Unit 7 Source Analysis: Liberalism

Liberalism
Name:
Institutional Affiliation:
Date:
Liberalism
In discussing the concept of liberalism, Wolf (2019) termed it as an attitude that believes in the importance of human agency that enables humans to be able to decide for themselves through personal expressions and public participation. Under liberalism, members of a society hold the ultimatum on the different ways in which they are supposed to be governed. It gives people the power to actively shape their community and ensure the continuity and sustenance of a society that gives a voice to its members. The origin of liberalism can be attributed to 20th-century philosophers like John Locke, Thomas Hobbes, and Immanuel Kant, who based the concept on the 'social contract theory' (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2018). Liberalism offers the justification of social arrangements and instills the attitude that liberals have the right and capacity to influence the aspects of social and political life to become acceptable for every individual in the society (Waldron, 1987). The process of ensuring that liberalism and community participation are enacted raises various perspectives and ideologies which different people or cultures undertake. The ideologies are based on how an individual or a collective chooses to pursue their interests and opinions in the way they should be governed. The following are some ideologies and perspectives that arise as a result of liberalism.
* Classical versus modern liberalism
The main factor that differentiates the two forms of liberalism is the aspect of time, making the latter an improvement on the former. This means that modern liberalism is as a result of standard definitions and adaptations over the classical one. According to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (2018), classical liberals that insist private property ownership ensures that liberty is asserted on everyone to partake in any project that helps them realize their dreams or prospects. The ‘old’ liberalism states that rights to private property ownership are the bases of all other reasons, and without them, human rights do not exist. Miessler(2019) describing the difference between the two explained classical liberalism as an ideology that posits that individuals should be free from all governmental influence and places personal obligations as the tool for sustainable development. The development and popularity of classical liberalism gave way to modern liberalism, which was established as a means to encourage government involvement as an equalizing factor. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (2018) explained the main reason for the adoption of modern liberalism was that the popularized property created an unfair inequality of power. Based on this reasoning, modern liberalism believes that government control brings equality to citizens both socially and economically.Modern liberalism encourages the involvement of the government in economic power through industrial participation and state control over major sectors. Waldron (1987) explained modern liberalism as a process of traditional choosing of an optimally comfortable lifestyle, although the idea is not voluntary. Freeman (2017) described modern liberalism as an ideology allowing the regulation of economic rights through the redistribution of income to regulate ownership inequalities and provide the members of a society with the necessary resources. The main attitude difference between the two ideologies is that classical liberals do not trust the government to control the resources effectively without the interest of a few people taking over the importance of the nation. On the other hand, modern liberals confide in the government the ability to regulate commercial acquisition equally.
* Capitalism versus Socialism
Like classical and modern liberalism, the difference between capitalism and socialism is also based on private and public ownership of business and industry. The difference between capitalism &socialism and classical and modern liberalism is that the former is more concentrated on economic production while the latter covers both social and economic aspects. The prosperity of capitalism is independent of the form of government that a nation enacts since the optimal environment requires a political rule that encourages private property, private ventures, and the freedom for individuals to engage in contracts (Kornai, 2000). Socialistic governments believe that the economic system can only be enhanced by the legal system, public bureaucracy, and the establishment of democratic institutions (Bjornskov and Paldam, 2009). Capitalism embraces the private ownership of businesses and industries to ensure a competitive administration, while socialism proposes that government control ensures the equitable distribution of resources among the citizens of a country. Without government control over the dynamics of the market, they would shift according to supply and demand. This means that capitalism operates under the free market system, which eventually models a socio-economically segmented society. The ideology behind socialism is that when the state controls the production, it can shift the supply and demand to suit the needs of all people. Classical liberalism encouraged the capitalistic approach, while modern liberalism sanctioned the practice of socialism.
* Individualism versus collectivism
The ideologies of individualism and collectivism are based on the focus of people's actions on the benefactor of the results i.e., whether it supports an individual or the society. Politically, the concepts can be analyzed depending on the social activity or satisfaction towards the prevailing government system. Brewer and Chen (2007) captured the difference between the two concepts clearly by describing individualism as an approach that pushes for independence, personal initiatives, privacy, financial security, and universalism. The duo further described collectivist cultures as those that insist on a collective identity, dependence, solidarity, group decisions, and particularism. In linking these concepts to liberalism, individualism is an ideology supported by the classical liberalism as it gives more freedom to people to exercise their liberties to partake inany activity they deem profitable to them. Collectivism is a product of modern liberalism. An individualistic government would, therefore, mean that the governmental structures and policy advance towards the realization of individual rights. A collective society enacts the implementation of social institutions and organizations to enforce the needs of the collective. The concepts (individualism and collectivism) also align with capitalism and socialism. Individualism is the product of a capitalistic society, while collectivism is often found in socialistic governments.
Below is an analysis of various case studies sources highlighting the different perspectives and liberalism ideologies present in each one of them. The paper also analyzes the different similarities and linking factors connecting the sources.
Source Analysis
Source I
The first source holds the perspective that individual decisions are not fit to ensure the security and stability of the country. The article further posits that if the decision making responsibility were placed on the shoulders of a few political leaders who have the governance abilities, there would be more community progress and fewer errors in the judgment. The article derives from government control in the managing of national interests. One of the ideologies that the author attributes to in the text is that society holds more importance than individuals, and the community implications should be the main focus in decision making. It posits that the government should deprive the citizens of their right to choose their own leaders for the benefit of the country. The article leans more towards modern liberalism as it encourages more government involvement in both social and economic decisions to ensure that steady progress is achieved and the country's growth depends on the decisions of political leaders. Another characteristic of modern liberalism is the lack of a definite position but an analysis of the present circumstances to find the middle ground in both extremes. The source supports individualism to some extent, provided it is gauged to ensure competence. The individuals involved in political positions have to possess leadership abilities and have to work as a team, not as different entities. Collectivism is the main focus of the source as it shuns the ability of individual decisions in the development of the country. Individualism supports the enactment and pursuit of uniqueness and non-conformity to societal pressures and needs. This source does not promote individualism and chooses collectivism as the best approach to ensure societal cohesion. Socialism allows a certain degree of government intervention in...