What is liberalism?

Liberalism is an ideology, philosophy, and a collection of schools of thought that regard freedom as the main political value. More broadly, liberalism pursues a society that protects individual freedom of thought, restricts the government's use of power by law, protects the concept of free trade, supports a market economy that supports private enterprise, and has a transparent political system that protects the rights of minorities. In modern society, liberals support a liberal democracy structured as a republic or a constitutional monarchy, with an open and fair electoral system so that all citizens have equal rights to hold political office. Liberalism opposed many of the dominant early political structures, such as the divine right of kings, hereditary rule, and state religion. The basic human rights of liberalism advocate the right to life, the right to freedom, and the right to property.

English

libertarianism

[Edit this paragraph]1 The origin and original meaning of liberalism

1.1 Origin and usage of the name

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The word "freedom" originated from the Latin liber. In his masterpiece "History of Rome", Tito Livy described the struggle of the common people in the Roman Republic to fight for freedom from the aristocracy. Marcus Aurelius wrote about this in his book "Meditations": "An idea that advocates equal rights and equal freedom of speech in politics, and an idea that respects the majority of free political of government..." This progress was temporarily halted during the long Middle Ages, and it was not until the Italian Renaissance that the struggle for freedom began again, with supporters of free city-states clashing with those of the Pope. Niccolò Machiavelli expounded the principles of political and political government in his book "On Livy". This struggle for the right to liberty is recounted in the tomes of John Locke in England and Enlightenment thinkers in France.

The "Oxford English Dictionary" points out that the word "liberal" has existed in English for a long time, meaning "a decent, noble and generous free person", and the word liberal arts represents "Freedom of speech and movement from repression." The term was originally used as a derogatory term, but by 1776-1788 it began to change into a more positive term "tolerance, freedom from discrimination" under the use of Gibbon and others.

During the French Revolution, the more moderate bourgeoisie also attempted to establish a government based on the concept of liberty. Economists such as Adam Smith elaborated on the principles of free trade in his 1776 book The Wealth of Nations. The Spanish word "Liberales" first appeared in Spain in 1812, when the Spanish Liberal Party used the word to flaunt their determination to promote constitutional government. In 1816, British Tories were the first to use the word "liberal" in a contemptuous tone to disparage their opponents. In 1822, British writers and poets Byron and Shelley founded a magazine called "Liberalism", but it had little impact. It was not until the late 19th century that "liberalism" was applied. The influence of liberalism on our country The social and political trend of thought that advocated bourgeois liberalism and opposed the four basic principles began to appear in our country in the late 1970s. In December 1980, Deng Xiaoping clearly raised the issue of opposing bourgeois liberalization at the Central Working Conference of the Communist Party of China. Later, he repeatedly emphasized this issue and pointed out that the core of bourgeois liberalization is to oppose the leadership of the Communist Party of China. Without the leadership of the Communist Party of China, there will be no rejuvenation of China and no development of China. socialist system. The Four Basic Principles are the foundation of the country. The struggle to uphold the Four Cardinal Principles and oppose bourgeois liberalization is related to the future and destiny of the party and the country. Deng Xiaoping also pointed out: “In the entire process of realizing the four modernizations, at least in the remaining ten years of this century, plus the first fifty years of the next century, there will be the problem of opposition to bourgeois liberalization.” “Since This is a long-term task, so we cannot engage in movement. The main method is education and guidance.

"("Selected Works of Deng Xiaoping", Volume 3, Page 211) my country's reform and opening up has been an unprecedented revolution and construction practice for 30 years. These 30 years have roughly coincided with the rise of Western neoliberalism from its peak to the complete exposure of its shortcomings, leading to The course of the global financial crisis is synchronized. The 30-year history of reform and the previous economic crises in Western countries have proven that Comrade Xiaoping’s warnings against bourgeois liberalization in the reports of the 13th National Congress and subsequent party congresses are very correct.

During the period of my country's reform and opening up, although the international situation was favorable to us, on the other hand, it also coincided with the period when the neoliberal economic thinking of the Western bourgeoisie was at its peak in our society. Fanaticism has a broad social foundation, and is also influenced by the idea of ??admiring foreigners. Some people follow it blindly due to cognitive reasons, and some people blindly follow it with speculation. Some people go to the West, especially the United States, to "learn from the experience", although they have also learned Some basic knowledge of market economy, but at this time, the West was vigorously promoting neoliberalism. They were more enthusiastic about selling this fashionable product, and they just took advantage of the rigid ideological climate of China's overwhelming propaganda to emancipate the mind and criticize the "Left". One tendency covers up another. With the title of "reformers" they have won, as scholars or media "celebrities", they have monopolized the right to speak for a long time, turning correcting "leftism" into "correcting" socialism and Marxism-Leninism interprets reform and opening up from the perspective of liberalization, mainly neoliberalism. It promotes and sows neoliberalism in large numbers at various academic conferences and university halls, advocates the omnipotence of market economy and private ownership, and generally opposes government intervention. Some They even proposed canceling the attributive term socialism before the socialist market economy as the goal of my country's economic system reform. Some openly attacked Marxism as outdated or even wrong, saying that communism will still be a market economy in the future, referring to the socialist public ownership economy, especially It is the state-owned economy that is said to be useless.

