Rejection of
liberalism
The justification for dictatorships
Liberalism is very flexible, which can be beneficial to
adapt to changing society; yet it can seem indifferent
to principles
 Classical liberalism - core beliefs
 social, political and economic values must come from the individual (or
they are not justified and can be ignored, the individual decides what is
good)
 the only reality in the world are individuals (not societies, religions,
ethnicities) = don’t look to social position (caste, gender), religion or
shared characteristics to justify what values are valid
o dissolves centuries of the foundations of beliefs
 laws must be applied to all equally, individuals are esteemed equally
o free to pursue own self interest, state ensures those interests don’t
interfere with each other (e.g. monopolies, slavery) – political laissezfaire
 the free market is the way for individuals to achieve their own goals
(everyone is equal in opportunity) – economic laissez-faire
Three values liberalism fails to
address:
 Order
o liberalism encourages people to follow a broad set of rules,
(conservatism feels we must do more in order to prevent
living a corrupt life)
 Burke: lose those things that helped us to thrive (get to
where we are now); see liberalism as experiments –
ignorant of the wisdom of the ages
 Can be seen in a longing for the good old days, being
uncomfortable with social experiments or resisting
change (reactionary)
 Belonging – the need to live a common purpose, be part of
something glorious
o Fascism: focus more on belonging vs need for order
(can be seen in Canada when we cheer for our athletes,
“Charger Pride”).
 individual reason waters down our sense of belonging
 pluralism means there isn’t one true community and
purpose
 free market promotes competition (lose the feeling of
unity), create new economic system to ensure nation will
thrive (corporatist state)
 democracy divides people – competing for votes, petty
debates (can be seen in Canada when we feel the need for
politicians to get on with ruling, we need a great leader to
restore our standing in the world)
 Freedom – liberalism is a distorted understanding of freedom
o Revolutionary socialism (communism * most communist nations
recognize they have not yet reached the ideal of communism, and refer to themselves
as socialists)
 freeing people from religion, institutions, culture and
social norms
 free market economy enslaves individuals (focuses on
the needs of the market, instead of the market
following our needs [self-actualization, creative
expression]).
 real freedom = take control over the economy so that it meets the
demands of our humanity (not the demands of profit) - Business
cycle is a symptom of the illness of liberalism.
 Once true communism is established, there will be no need for
government as people will govern themselves = the goal of
liberals!
 When we feel we should be recognized for who we are, not the
money in our pockets, that is an echo of communism
How viable is liberalism in
regions that are not liberal, like
theocracies?
 Liberalism is only one way of seeing the
world, the issue is if the ideology can answer
the needs of individuals/humans (liberals
focus on freedom, others may focus on
values of order or belonging; but all three
need to be addressed)
Dictatorship
government by the “elite”
Justifications
 Goals of the state are above selfish individual
objectives, therefore the collective welfare of the
state must prevail over the privileges of the
individual
 Only certain people are sufficiently intelligent
and energetic to rule
 Unless people’s beliefs and actions are strictly
controlled, social organization will break down
Model Dictatorship
 Elite makes all public decisions
 There is no respect for the political rights of
individuals and groups that are not part of the
elite, therefore there is no place for freedom of
speech and assembly, or for political and legal
equality.
 It is based on the assumption that only the elite
have anything useful to contribute; people are
unequal and may not compete with their rulers
Classifications of
Dictatorships
 Autocracy – rule by one person (e.g. Henry VIII)
 Oligarchy – rule by a group (e.g. the Taliban in
Afghanistan)
 Majority Tyranny – rule by a majority without
respect for minority rights (US prior to the civil
rights movement; South Africa with Apartheid –
minority tyranny)
Techniques
 Force – drawback: very expensive in terms of time,
personnel and other resourced; it can also create a
new opposition
 Indoctrination and propaganda – especially
effective in the educational system
 Direction of popular discontent – build up hatred
against real or imagined enemies to divert attention
away from the government (scapegoat)
 Controlled participation – people are given the
appearance of having a voice in government;
tokenism: giving a fairly high (conspicuous) office to
a member of a dissident group
Dictatorships vs
Totalitarianism
All totalitarian regimes are dictatorships, but not all
dictatorships are totalitarian
Basic Characteristics
 An official plan covers all vital aspects of human
existence
 Single mass party, usually under one leader
 Government monopoly of police and weapons
 Party controls all means of mass communication
 Tight control of the economy
 Based on the theories of Carlyle, Nietzsche and
Hitler: Great Man Theory, man of destiny
Totalitarian dictatorships claim total control of the
society. They are an extreme version of an
ideological one-party dictatorship; everything is
political. The difference between dictatorship
and totalitarianism is in the scope and location of
government power.