Introduction to Political Theory

Chapter 8

Liberalism

Introduction

Liberalism has emerged as the world’s dominant ideology, and much of the

political debate of ‘liberal democratic’ societies takes place within liberalism.

Because of its dominance liberalism can be a difficult ideology to pin down,

and there are several quite distinct streams of thought within it. Liberals take

individual freedom – or liberty – as a fundamental value, and although an

individual’s freedom can be limited – because it clashes with the freedom of

others or with other values – what defines liberalism is the presumptionthat

freedom is a good thing, meaning that limitations on freedom must be justified.

A less obvious aspect of liberalism is its emphasis on equality, and again the

presumption is that people are equal. Although this appears to generate a

major contradiction at the heart of liberalism – after all, the exercise of freedom

will often lead to inequality – the two can be reconciled if we assume people

are naturallyequal. Natural, or ‘moral’, equality may be compatible with

material, or social, inequality. To say people are naturally equal amounts to

the claim that political institutions must be justified to each individual, and

each individual counts equally.

Chapter map

In this chapter we will:

• Explore the historical roots of
  liberalism.


• Identify the fundamental philosophical
  core of liberal thought.


• Recognise the distinct streams of
  liberal thought, and the tensions
  between them.
  
  
  • Analyse political practice in liberal
    democracies and apply the insights
    gained to that practice.