Liberal Agency Research Paper

The further development of industrialisation led to social and economic inequality. This led to a revision of classical liberal ideas to prevent the spread of ignorance and poverty. It is suggested that modern liberals have betrayed classical liberal ideas as they embrace collectivism and diverge from classical liberalism on issues such as freedom. However, it can be argued that modern liberals have simply built on classical liberal ideas such as its commitment to the individual.

Social life and the way in which society acts and behaves is thought to be learned behaviour, otherwise known as the structural- consensus theory. For Pip et al (2011) structural consensus was the way humans learn their behaviour and act in ways that is expected of them within society. However different cultures and societies think and behave differently as they have been brought up with different views on what is appropriate behaviour; therefore humans learn to interact with others who have been socialised similarly to themselves. Consensus sociologists believe that the rules within cultures structure the behaviour of its members. Once you are born into a society you are confronted with their 'social world' and you begin to learn how to appropriately

One has to try as much as possible to try to preserve the rest of humankind from any evil that can happen to the other people. Neo-liberalism emphasizes that all being are equal and independent and no man is supposed to harm each other’s innocent life, health or possession as it recognizes all being as workmanship of on omnipotent (God). Moreover, no man that has the liberty to destroy himself and man should not have more than other hence encourage sharing such thing as power. For example, although people punish each other for transgressions, the offender has the right to seek forgiveness from the offended and can assist the offended to recover from the offended to make satisfaction for the harm he or she suffered. On the other hand, classic liberalism encourages the practice of individualism. For example, the essential feature of individualism from the elements provided by Christianity and the philosophy of classical antiquity was first completely developed during the Renaissance and from that time, it has grown and spread into what is today recognized as Western European civilization. Classic liberalism emphasizes on freedom and liberty hence encouraging men to develop their own individual gifts and bents. Whenever, small one man’s sphere is, he is encouraged to view and observe himself as supreme (Friedrich 7-14).

Typically, liberalism is categorised into two separate components; classical liberalism, which was fashioned during the 19th century as a result of the industrial revolution, and the more recent Modern Liberalism which emerged as industrialisation continued within the UK. Although both divisions of Liberalism unavoidably overlap in attitudes and approaches regarding the theory behind the ideology, I believe, fundamentally, that clear tensions between these aspects of Liberalism are more evident when analysing this ideology.

Liberalism is a major ideology in the world. Liberalism is changing at a constant rate as it is adapting to new views as the world is changing. Furthermore, the goal of the Liberalism is to ensure that “Liberal ideology is a commitment to the individual and the desire to construct a society… [Where] people can satisfy their interest and achieve fulfilment… Liberals [also] believe that human beings are, first and foremost, individuals” (Heywood 24). Liberals want to create a society in which people can achieve their goals, and where there are free to do what they please. That all individuals have the right to shape their future, and that each individual should have equal rights in both legal and political matters. There are two major types of

Cambridge (2016) defines autonomy as the ability to make a decision without any influence from any individual. Similarly, it is the freedom for someone to exercise their own will or action (Dictionary.com 2016).

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.

“Human agency in making choices” (Hutchinson, 2010): Every person’s life course is build up with his or her choices and actions (Hutchinson, 2010). The ability to make decisions or will power is the human agency, i.e. one can made decisions which completely changes

This paper will determine and defend whether I am liberal or conservative. I strongly disagree with many of the liberal principles; therefore, this paper will show that I am a conservative.

Agency is much more than an option to do wrong, to do the forbidden. Agency is the ability; the power to act for oneself. As we have described here in this work to make Agency even possible involves the very structure of matter in the universe itself. The first three points in the quote of Elder McConkie above are baffling for they miss the mark entirely. They have nothing to do with the power of agency. Let’s look at a helpful

“Moral responsibility requires autonomy or self-determination: that our actions are caused and controlled by, and only by, our selves. To use a slogan popular in the literature: We act freely and are morally responsible only if we are the ultimate source of our actions.” (3)

This influence is removed from consideration as Mills defines his concept of agency, the understanding that a person consciously believes that he or she has an impact and can make choices on their own.

In opposition to structure, agency is the amount of free choice an individual has. This perspective is much more of a micro approach, as it believes that the individuals have the ability to make choices without influence from outside forces and places a large emphasis on free will. Under this belief, individuals have a large influence on society, and with a knowledge and understanding of the structure you are a part of, you can make decisions that

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.

To a great extent, the theory of personhood rests on a breaking down and clarification of what it is to be an agent. Human rights, as understood by Griffin, are protections of our status as functional human agents, grounded in our interests in autonomy, liberty and the minimum material provision requisite to make the exercise of our agency real and possible. Griffin acknowledges that the human interests in autonomy and liberty are not the only important interests that exist, but it is the protection of these particular interests that generate a human right . In this sense, autonomy and liberty are the special, determinant grounding elements identified by Griffin as the interests required for normative agency.