Liberalism & its origins

Liberalism is a group of political, social and economic theories that centers on the values of
individual liberty, equality, economic freedom, limited and democratic government and the rule
of law.
Liberalism, from the Latin liberalism, is a broad political ideology or worldview originated from
the ideas of liberty and equality. According to theorists, Liberalism is a political ideology whose
main concern is to protect and enhance the liberty of individuals. As a political principle,
liberalism did not emerge until the early nineteenth century. However, liberal thoughts and
values had been developed through enormous social changes from the sixteenth century, and can
even be traced back to as early as ancient Greece and Rome, although there are some distinctions
in the main elements (Vincent Geoghegan, Rick Wilford, 2014).
Other theorists elaborated that liberty is a political concept that refers to freedom from undue or
oppressive restraints on a person's actions, thoughts or beliefs imposed by the state. Some
important liberties in modern liberal states include freedom of speech, press, religion and
association. Liberty is constrained by the harm principle, which states that you have liberty as
long as you do not harm others. Liberalism holds that all individuals should have equal treatment
before the law irrespective of social status, race or sex.
Economic freedom is also closely related with liberalism and involves support for free markets
and private property rights.
There are several common fundamentals shared by all variants of liberalism. According to John
Gray, they can be categorized in four points. Firstly, individualism; It reproduces the belief that
human beings are primary individuals, rather than subjected to any collectively. Therefore,
liberals aim to build a society in which individuals are provided the freedom to pursue his or her
own good or happiness. Secondly, democratic or equality; Liberals believe that all individuals
are born equal, in terms of two equal rights, namely "legal equality" and "political equality"
(Heywood). However, as people have different aptitudes or abilities, liberals are enthusiastic to
provide equal chances for everyone to realize their uneven potential. Thirdly, universalism; they
uphold that the human process a cohesive morality. It should be taken in account ahead of the
difference of their cultural.
Through reasoning, individuals can make intelligent judgments and resolve disagreements by the
means of debate and discussion. In this way, the society, which is the collection of individuals
and its construction are generally developing. On this principle, liberals believe that people
should be offered enough broadmindedness in order to follow their own interests. It is under this
situation that the balance and progress of a society can be realised (Vincent Geoghegan, Rick
Wilford, 2014). Nonetheless, liberalism has several different sources. "It owes something to
Stoicism and to Christianity; it has been stimulated by skepticism and by a fideistic certainty of
divine revelation and it has exalted the power of reason". Apart from its multiple sources,
liberalism is also sensitive to the variation of time and conditions. French liberalism and English
liberalism have many noteworthy differences. Classical liberalism and modern liberalism are
notably different in many ways. Due to these reasons, liberalism is visualized as a meta-
ideology, which consists of rival beliefs and values.
A limited and democratic government is also important to liberalism. A limited government is
one controlled by the law. For example, the powers of the United States government are limited
to the powers enumerated in the U.S. Constitution. A democratic government exists where
government is controlled either directly by peoples or through representatives elected by citizens.
Liberalism also holds a promise to the rule of law, which is vital for a democratic and limited
government. The rule of law is a proposition that law should not be random and must be applied
honestly to all.
Liberalism first became an influential force during the Enlightenment, when it became popular
among theorists and economists in the Western world. Liberalism forbidden the notions,
common at the time, of hereditary privilege, state religion, absolute monarchy, and the Divine
Right of Kings. The early liberal philosopher John Locke, who is often accredited with the
establishment of liberalism as a distinct philosophical tradition, employed the concept of natural
rights and the social contract to debate that the rule of law should replace both tradition and
absolutism in government. He opined that rulers were subject to the consent of the governed and
that private individuals had a fundamental right to life, liberty, and property (Vincent
Geoghegan, Rick Wilford, 2014).
Liberalism first emerged as a different political movement during the Age of Enlightenment.
This became widespread among philosophers and economists in the West. Liberalism rejected
the prevailing social and political customs of hereditary privilege, state religion, absolute
monarchy, and the Divine Right of Kings. Liberalism can be traced back to John Locke. Locke
was a 17th century English philosopher and political theorist. The 17th-century philosopher,
Locke's the Two Dissertations of Government is considered to be the first exposition of
liberalism. Locke argues that legitimate political authority only comes from the consent of the
governed. The purpose of the government, according to Locke, is to protect citizens' lives, liberty
and property. Locke also sustained limited government and the idea of a separate executive
branch, legislation and the rule of law.
Eminent radicals in the Glorious Revolution, the American Revolution, and the French
Revolution adopted liberal philosophy to validate the armed overthrow of what they saw as
oppressive rule. Liberalism started to spread speedily especially after the French Revolution. In
the 19th century, liberal governments was established in nations across Europe, South America,
and North America. In this period, the leading ideological opponent of classical liberalism was
conservatism, but liberalism later survived major philosophical challenges from new rivals, such
as fascism and communism. During the 20th century, liberal ideas spread even further as liberal
democracies found themselves victorious in both world wars. In Europe and North America, the
formation of social liberalism became a major component in the development of the welfare
state. Presently, liberal parties continue to exercise power and influence all over the world.
Liberalism's dedication to free markets and capitalism can be found to Adam Smith, an 18th
century Scottish moral philosopher who is most renowned for his work, The Wealth of Nations.
Smith debated that effective way for a society to generate wealth and prosperity is through
division of labour and decentralized decision-makers acting in their own interest. In other words,
competitive free markets are feasible way to generate wealth for all.
It is documented in vat literature that Liberalism is a political ideology whose main topic is a
commitment to the individual and to the building of the society in which individuals can satisfy
their interests or achieve fulfillment. The main values of liberalism are individualism,
rationalism, freedom, justice and toleration. The liberal conviction that human beings are, first
and foremost, individuals, endowed with reason, suggests that each individual should enjoy the
maximum possible freedom consistent with a like freedom for all. However, although individuals
are born equal in the sense that they have equal moral worth and should have formal equality and
equal opportunities, liberals mainly focus that they should be satisfied according to their
differing levels of talent or readiness to work and therefore favour the principle of meritocracy.
A liberal society is characterised by diversity and pluralism and is organised politically around
the undistinguishable values of consent and constitutionalism, joined to form the structures of
liberal egalitarianism.

