1. On what grounds have liberals supported democracy? Democracy is rule by the people. Its ‘liberal’ features are reflected in a network of internal and external checks on government in order to protect citizens against the state and guarantee liberty. Therefore, democracy in most of the western countries takes place through a system of regular and competitive elections, universal suffrage and political equality.
Martin Guardado 05/10/2012 Political Science Topic: Compare and contrast modern conservatism and modern liberalism. Since The United States of America first became a country and started its Democracy, its political ideologies have changed in some ways. Conservatism and Liberalism are the two centrist ideologies that for the majority dominate the way Americans think and make their political decisions today. Although these are seen as very different ideologies they both share some of the same philosophical roots. Their views and points of the government’s role in a democratic society have changed over the years, but the basic ideas and most of their principles have remained the same.
This way of thinking was totally different from that of England who was a monarchy even up to now. Americans going a different and bold direction with the well established Constitution made sure that this Constitution was monarchy hostile. An example will be the title of nobility, which states that the title of nobility usually leads to inequality among people even though there is no such thing as equality but the theory was still created a government where under the circumstances people are treated equal. Therefore, the main reason the Constitution was dedicated to the idea and goal of equality. In other to discourage monarchy and reinforce the American idea, our founding fathers came up with the three branches of government where they would each have certain role to fulfill, share power which will allow them to oversee each other.
However, this is not true because the Congress is both an independent and co-equal branch of Government. As David Obey said “We may belong to the same party but we are an independent branch”. Checks and balances are required to keep the government stable and avoid the President going against the wishes of the people. “I think Barack Obama is terrific. But people still need to recognise we have an institutional responsibility to do oversight on the President” Garry Bass, Congress.
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.
People once thought that the greatest obstacles to individual freedom and equality were political. They believed they could preserve freedom simply by changing the form of government from a monarchy to a republic. They claimed that the government that governs least governs the best. But in time, many persons became convinced that some government regulations of society and the economy were necessary to preserve personal freedom and equality, as well as to improve the welfare of the nation. In today’s democracies, the government plays an active role in removing inequalities and promoting freedom for all.
Doyle argues that liberal states although in theory are peaceful, they are also “prone to war. Liberal states have created a separate peace.. and have also discovered liberal reasons for aggression” (1151 Doyle). The discipline of international relations by nature encompasses a broad range of political ideas, arguably non more important than liberalism. Doyle defines liberalism as a “portrait of principles and institutions recognisable by... commitment to individual freedom, government through democratic representation, rights of private property and equality of opportunity”. (P.1152).
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.
This was further elaborated by Maoz and Russett (1993) that political disputes among democratic countries are settled through compromises instead of the destruction of the opposite side. Proponents of liberalism do agree that clashes in interests among liberal democracies are common but their solutions taken will not far off from the set of boundaries that are set by each country in dealing with foreign matters. Dixon (1994) termed such behavior as “bounded competition” in which countries vowed to regulate rivalry in clashes of interest in a peaceful and nonviolent step. It is worth noticing that there are non-liberal countries like Saudi Arabia may share a diplomatic relationship with liberal democracies like America.
In what ways do pressure groups enhance democracy? For some, pressure groups are a fundamental part of democracy. To others, pressure groups undermine the whole principle of democracy. Democracy is a system of government where decisions are arrived at by majoritarian principles with representatives elected at periodic elections where political equality and political freedom allow the voter an effective choice between competing candidates in a secret ballot. Pressure groups are a product of freedom of association, which is a fundamental principle of liberal democracy.