The Origins of
Liberalism
What
Do all
doofallthese
these
definitions
definitions
pertain
tellthis
us down!
about
to SS
Do not write
–adjective
the idea30??
of “liberal”?
1. favorable to progress or reform, as in political or religious affairs.
2. ( often initial capital letter ) noting or pertaining to a political party advocating
measures of progressive political reform.
3. of, pertaining to, based on, or advocating liberalism.
4. favorable to or in accord with concepts of maximum individual freedom possible,
especially as guaranteed by law and secured by governmental protection of civil
liberties.
5. favoring or permitting freedom of action, especially with respect to matters of
personal belief or expression: a liberal policy toward dissident artists and writers.
6. of or pertaining to representational forms of government rather than aristocracies
and monarchies.
7. free from prejudice or bigotry; tolerant: a liberal attitude toward foreigners.
8. open-minded or tolerant, especially free of or not bound by traditional or
conventional ideas, values, etc.
9. characterized by generosity and willingness to give in large amounts: a liberal
donor.
10. given freely or abundantly; generous: a liberal donation.
11. not strict or rigorous; free; not literal: a liberal interpretation of a rule.
12. of, pertaining to, or based on the liberal arts.
13. of, pertaining to, or befitting a freeman.
lib·er·al
Liberal
• The word liberal comes from the Latin
liber, meaning free
• The word Liberal is used to describe a way
of thinking and was first used in Spain
during the Napoleonic Wars (think about
the motto of the French Revolution)
• Liberalism is a left wing philosophy
because it advocates in favour of the
reform of government
• Liberalism is associated with being openminded and supporting freedom of speech
and freedom within actions
The Four Basic Principles
of Classical Liberalism
1. Primacy of Individual
Rights and Freedoms:
• free speech, religious
liberty, the right to
private property, and
the right to political
opposition
2. Human Beings are
Rational:
• can make rational
decisions that will
benefit both
themselves and
society
3. Government should
protect our civil liberties:
• The government is there to
prevent people from harming
each other through force and
fraud
4. Constitutional limitations
on Government:
• The government
must follow the
constitution (rule
of law)
• Government is
responsible to
people and may
be changed by
them
Why did Liberalism
appear?
Who is to blame?
Watch this
Blame the King John
of England
•
The Magna Carta (1215)
•
•
Gave people other than the king some liberties
Made king accept that his will was not arbitrary
•
for example by explicitly accepting that no
"freeman" (in the sense of non-serf) could
be punished except through the law of the
land (RULE OF LAW)
Blame Fleas
•
•
•
•
The Black Death
1347-1351
killed one out of three
people
Created new
opportunities for
survivors
Blame Columbus
•
•
Expansion of trade,
commerce, and
exploration
Columbus’ discovery
of a “new world” was a
symbol of great
possibilities
Blame Martin Luther
•
•
•
•
Protestant Reformation
1521 Luther his nailed
95 Theses to church
door
Favoured strict
attention to scripture
Unintentionally paved
the way for individual
liberty-people were
supposed to interpret
for themselves
Blame Greedy English
Kings
•
•
•
•
England’s Glorious
Revolution of 1688
Taxation battle
between the House of
Stuart and Parliament
Mainly a war of words
Produced much
thought and theorizing
Blame Thomas
Hobbes
•
•
•
Wrote Leviathan
Felt people should
obey those in power
But, believed in self
interest rather than
God’s command
Hobbes
•
•
•
•
•
Imagined people in a ‘State of Nature’
All have natural right to do what they want
Problem is Human Nature
With no authority, war of all against all
So, fearful and rational individuals enter
into a social contract to establish authority
Blame John Locke
•
•
•
•
Individuals are rational
Inconveniences in State of
Nature
Enter into Social Contract to
protect Life, Liberty, and
Property
Emphasis on Consent and
Limited Government
Locke
• was the first to argue that
individuals had innate rights of
life, liberty and property
• Social Contract: Government
comes about through the
agreement of free individuals
that their rights are best
protected by associating with
one another
• If the Contract was broken the
people have the right to rebel
More Locke
• Locke’s ideas justified the Glorious Revolution in
Britain in 1688, the American Revolution of 1776
and the French Revolution of 1789
• The purpose of government is basically to
protect the people in their ‘life, health, liberty, or
possessions’.
