sobre la libertad adoptadas por los estados europeos del siglo XIX.
En Latinoamérica, los principios liberales que rigieron las luchas por la emancipación durante las dos primeras décadas del siglo XIX estuvieron enmarcadas también en los ideales de libertad, personal y de comercio, que dieron origen a la Revolución Francesa.
Diverso concepto de libertad fue el sustentado en la Revolución Rusa de 1917. El Estado resultante (Unión de Repúblicas Socialistas Soviéticas), de acuerdo con la ideología marxista en la que se basó su Constitución, mantuvo que todo reconocimiento de la libertad individual favorecía al individuo concreto, pero siempre en perjuicio de la mayoría de la población. La
Moreover he works on identifying the advantages of the liberal democracy by comparing it to the nondemocratic systems in the last
Although liberals agree about the value of liberty, their views on what it means to be ‘free’ vary significantly. It was Isaiah Berlin who first created the concepts of negative and positive freedom that helped to differentiate between the two liberals’ views of freedom. The concept of negative freedom was adopted by classical liberals, who believed that freedom was defined as being left alone and free from interference. Classical liberals believed this theory to mean that individuals should be free from external restrictions or constraints. Modern liberals, on the other hand, believed in positive freedom. This, modernist’s perceived to means that all individuals have the ability to be their own master, and thus reach full autonomy. Unlike classical liberals, who had little faith in humankind, Modernists conveyed humans in a much more positive light: people are rational beings that are capable, and therefore should be able, to flourish and
According to Spain then and now, (2011), “In contrast to Spain’s startling growth of political power and prestige during the 16th century, the 17th century is commonly seen as one of decline.” Not merely historical hindsight, this view was already articulated in the early 17th century by a group of writers known as arbitristas. They lamented the deterioration of the country, and offered suggestions for both political and especially economic reform. Who recognised the stark contrast between the appearance of imperial greatness and the reality of social and economic problems in their country. Events of the 17th century confirm the foresight of the best of these early political economists. Since then there has been general consensus that Spain
In classic liberals eyes, true freedom is that when the individual is left completely to their own desire, at best the state can be seen as ‘a necessary evil’, or as Jefferson summed up, “Government is best when governed least”. On the other hand there are the modern liberals, who in contrast, have advanced a developmental form of individualism that prioritises human flourishing over the quest for interest satisfaction. This idea says that people can be developed in order to become the best person they can be. In contrast to classic liberals, modern liberals follow positive freedom. This was an idea proposed by Green in the late nineteenth centaury; it recognizes that liberty may also be threatened by social disadvantage and inequality. This, in turn, implied a revised view of the state. By protecting individuals from the social evils that threaten to limit their lives, the state can expand freedom, and not merely diminish it. In the place of the old minimal state, modern liberals have devised a new ‘enabling state’, exercising an increasingly wide range of social and economic responsibilities. Therefore modern liberals differ from the classic liberal in terms of the individual, as the classics believe the state restricts and limits individual freedom, whereas modern liberals see the state as enabling and protective, and can therefore boost levels of individual freedom
For the purposes of this essay, I define liberalism as a school of political thought concerned with liberty,
The classical liberal ideology emerged as a result of the Enlightenment period, which brought about new philosophies, challenging the existing assumptions about the nature of humankind and society. Modern liberalism developed around 1870 as a result of both philosophical and practical changes, including mass industrialisation. Classical liberals argue that modern liberalism has broken the principles of doctrines central to liberal thought whilst modern liberals claim that they are simply adapting and building on classical liberalist ideas. This essay will discuss the extent to which modern liberalism departs from classical liberalisms by analysing approaches to the size of the state, democracy and the concept of freedom and aims to justify
John Locke, an influential English philosopher, has been considered one of the greatest thinkers during the Enlightenment. Well-known for his fundamental role in developing political philosophy, John Locke is widely regarded as “the Father of Liberalism”. Furthermore, being a pioneer empiricist, his famous theory of the human mind as containing non-innate ideas is often seen as an inspiration for contemporary empiricists. He also contributed to the social contract theory. This theory states that: individuals in a society consent to surrender some of their freedoms in exchange for protection of their other rights. Due to his contributions, many people believe that he influenced a great number of thinkers in history, including Thomas Jefferson, the main author of the Declaration of Independence. In this essay, I will be focusing on John Locke’s liberal theory. Furthermore, I will discuss how his thinking influenced the composition of The Declaration of Independence, a statement by which the thirteen American colonies announced that they were not a part of Great Britain. And I will discuss whether he did carry out his liberal theory or he lived by different standards.
Freedom is the ultimate goal—this intrinsic desire has been manifested within human civilization since the beginning of time. Although, humans crave the idea of complete freedom, they do not understand what complete freedom entails. I believe freedom is a social construct that is conceptualized. The definition of freedom almost always varies from person to person; my interpretation of freedom is being given the ability to act, reason and believe with the condition of minimal constraint. Moreover, the terms freedom and free-will must be differentiated between, they cannot be defined within the same realm. Free-will is a psychological capacity, directing ones behavior in a way responsive to reason, while freedom is constrained by rules that govern us through social order. Dostoevsky’s Grand Inquisitor proclaims that it is not freedom that brings man happiness, but security. On the contrary, Socrates a famous Greek philosopher, places much emphasis on freedom that he accepts death over living a slave.
