POS 254 Political Ideologies
Tenets of classical liberalism
Dr. Joel Olson

Liberalism: An ideology that promotes the freedom of the individual in religious, political, and economic matters.

Key elements of liberalism

1. Individual autonomy

The basis of society is the individual. Humans are primarily motivated by self-interest.

2. Individual rights

If the individual is autonomous, then all individuals must be free and equal. This implies political equality, the protection of individual rights, respect for individual choices, and the use of reason in making decisions. "I am free and thus I rule myself." The key individual rights are freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, freedom of worship, and the right to property.

3. Religious toleration

Individuals and the state must respect one's right to worship as one pleases. Implies a separation of church and state.

4. Popular sovereignty and consent

Government should be ruled by the people rather than by a monarch, a religious figure, or some other elite. Government's legitimacy rests on the consent of the governed..

5. Limited and representative government

The government's role in society and the scope of its power should be clearly defined. The purpose of government is to protect individual's life, liberty, and property. Further, in a society of autonomous individuals pursuing their own self-interests, government must represent the various interests of that society. This implies representative government, majority rule, constitutional government, and the rule of law.

6. Private property

Society should generally encourage the private accumulation of property rather than place restrictions on it. This implies an economy of free markets, equality of opportunity in the market, and competition. In sum, liberalism defends capitalism.

7. Universalism and progress

All people are fundamentally the same. Differences of culture, religion, race, gender, nationality, etc. are ultimately superficial. Overall, liberalism tends to interpret historically progressively: society, economy, technology are all advancing and elevating the human condition in the process.

Criticisms of liberalism

1. Is liberalism as universal as it claims?
Liberalism has historically excluded women, slaves, children, and propertyless wage workers. How universal is an ideology that explicitly defends the property of the wealthy?

2. Is liberalism democratic?
Is voting for representatives and running for office all there is to political participation?

3. The contradiction of liberal democracy.
We live in a society in which we all possess equal political rights, but in which wealth is held unevenly. How democratic is a society where people possess equal political rights but unequal social power?

4. The dilemma between freedom and equality.
If we allow people to try to seek unlimited wealth, we are denying the ability of others to acquire wealth, and thus we are denying them their liberty. On the other hand, if we allow all people equal access to the means of producing wealth, then we have to prevent people from accumulating as much wealth as they can.