• Locke believed that people should have a
‘private sphere’ that the government could not
interfere with – religion in particular – the state
should be tolerant of all religions
Liberalism in Action
Classical Liberalism in
Economics
• Classical liberalism is identified in
the economy as a free market
economy
• The ideas a free market economy
were brought to life by Adam Smith
• Adam Smith wrote ‘The Wealth of
Nations’
• Adam Smith wrote about the
Invisible Hand – this implies that
human needs are best served by
free competition in the marketplace –
along the same ideas as liberalism
American Declaration of
Independence
•
•
Let’s take a look at ‘Schoolhouse
Rock’ to learn about the U.S.
Constitution and the Declaration
of Independence of 1776
“We hold these truths to be selfevident, that all men are created
equal, that they are endowed by
their creator with certain
unalienable rights: that among
these are life, liberty and the
pursuit of happiness; that to
secure these rights governments
are instituted by men, deriving
their just powers from the
consent of the governed……
Liberalism in the Declaration
of Independence
• All men are created equal. Ideal of political and
legal equality.
• They are endowed by their Creator with certain
•
•
•
unalienable rights, ...among these are life, liberty
& the pursuit of happiness.
Governments are instituted to protect those rights.
Government derives its powers from the consent
of the governed. Political authority is in the
people, acting through representatives.
When a government becomes destructive of those
rights the people have a right to alter or abolish it.
French Revolution and the Declaration
of the Rights of Man
• The National Assembly also took to
Locke’s ideas and put those very
ideas into their Declaration of the
Rights of Man and of the Citizen
• “The end of all political associations
is the preservation of the natural and
imprescriptibly rights of man; and
these rights are liberty, property,
security, and the resistance of
oppression.”
• Portrays the idea called ‘Rule of
Law’.
Evolution of liberalism
•
•
The result was laissez faire capitalism.
Terrible economic & social conditions for
workers, including children. Government
powerless to act.
Led to rethinking liberalism. A good
society might need more than right
procedures. It also needed certain
outcomes.
Evolution, continued
•
•
•
The philosophy of Utilitarianism emerged.
Governments should pursue policies that
create the greatest good (or utility) for the
greatest number of people.
This utility calculation would provide a
rational guideline for government policy.
Utilitarianism was a challenge to the status
quo. The demand that everyone count for
one, and one only, was seen as wrong to
the elitist society of Britain
Further developments
•
•
•
After utilitarianism (which never caught on
in the U.S.), liberalism developed into
Social Justice or Modern Liberalism.
Modern liberalism is not fearful of
government power. Instead, government
power can be a force for good, limiting the
worst conditions of poverty, illiteracy,
racism, exploitation, etc.
The basis of progressive or liberal politics
in the U.S.
Robert Owen
•
•
•
•
believed that humanity is no better than its
environment.
Since people are shaped by environment,
improvement of that environment can produce a
paradise on earth. (Utopian Socialism)
Owen shocked business and government leaders by
stating that the development of machine production,
if organized entirely for profit, would inevitably lead
to poverty and degradation for workers.
His solution was Villages of Cooperation- kitchens,
reading rooms, and sitting rooms be used in
common.
A different view of freedom
•
T.H. Green (1836-1882)
•
•
Freedom means the ability as well as
the right to do something. Expansive
liberty.
Two types of freedom:
•
•
Negative freedom: freedom from
government intervention (e.g., Bill of
Rights).
Positive freedom: freedom requires
government to intervene in social &
economic spheres (e.g., education,
health care, housing).
A different view of freedom
• Government responsible for creating the
conditions for freedom.
•
•
This view implies an active and interventionist
government.
Take an unemployed and homeless woman for
example. Classical liberals would consider her
free because government does not restrain
her. But is she really free to make rational
choices?
•
•
•
An activist view of
government
Jane Addams (1860-1935)
Founded Hull House to
serve the poor in Chicago in
1889. Pushed for laws to
improve working and living
conditions for the poor.
Promoted government
action in education, better
sanitation, & women’s right
to vote.
Evolution of Modern
Liberalism
•
•
Key thinker: J.S.
Mill (1806-1873)
He worked with his
wife & intellectual
partner Harriet
Taylor Mill (18071858)
John Stuart Mill
•
•
•
•
English political theorist
Wrote On Liberty in 1859
Also wrote a book in favour of women’s
rights
He is considered a bridge between
classical liberalism and modern
liberalism
John Stuart Mill
• John Start Mill put together
many themes on liberalism in
his book entitled ‘On Liberty’.
• His ideas impacted many
people throughout history.
Let’s hear what Teddy
Roosevelt said about liberty.
• “The only purpose for which
power can be rightfully
exercised over any member of
a civilized community, against
his will, is to prevent harm to
others.” Mill
Aboriginal Contributions to Liberalism
•
•
It has been argued that many of
the principles of liberalism
originated in traditional
Aboriginal societies.
