The nation is therefore key to political organisation. Liberal nationalism has followed the political nationalist agenda of seeking national self-determination and thus the creation of a nation-state. The ultimate goal of liberal nationalism is a world of independent nation-states. All nations are seen to have an equal right to freedom and self-determination. For Woodrow Wilson, only a democratic republic could be a genuine nation-state.
Out of the ideologies that I compared and contrasted I would have to say that I agree more with Liberalism because of the belief that the most important goals should be individual liberty and equality. I think it is extremely important to set limits and obey boundaries but I also believe that we can and we should achieve that without violating people’s individual rights. Liberalism goes against anarchism in a sense that anarchism believes that there should be no government at all. In the United States, "liberalism" is most often used in the sense of social liberalism, which supports some regulation of business and other economic interventionism which they believe to be in the public interest. Liberalism suggests that government should intervene to “help” but never to “curb freedom.” Liberalism also says that ordinary men and women are entitled to satisfactory lives, but that individual liberties, including the right to prosper from ones efforts, should not be curtailed.
Democracy means ‘power voted by the people for the people’ and see’s society as a whole, more important than the individual. In contrast, liberalism core principle lies with the individual. So for liberals to adopt democracy it is also adopting collectivist views of the majority, which is a fear towards liberalism and their beliefs of the single entity of the individual. A minority of liberals - none in the modern period- reject democracy, however, no liberals accept democracy uncritically. Plato and Aristotle believed that a fear did, run though liberals as they viewed democracy as a system of rule by the masses, thus an implication of individualism; seeing society as not as single individual entities but rather a collection of individual groups, possessing opposing interest.
To what extent can the UK be said to be a Liberal Democracy? To answer this question it is probably best to refer back to, to define what is a Liberal Democracy; and Liberal Democracy can be broken down into 2 words; Liberal, Basic freedoms enjoyed by all, such as freedom of speech. And democracy, free and fair elections in which there are 2 or more parties for whom to vote. Under both of these ideas the UK could be classed as a Liberal Democracy; the UK has had freedom of speech since 1986 (under the Education Act) although this could be heavily affected in some ways. As your freedom of speech can be heavily hampered if you do not operate within the law; or you are voicing racist or offensive opinions, or your speech is threatening to “breach the peace” this is too say, what you are saying could be grossly offensive to some groups or individuals.
The term classical is used in order to distinguish the original liberalism from the newly emerged forms of liberalism. The whole ideology and the theoretical system are based on individual interests and interactions. Classical liberalism argues that since we humans are intelligent, have a never a ending hunger for pleasures and are moral in the way that we understand the concept behind the saying “Do not do unto others as you would that they should do unto you”, we can live together much more efficiently under the rule of law than we can without it. There are two distinct aspects of classical liberalism that
They are being taken over by detail and spreading attention over many responsibilities instead of being able to focus on a few. Today, Thoreau’s writing on simplifying people’s lives and minds, and keeping a moral obligation to one’s self, is a key aspiration to being an individual. Thoreau presents these points in “Civil Disobedience” through an analysis of the government and its relationship to people under their control. He believes that the government and society infringe on the personal rights and thoughts of individuals by imposing taxes and laws that can violate an individual’s morality. He believes, “that government is best, which governs least.” (Civil
Patriotism and nationalism give a sense of identity and belonging and helps maintain authority and social order. It prevents social conflict by binding irrational dependent individuals together with a shared set of values, whist transcending the natural rights of the individuals. Lastly conservative nationalism is very defensive in the belief in a special nationality which is being eroded by another. This is different to Liberal nationalism because Liberals believe that nation states can live together without the other being compromised. This is highlighted with UKIP arguing that the EU erodes our principle of independence which links back to the idea of
According to John Locke, a philosopher who contributed to classical liberalism's vitality, the protection of individuals' "life, liberty, and property" is their natural rights (Jones 227). The thoughts of classical liberalism revolves so much around the individual that Locke believes the people had the right to coalesce into a revolutionary force and systematize a new form of government, or a social contract, as they pleased. Due to the importance of the individual, classical liberalism favors immigrants and people of all classes. Ideally, the judgment of people
They think of a culture that is founded on constitutional rights and god given freedoms that everyone should have. Some people may even take America a step further and think of it as a culture that may be superior to others because of its past history of opportunity and freedom. Economic, personal, and political freedoms are abundant in this nation, and are encouraged in every aspect of our life. However, the same may also be true in a lot of other countries around the world. American exceptionalism can give America an edge over other nations simply because of our freedom to choose what we want to be and do.
Let’s shift the focus by showing just how drastic these differences and concepts can be between the ideologies by looking at liberalism and socialism in terms of government and political systems. In order to understand the workings of a liberalist government we must understand their beliefs. Liberalism supports the idea of individualism over society in that people have the right to make choices for themselves, not society. Liberals believe in equality meaning that no person is morally or politically superior to another. They also believe that people as individuals are capable of thinking logically and rationally in areas of political science and economics, allowing the replacement of old, traditional views by newer and more appropriate views that fit today’s modern way of living.