Liberalism and Revolution:

The revolutionaries in the America and France used liberal philosophy to defend the armed
overthrow tyrannical rule. In the nineteenth century, governments were established around
liberalist political ideology in nations across Europe, Latin America, and North America.
Liberalist ideas expanded in the twentieth century. Liberalism has certainly been the most
powerful philosophical force shaping the Western political tradition. Definitely, some
intellectuals represent liberalism as the thought of the industrialised West, and identify it with
Western civilisation in general. Liberalism was the product of the failure of feudalism and the
growth, in its place, of a market or capitalist society. Early liberalism certainly reflected the
ambitions of a rising industrial middle class, and liberalism and capitalism have been closely
linked ever since. In its earliest form, liberalism was a political principle. It criticised absolutism
and feudal privilege, instead supporting constitutional and, later, representative government. In
the nineteenth century, classical liberalism, in the form of economic liberalism, praised the
virtues of laissez-faire capitalism and condemned all forms of government interference. From the
late nineteenth century onwards, however, a form of social liberalism developed, characteristic
of modern liberalism, which looked more favourably upon welfare reform and economic
intervention. Theorists such as Francis Fukuyama (1992) debated that the twentieth century had
concluded with the final, worldwide triumph of liberalism. This supposedly reflected the collapse
of all viable alternatives to market capitalism as the basis of economic organisation and to liberal
democracy as the basis of political organisation.
The scholars, after a thorough research, have concluded that the liberalism as a political ideology
is not the outgrowth of the twentieth century’s intellectual progress. Its origin can be traced to
the political ideas of the fourteenth century. During the last six centuries the concept had to face
several situations and had to overcome uphill tasks in the sense that many political systems,
individuals and organisations stridently opposed it on various grounds some of which had solid
foundations.

The flood-like appearance of Marx’s and Engels’ works and Marxian literatures eclipsed though
temporarily, the growth and influence of liberalism. The establishment of Bolshevik government
in Russia in 1917 kindled the hope in the minds of anti-liberals that with the weapon of Marxism
the rapid advance of liberalism could be stopped and particularly an anti-liberal atmosphere
could be built up in the Third World states.

At first Moscow and later on Beijing opposed liberalism tooth and nail. Ultimately the academic
and political worlds were deeply plunged into the conflict between two leading ideologies of the
world—liberalism and socialism. The recession of the Cold War in the mid-seventies and finally
the collapse of Soviet Union in 1991 turned the condition of liberalism upside down. It was
being felt that only liberalism could provide solace to all people of the world. It was capable of
solving the basic problems both economic and political.

Origins

The word liberal is derived from the Latin word liber which means free men Liberalis is also a
derivative of liber. The central idea of all these words is freedom or liberty. Liberal also denotes
generosity or open-mindedness. Open-mindedness/generosity indicate liberty in taking food,
drink, social attitude, behaviour and selection of the alternatives.

Thus we find that freedom is always associated with the word liberal. In the middle Ages when
the French people used the word liber they meant that people will have freedom in respect of
their selection of alternatives and pursuit of thoughts and ideas.

There are large numbers of definitions of liberalism which convey more or less same ideas.