In Canada, our Aboriginal
communities use liberal ideas
such as elected leaders,
government by consensus,
leadership on the basis of
merit, just punishment, and
concepts of equality and
equality before the law.
On Liberty
•
Throughout this book, Mill exhibits a deep
concern with tyranny, both political and social.
What is social tyranny?
On Liberty
•
“The tyranny of the prevailing opinion and
feeling, ... the tendency of society to
impose... its own ideas and practices as
rules of conduct on those who dissent
from them, ... to prevent the formation of
any individuality not in harmony with its
ways.”
•
•
•
Social tyranny &
conformity
The individual has a sovereign right over
his or her self, body and mind, a right to
be free of societal interference in our
lives.
Does that mean that society can NEVER
interfere in our choices?
If not, when can it? What is the guiding
principle?
From “On Liberty”
•
“The sole end for which mankind are
warranted, individually or collectively... in
interfering with the liberty of action of any
of their number, is self-protection."
From “On Liberty”
•
•
•
Society can interfere, but for one reason
only: to stop harm to others. Society may
protect itself and other individuals.
But society may NOT interfere in order to
protect us from our own bad choices.
So, is does a behaviour affect others? Or
only ourselves?
Can society interfere?
• A 75-year old man who is slowly and
painfully dying of cancer decides to end his
life.
NO
Can society interfere?
• A CCHS student reads Mein Kampf and
thinks that Adolph Hitler had some great
ideas.
NO
Can society interfere?
• Two adult gay men decide to set up a
home together.
NO
Can society interfere?
•
•
That CCHS student who likes Hitler’s
ideas organizes an anti-Semitic rally
outside the home of a rabbi at 2 a.m.
Can society interfere, according to Mill?
Can society interfere?
•
•
•
•
YES
Why?
A. In conduct, the individual “must not make
himself a nuisance to other people.”
B. This conduct might lead to an act of
violence. Mill gave the example of publishing
the view that corn dealers starve the poor,
which is a protected activity, versus a speech
before an excited mob outside the home of a
corn dealer, which is not.
Can society interfere?
•
•
A 14-year-old decides to drop out of
school in order to get a job.
Can society interfere? Why or why not?
YES.
WHY?
People who are under the legal age of adulthood are excluded; society may
regulate them for their own good.
Can society interfere?
•
Two men are boating on Dried Meat Lake
without life jackets.
NO
Can society interfere?
•
Two men are boating on Dried Meat Lake
without life jackets and they are drinking
heavily.
YES.
WHY?
THEY POSE A RISK TO OTHERS
Can society interfere?
•
The two men are now on shore,
somewhat sober. One man, who can’t
swim, slips into the water and drowns.
The other man just stands and watches.
YES.
WHY?
WE ARE ACCOUNTABLE FOR OUR FAILURE TO ACT TO STOP HARM.
Mill and Foreign Policy
•
Would Mill have agreed with U.S. military
intervention to throw out a dictator and
help establish a democracy?
Mill and Foreign Policy
• “I am not aware that any community has a
right to force another to be civilized. So
long as the sufferers by the bad law do not
invoke assistance from other communities,
I cannot admit that persons entirely
unconnected with them ought to step in...”
• What do you think?
Great Law of Peace
• The Great Law of Peace
provided the Haudenosaunee
peoples with a constitution that
dates back to the 15th century.
• The Great Binding Law, as it
sometimes is referred to, has
three main principles:
righteousness, health and
power – all characteristics of
liberalism.
Liberalism in Canada
•
•
•
In 1982 the Canadian Charter of Rights
and Freedoms advanced the liberal
cause by entrenching into the
Canadian Constitution (Canada Act)
both basic liberties and new linguistic
(language) rights for minorities.
The purpose of the Charter was to
entrench (dig in) rights, especially
language rights, where no government
could ever take them away.
With the Charter as a shield a single
citizen can achieve Locke’s vision of a
society in which rights take precedence
over authority.
Modern Liberalism
•Liberals today generally
believe today that every
individual is unique. The
purpose of life is to realize that
potential, and to become
whatever it is one is capable of
becoming.
•The role of the state
(government) is to
produce the conditions
under which individuals
have the broadest
possible choice in
deciding upon their
definition of good.
•Society, meanwhile,
should celebrate this
diversity while giving
equal treatment to all,
regardless of a person’s
origins, colour, sex or
status in life.
•In exchange for this
respect, the individual
must acknowledge
responsibility for his own
fortunes and for the
fortunes of the
community.