There are a multitude of political systems around the world today. Regardless of similarities, each has its own unique qualities. This paper will discuss the differences and similarities of the political systems and government of both the United States of America and Spain. First, a short analysis of each countries history will be provided. This will give some background to the political, emotional and economical state of each country. This will lead to how the governments and political systems are now. Finally, there will be an analysis on the similarities and differences between both countries.
As evidenced, this book has been crucial to lives of different individuals. At the time it was written, different ideas were deduced from it in connection to the concept of life and living.First, it presented the notion that life can be transformed through emphasis and utilization of the best aspects and practices of the economy . In this case, issues of capitalism are brought into light. There is a clear indication from the book that the poor population in the globe can be transformed and enabled through combining the extralegal property and agreements into a key system of individualized and individualized property rights.In this case, individuals will be enabled to focus on what is really theirs and protect property for gains at
The Spanish Civil War is the name given to the struggle between loyalist and nationalist Spain for dominance in which the nationalists won and suppressed the country for the following thirty nine years. However, because of the larger political climate that the Spanish Civil War occurred in, it is impossible to view the war as a phenomenon contained within one nation. Despite its obvious domestic orientation as a civil war it was a major international conflict. The reason for this, I would maintain, is the political dogma which surrounded the war. This essay takes the form of a political survey of the
This essay will assess the relationship between liberalism and conservatism by exploring the differences in ideological beliefs of these two ideologies. Ideology can be defined as “set of interrelated and more or less coherent ideas” that constitutes of both “descriptive and normative element” on how a society works (Heywood, 2007, pp. 6-7). One of the most popular ideology in contemporary politics is liberalism which accord individual liberty and free market as its primary priority. On the other hand, conservatism is generally known for advocating tradition, societal state and authority. Firstly, we will look at theories developed by liberalism and conservatism on creation of state. It would then be followed by liberalism’s notion of individuality and individual liberty versus conservatism’s emphasis on individual imperfectionism and need for society. Thereafter, we will observe liberalism and conservatism as political ideology and how it has evolved over time. The essay will be summed up by a conclusion in the end. The terms, liberalism and conservatism mentioned in this essay are intended to be synonymous to their traditional or classical thoughts and beliefs. Every argument presented in this essay are intended to support the claim that liberalism and conservatism are not compatible ideologies. By compatible, I meant being consistent without any disagreements.
The general understanding of democracy is that it is a state of leadership where citizens of a country participate equally either directly or by representative individuals in the establishment of laws, which run the society. However, like many other forms of leadership, democracy has its cons and may not give the citizens the necessary freedoms that they think they have. Different philosophers have different insights on democracy in terms of concepts such as liberty, which they embraced. This paper will look at Benjamin Barber and Joseph Schumpeter’s idea of democracy contrasting their definition in terms of citizenship, obligation, rights and duties of each individual in the society declaring whose idea of democracy creates a compelling vision (Terchek & Conte, 2001).
Liberalism is a political philosophy that is founded on the ideas of liberty and equality and controls how a society functions. Since liberalism is expressed as a political ideology, it helps dictate how a nation can achieve its national security, its stable economy and the extent of control a government should possess. The perspective of the source illustrates how government intervention is needed during the threat of national security. Although, during times that national security is not being threatened, the collective society should have the freedom to break from the unnecessary government control. A philosopher such as Rousseau would have agreed with the position of the source as it gave an option of security to the people - but also gave them the choice to break the contract if they believed their rights were being violated. While a philosopher such as Hobbes would have disagreed with the source on the terms that he believed in a monarchy and believed that people needed government control at all times. Furthermore, as liberalism provides people their freedoms but also allows a certain extent of government control, the source should be taken to an full extent on the grounds that government control should only be emplaced considering national security, government control, and economic stability - which is shown through the internment of Japanese-Canadians, the New Deal, and the Patriotic Act.
These documents, at the same time, take back the sociopolitical thought that had been developped in a long tradition, and whose most striking stages are: the supreme value of reason as basis for any sociopolitical relation such as we discover at the Greek Polis and such as it is presented by the great thinkers Plato and Aristotle; the intrinsic value of human person, son of the same Christian God, and capable, because of his freedom, either of salvation or of condemnation, as it was understood by the main thinkers in the Middle Ages; the human Individual, considered as a juridical subject, capable of making contracts and assuming rights and duties and, therefore, as the last foundation of any sociopolitical organization, as he was thought by the liberal tradition embodied by Hobbes, Locke and the Encyclopedists. The concrete praxis of these theoretical principles in democratic societies and nations where the Individuals are the cause and the end of this sociopolitical order such as we find in Great Britain, Switzerland, Holland, USA, France, Sweeden, Norwegen, Canada and many other nations throughout the five continents.