Some are noted below:

“It means the belief that it is the aim of politics to preserve individual’s rights and to maximise
freedom of choice” (Oxford Concise Dictionary of Politics). Advocates of liberalism have used
some selected words to denote the meaning of liberalism. It means political to (1) Freedom and
choice. The freedom to select alternatives which are suitable. (2) Liberalism is a systematic
political creed. (3) It is the manifestation of reason and toleration in the face of tradition and
absolutism. (4) Freedom, equality, liberty etc. are embodied in the liberalism.
As an adjective “liberal” implies an attitude of mind, rather than a political creed. But the noun
liberalism designates a Political Creed and this was used specifically in the early parts of the
nineteenth century. Robert Eccleshall in his noted article Liberalism has stated that liberalism, in
ultimate analysis, is a political ideology intimately associated with the birth and evolution of the
capitalist world. So we can say that as a political ideology liberalism means to pursue policies of
freedom in political and economic spheres and clear restrictions on the activities of state
authority.

Liberalism does not embody a particular meaning. It is a cluster of meanings, in different periods
it has meant different conceptions. For example, it is an intellectual movement whose purpose is
to curb the power and authority of state and to ensure freedom of individuals. It has been
observed by a recent analyst that liberalism is an ideology based on a commitment to
individualism, freedom, toleration and consent.

Hence we can say that in modern sense liberalism are both an ideology and a movement whose
purpose is to strengthen the cause, progress etc. of individuals through the vindication of right to
select the choicest alternative and for that purpose to endorse the restrictions upon the authority
of state.

Liberalism, strictly speaking, an offshoot of capitalism since it was believed that the meteoric
growth of capitalism could be possible only through an adoption of liberal policies which contain
an allowance of maximum freedom to investors and producers. Thus, liberalism is an economic
and political doctrine.

Rise and Growth of Liberalism:

It is really an uphill task to ascertain the origin of liberalism because an ideology cannot be
created at a particular point of time. However, it’s quite safe to say that liberalism was born in
England during the middle of seventeenth century. Here again the readers may be cautioned that
the seeds of liberalism existed in British society even before that time.

Nevertheless, we can say that several factors and writings of a number of persons
contributed to the origin of their political ideology:

(1) The collapse of feudalism is an important cause of the origin of liberalism. Let us explain it
briefly. In the feudal period the feudal lords practically controlled the economy and politics
along with the church and its fall opened the advent of capitalism and emergence of a middle
class which aspired to have a positive role in politics. The capitalist class and the middle class
did not want the dominant role of the church.

The capitalists supplied the finance for the management of state and the middle class supplied
executives and administrators. Slowly but steadily these two classes captured the power of the
state and wanted to impose restrictions upon the government. In this way there arose liberalism
in embryonic form.
(2) Eccleshall in his article Liberalism maintains that Enlightenment is another factor of the
growth of liberalism. The thinkers and philosophers of the Enlightenment period were sceptical
about the role of laws, administration, custom etc. They strongly advocated for the rational
reconstruction of society so that the individuals can get enough freedom. Autocratic rule or
dictatorial administration was vehemently opposed.

(3) Two major events of the second half of the eighteenth century helped the emergence of
liberalism. These two events are: Declaration of American Independence in 1776 and the
Declaration of the Rights of Man in 1789. Both these events furthered the progress of liberalism.
American war of independence was not simply a war of the independence of a particular nation
but a major war against colonialism which contained the seeds of liberalism. On the other hand,
after the French Revolution, Declaration of Rights of Man heralded the collapse of autocratic
rule in France and its wave spread to other parts of Europe and this accelerated the advent of
liberalism.

(4) The writings (including philosophy) of some men were conspicuous in advancing the
emergence of liberalism. Some of them may be stated briefly. John Gray says that Thomas
Hobbes may be regarded as an exponent of liberalism. Hobbes’ (1588-1679) “Closeness to
liberalism lies in part in his uncompromising individualism. It is found also in his egalitarian
affirmation of the equal liberty of all men in the state of nature and his rejection of a purely
hereditary title to political authority”. Benedict de Spinoza (1632-1677) was also a precursor of
liberalism. He was mainly concerned with natural rights, freedom, curtailment of political power,
maintenance of peace and security.

Behind the birth of liberalism there was a very important role of John Locke (1632- 1704).
Locke, by many, is regarded as the father of modern nationalism. His Two, Treatise of
Government, A Letter Concerning Toleration are regarded by many as potential sources of
liberalism. Gray says that Locke’s thought harbours a number of themes which confer a
distinctive complexion on English liberalism that persists up to the time of John Stuart Mill.

His theory of natural rights, right to property, concept of consent, constitutionalism, people’s
right to dislodge a government for its failuree to act in accordance with the terms and conditions
of contract are classic examples of liberal thought.

The major ideas of liberalism enunciated by Locke were carried out by many who belonged to
the latter part of the eighteenth century and early years of nineteenth century. To be brief Locke
vigorously championed the central themes of liberalism.

Thomas Paine (1737-1809) was another figure whose thought symbolises the ideas and spirit of
liberalism. Paine strongly advocated for natural rights and limited government which later on
became the focus of liberal thought and philosophy. His limited government is nothing but
minimal government or state which has been elaborated by Robert Nozick. J. S. Mill and several
other political scientists thought that people’s liberty, rights and other interests could only be
assumed through the constitutionalism, representative government and constitutional declaration
of human rights.