INTRODUCTION

• Political ideology is applied in two contexts: i) as a set of ideas accepted by a particular group, party, or nation without examination, and ii) as the science of ideas that examines how ideas are formed, how truth is distorted, and how we can overcome these distortions to discover true knowledge.
• Ideology explains social reality, interprets it in a certain way, evolves interrelated principles, contests the nature of the political, and prescribes appropriate action.
• Liberalism is a political ideology based on a commitment to individualism, freedom, toleration, and consent.
• Liberalism emerged during the Renaissance and Reformation in Europe, reflecting the economic, social, and political aspirations of the rising middle class that later became the capitalist class.
• In the 16th and 17th centuries, during the emergence of the feudal system and the establishment of absolute nation-states, liberalism arose as a protest against hierarchical authority, privileged monarchy, and the authority of the king.
• The main slogan of this protest was freedom—the demand for individual liberty to challenge state authority in all aspects of life: intellectual, social, religious, cultural, political, and economic.
• Liberty in liberalism has two perspectives: Negative and Positive.
• The negative aspect of liberalism (classical liberalism) advocates liberty as the absence of interference or constraints—“freedom from” outside authority.
• The positive aspect of liberalism supports liberty as “freedom to” moral and self-development, self-realization, and self-mastery.
• The central issue in liberalism is the relationship between the individual and the state.
• Liberalism has a long history, capturing ideological struggles over the last 3000 years, with roots tracing back to Ancient Greece, which inspired generations of liberals.
• The philosophical and political roots of liberalism are found in the social contract theory of Thomas Hobbes and John Locke.
• Liberalism was further developed by Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill with their Utilitarian perspective, Herbert Spencer with his doctrine of ‘Survival of the Fittest’, and Thomas Paine, who viewed the state as a ‘necessary evil’.
• On the economic front, Physiocrats, Adam Smith, David Ricardo, and Thomas Malthus contributed to the foundation of economic liberty.
• Adam Smith‘s work, Wealth of Nations, introduced a new perspective on Political Economy.

DEFINITION AND THINKERS

• Liberalism is a principle of politics that prioritizes liberty of individuals as the primary goal of public policy.

• Liberty means liberation from restraints, particularly those imposed by an authoritarian state.

• Liberalism is not a fixed mode of thought but an intellectual movement that adapts to new ideas, situations, and challenges.

• According to Barry (1995), liberalism both explains and evaluates, accounting for social order, including economic, legal, and political phenomena.

• In the liberal view, the state is a necessary evil, where the state is the means and the individual is the end.

• Liberalism rejects the absolute authority of the state.

• John Locke outlined key tenets of liberalism:

  • Man/Woman is a rational creature.

  • There is no inherent contradiction between an individual’s self-interest and the common interest.

  • Man/Woman has certain natural rights that cannot be transgressed by any authority.

  • Civil society and the state are artificial institutions created by individuals to serve the common interest.

  • Liberalism emphasizes the primacy of procedure over the end product in the pursuit of freedom, equality, justice, and democracy.

  • Liberalism promotes civil liberties, including freedom of thought, expression, association, movement, personal freedom, and strict adherence to legal and judicial procedures.

• Liberal theory developed in two main directions:

  • Individualism focuses on the individual as a rational creature and demands recognition of the individual’s dignity, independent existence, and judgment in public policy.

  • Utilitarianism advocates for the greatest happiness of the greatest number, sometimes sacrificing the interests of the few for the majority’s benefit.

• John Locke and Adam Smith are early exponents of individualism, while Bentham and Mill are supporters of utilitarianism.