The Origins of
Liberalism
• The word liberal comes from the Latin liber,
meaning free
• The word Liberal to describe a way of thinking
was first used during in Spain during the
Napoleonic Wars (think about the motto of the
French Revolution)
• Liberalism is a left wing philosophy because
advocates favour the reform of government
• Liberalism is associated with being open-minded
and supporting freedom of speech and freedom
within actions
The Four Basic Principles
of Liberalism
1. Personal Freedom:
• refers to the absence of coercion
(force) and includes free speech,
religious liberty, the right to
private property, and the right to
political opposition
2. Equality of Right:
• all must abide by the same laws,
which the government enforces
with impartiality
• Similar to belief in the Rule of
Law – as created in the Magna
Carta
3. Limited government:
• means that the state (government) is
an instrument serving a function in
society and not in general charge of
ALL society
• The government is there to prevent
people from hurting each other
through force and fraud
4. Consent of the governed:
• Government is responsible to
people and may be changed by
them
Classical Liberalism
• John Locke, an English
philosopher 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
American Declaration of
Independence
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•
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decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
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
self-evident, 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……
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
imprescriptible rights of man; and
these rights are liberty, property,
security, and the resistance of
oppression.”
• Portrays the idea called ‘Rule of
Law’.
John Stuart Mill
• John Start Mill put together many
themes on liberalism in his book
entitled ‘On Liberty’.
• His ideas impacted many people
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decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
throughout history. Let’s hear what
Teddy Roosevelt said about liberty.
• Here is a quote from Mill about
liberty and the use of power. “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.”
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
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•
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.
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.
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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.
Liberalism Today
•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.