Ideals such as a focus on the individual, individual rights and equality, a social contract based on government by consent, free market, and minimum government intervention and maximum freedom. I will concentrate on the works of other prominent ‘liberals’ of the same period of classical liberalism, such as Locke and Mill as a comparison to Hobbes in an attempt to establish if Hobbes can be regarded as a liberal. Perhaps the most important and fundamental principle of liberalism is that it centres around the individual and their rights. Mill in ‘On Liberty’ states that the cultivation of individuality produces humans who are ‘noble and beautiful objects of contemplation’ (Hampsher-monk, 2000). He holds the value of individuals as the highest in human life and in the role of promoting a development of civilisation.
Liberalism is a political current embracing several historical and present-day ideologies that claim defense of individual liberty as the purpose of government. It typically favors the right to dissent from orthodox tenets or established authorities in political or religious matters. Liberalism is also defined and understood in contradistinction to other political ideologies such as conservatism and particularly to totalitarianism, which represent the antithesis of liberal freedom. The term liberal stems from the Latin "liber" or "free", and this emphasizes the liberal ideal of being free from the rules and tenet of authority The tradition if liberalism has undergone numerous mutations and developments in political history. The origins of liberalism can be traced to the ideals of the Enlightenment in Europe.
The state assumes that it has power over individuals, which a view blights human freedom as was expressed by Proudhon ‘to be governed is to be inspected by creatures who neither have the right nor virtue to do so’. Liberals on the over hand do not view the state in such an pessimistic way, however believe that if the state was so have too much power it could indeed become oppressive and tyrannic thus threatening the sovereign individual: something that liberals heavily endorse. Therefore, liberals argue for a minimum ‘night watchman’ state (Nozick). This essay will argue that the state is not an oppressive body but instead a paternal figure, which serves to protect individuals more than it oppresses them. It can be argued from the anarchist perspective that the state is an oppressive body, which undermines human reason and the capacity for self governance.
Liberalism and Socialism Mark Minks Devry University Professor Fuss 6/18/14 Liberalism is a political ideology of 19th century that championed political democracy in the society. This ideology stressed intellectual inquiry, the rule of government by following law, protection of human beings from any arbitrary authority and the autonomy of citizens or individual in the society. Typically, this ideology draws its roots to the religious reformation of 16th century and it owes a lot of its ideals to John Locke and Thomas Hobbes argument that the governed are sovereign and they should not be ruled by an individual who argues that he or she has divine right (Gray, 2005). In 19th century, Adam Smith among other liberalists insisted that the state should not interfere with the societies’ economic life or status. In this respect, the main goal of liberalism is to promote a laissez-faire society and their main goal is preservation of human rights and freedoms.
Seen in social contract theory; government is the solution to problem of disorder. Example: Woodrow Wilson’s support for first world government ‘the League of Nations in 1919. Liberals recognise that law must be enforced, endorsing the principle of collective security between a number of states. Second stems from Liberal commitment to individual and individualism (equal moral worth). Although they endorse idea of self-determination, does not mean they entitle nations to treat people however they choose.
These two theories therefore characteristically contrast with one another. However, this essay will also argue that there is an underlying commonality that can be viewed. The first contrast studied in this essay will be the way in which both theories view the effects of colonialism on the developing world, based upon their epistemological stance. Argentina’s president Nestor Kirchner once noted at a summit that “In reference to Neo-liberalism… ‘US policy not only generated misery and poverty but also a great social tragedy that added to institutional instability in the region, provoking the fall of democratically led governments’.”(Gibbs, 2006, pg.275).This demonstrates the split in opinion between the neo-liberal, US influencers of modernisation theory and the post colonial, Latin-American and western influencers of dependency theory. It will be argued that this contrast in the two theories is the most important.
Social or modern liberalism is liberalism which focuses on social and economic issues while ensuring individual freedom, and Naziism, which is a form of socialism featuring racism, Expansionism and obedience to a strong leader. Examples of cultural and social Ideologies are Equality of opportunity, which is an ideology that wishes to eliminate discrimination that is based on age, gender, color, race, national origin, religion, and disabilities that include physical and mental disabilities. Work ethic is a set of beliefs that focus on the moral virtue of work and they way work can lead to a stronger character. The aim of this piece is to explain how and why these factors may change the way an individual reacts to a given media text. The media text that will be used is the ‘spooks’ scene from Grand Torino.
This can be seen when Bakunin stated that "the principle of authority" was the "eminently theological, metaphysical and political idea that the masses, always incapable of governing themselves, must submit at all times to the benevolent yoke of a wisdom and a justice, which in one way or another, is imposed from above." [Marxism, Freedom and the State, p. 33] Other forms of authority are more acceptable to anarchists, it depends whether the authority in question becomes a source of power over others or not. That is the key to understanding the anarchist position on authority -- if it is hierarchical authority, then anarchists are against it. . The reason is simple: "[n]o one should be entrusted with power, inasmuch as anyone invested with authority must .
This view claims that a person’s ideology or idea have the utmost claim to the truth and that it is ulterior ideology is coded “will to power”. This suggests that discourses for this view are more incommensurate due to the language games of power play being used. To explain simply, distinction between the image and reality have been blurred due to the struggle of power, thus making it hard for us to separate these two concepts. The Marxism view ideology as having relationship with power and domination. If you have more power, you will win the consent to exercise that power in dictating the dominant people’s views.
Both types of liberals do revere the principle of the individual which can be summed up in John Stuart Mill’s quote of ‘over himself, over his own mind and body, the individual is sovereign’. Although the individual principle is respected by both types and they highlight the importance of natural rights defined as life, liberty and property by John Locke, their views of the individual do differ. Classical liberals including the utilitarian faction view the individual as highly self-interested but not to a point of conservative pessimism, this is largely defined as egoistical individualism. Some classical liberals also see the