One may ask what John Locke, Adam Smith, and Thomas Jefferson have in common. Through lecture one, and lecture two, I have come to the conclusion that they are all similar in one particular way. Each one of these men are Classical Liberals that helped shape, and structure The United States. It’s not so simple defining Classical liberalism in one sentence, although John Locke does quite a good job “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of property.” (This was later changed to Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.) A true Classical liberal believes in this, as well as: limited government under the rule of law, and economic freedom.
To what extent is Liberalism the dominant ideology in British politics? The term liberalism is generally associated with ideas such as liberty and equal rights. Associated with it are ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections and human rights. The UK government incorporates all the key aspects of liberalism in to their own organisation such as the fact that Britain comes from a constitution and the laws and rights of citizens are drawn from it. Liberalism was drawn from the age of enlightenment in which many religious restrictions were broken in order for meritocracy to strive which allowed individuals to strive on their own basis.
In the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century, a group of British thinkers, known as the New Liberals, made a case against laissez-faire classical liberalism and argued in favor of state intervention in social, economic, and cultural life. The New Liberals, which included intellectuals like T.H. Green, L.T. Hobhouse, Hobhouse believes that each human had a unique identity, the ability to accomplish a distinctive set of achievements, and the capacity to make a specific contribution to communal existence. Indeed he claimed: “ Liberalism is the belief that society can safely be founded on this self-directing power of personality, that it is only on this foundation that a true community can be built, and that so established its foundations are so deep and so wide that there is no limit that we can place to the extent of the building”.
To make the people feel equally powered with the government and Madison was a liberal. Lastly, Ben Franklin was a liberal framer that influenced his beliefs on the Constitution. He agreed with Locke and his enlightenment ideas and that people should have
'Modern liberals have abandoned individualism and embraced collectivism.' Discuss The core values of liberalism are individualism, rationalism, freedom, justice and toleration. The liberal belief that human beings are, first and foremost, individuals, endowed with reason, implies 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 are of equal moral worth and should enjoy formal equality and equal opportunities, liberals generally stress that they should be rewarded according to their differing levels of talent or willingness to work and therefore favor the principle of meritocracy. Modern liberalism is a development within liberal ideology that has revised some of the ideas of classical liberalism.
What followed throughout the 1820’s was a series liberal minded reforms led by Robinson , Huskinson and Peel , which did seem to change the nature of government .These men have generally been accredited with setting Britain on the road to free trade and Peel as home secretary successfully rationalised the legal system and legalised trade unions .However more recent Historians such as Eric Evans ,Cookson and Gash have persuasively argued that the ‘Liberal Tory’ phase of the Lord Liverpool administration was a natural response to the improved economic circumstance brought about by a more prosperous and confident Britain .Reforms introduced during this period were not new ideas instigated by a more liberal minded party , but those which many Tories had supported since the Pitt administration of the 1780’s .An economic revival simply meant that these ideas could be followed through without the threat of instability .As Historian Gash states, ‘The 1820’s economic recovery gave scope for a policy less driven by fear of revolution ’.In fact many progressive ministers had already served in the administration before 1822 , Robinson had been in government since 1809 and had these fixed views and beliefs prior to the cabinet reshuffle , as did many of his so called reactionary peers .As Eric Evans
However, the New Right incorporates neo-liberalism, which is a moderation of liberalism that supports free market economics and the minimal role of the state. But it also incorporates neo-conservatism which contrasts from neo-liberalism as it has a strong stance on law and order and the authoritarian state, focusing on nationalism. Firstly the New Right can be said to internally coherent in a political sense and in terms of the compatibility of its goals. All members of the New Right are capable of accepting a strong but minimal state as neo-conservatives believe in an authoritarian strong state in which they prevent excessive freedom due to their view on human nature, but not excessive state so there is not a dependency culture created. The neo liberals also believe that there should be minimal state but in an economic sense, and this is in order to allow capitalism to flourish without excessive restraints and laws imposed on business, and this is to encourage competition in the market to improve efficiency and profit.
He believes equality and support is the healthiest environment for a person to grow up in making them achieve the best for them self and their society. How does the persons quote apply to liberalism? This quote applies to liberalism because it is about equality and freedoms. This quote expresses the importance of an equal and free society, Harvey says if there is freedom and equal rights in a society then young people will grow up to become the best that they can be. B) 1) “Humanitarianism is the expression of stupidity and cowardice” Adolf Hitler Nazi Party Leader 1988-1945 What is the main idea of this
By combining the doctrines of government by consent and constitutionalism, modern liberals have found a way of reconciling effective government with the right and freedoms of both the individual and intermediate groups. This effects the policies of the other mainstream parties as it provides a more secure relationship within society leading the other parties to follow this. Classical liberals are largely inspired by the philosophy of John Stuart mill. Mill described the scope of liberty as “absolute freedom of opinion and sentiment on all subjects, practical or speculative, scientific moral or theological….” Mill believed that freedom would maximise human progress by promoting innovations, creativity and self-fulfilment. This shows that Mill saw humans as creative individuals thus leading to an interest of tolerance as a political virtue i.e.
The Liberals knew they had to find a way of keeping the working class votes. Reform could therefore be seen as a rather selfish, politically advantageous response to political change. Changing attitudes within the party, summed up as New Liberalism were influential in promoting change and the example of Municipal socialism encouraged Liberal politicians towards national reforms is also holds water as a very influential factor. Many Historians still believe that the reforms were introduced due to genuine concern over the poor after Rowntree and Booth’s discoveries. Their discoveries were startling and unsuspected.