Under the influence of these public opinions, deviations from socialism have occurred widely in many places and fields for a considerable period of time, such as the privatization trend in the name of reform and the transformation of some socialist systems. They described social security as a "burden", dismantled the rural cooperative medical system, canceled compulsory education, "marketized" medical care, and "industrialized" education; they promoted a capital-oriented approach and condoned capital's exploitation of labor, and some threatened to do so without hesitation Sacrificing 30 million workers, regardless of social justice and resources and the environment, as long as GDP takes the lead, distorting development into simply making money, corroding people's souls, food safety and mining accidents occur frequently, leading to serious social injustice and social problems, forming what people call " "Three new mountains", the differences between classes, urban and rural areas and regions have expanded sharply, and a large number of workers and peasants have fallen to the bottom of society.

As the 13th National Congress report said, the concept of socialist reform and opening up is the same as that of bourgeois liberalization reform and opening up. The struggle over views has always been ongoing. Some so-called "mainstream" economists and media people insist on using bourgeois liberalization to distort socialist reform and opening up. One prominent and fascinating method is to distort Comrade Xiaoping's Southern Tour speech, saying He said that reforms should not be about society or capital. Although the Scientific Outlook on Development put forward by the Party Central Committee with Comrade Hu Jintao as General Secretary has actually criticized this trend of thought, some people still insist on saying so by virtue of their monopoly right to speak, and some domineeringly insist on opposing liberalization and advocating reform. People with a socialist orientation are labeled as opposed to reform.

Understanding comes from practice and must be tested in practice. Through the cycle of practice, understanding, practice again, and understanding again, we gradually get closer to the truth. There is a saying in China that one stands up at thirty. From the perspective of the law of understanding, about twenty or thirty years is a cycle in which people understand the truth through practice. The two serious twists and turns in the history of my country's democratic revolution and socialist construction took more than 20 years. It has been 30 years since my country's unprecedented revolution and construction practice of reform and opening up. These 30 years have roughly coincided with the rise of Western neoliberalism, which has completely exposed its shortcomings and led to a global financial crisis.

Greenspan, who led the United States through the longest period of economic growth in history, firmly believed in the free market economy and opposed government intervention in market operations, was considered an absolutely reliable "master" who kept his word. Greenspan, who had been in charge of the Federal Reserve Board for 18 years, When testifying at the hearing of the U.S. House of Representatives tracing the origins of the financial tsunami, he admitted that his world view was incorrect and his philosophy when he was in office was wrong, saying that he had mistakenly believed that the unfettered free market was the foundation of a good economy. Officials and scholars in bourgeois countries can also review their mistakes. Our country's reform and opening up has achieved brilliant results due to the reform of the over-centralized economic and political system in the past, the correct choice of the market economic system, and the simultaneous development of various economic institutions with public ownership as the main body. This year's defense against natural disasters and the United States The impact of the financial crisis has laid a material foundation; this also includes the contributions of scholars and media people. However, it also encountered obstruction and interference in the process of reform and opening up. In addition to "left" rigid ideas and power corruption, as mentioned above, bourgeois liberalization ideas dominated by neoliberalism have serious consequences for distorting the direction of economic system reform aimed at socialist market economy.

The errors and harms of neoliberalism have long been fully exposed in other parts of the world, such as some countries in Asia (such as Thailand), Africa, and Latin America. The most typical example is the implementation of the World Bank’s neoliberal policies by the former Soviet Union. The prescription of socialism, total privatization, led to the collapse of the party and the country, the disintegration of the alliance, a great economic recession, very difficult people's lives, a great decline in people's income levels and a great reduction in national strength. So far, recovery has been slow.

1.2 Liberal Disagreement

Under the above-mentioned framework, many deep and even fierce disputes and conflicts began to arise among liberals. During these controversies, many schools began to diverge from classical liberalism. In many disputes, parties use different words to describe the same concept, or use the same words to describe different concepts.

Some principles that liberals agree on are:

Social liberalism is also called reform liberalism and neoliberalism (new liberalism). Be careful not to use the same translation name with Chinese. "Neoliberalism" confusion. It emerged in many developed countries in the late 19th century, influenced by the utilitarianism of Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill. Some liberals accept some or all of Marxist and socialist theories of exploitation and criticism of the "profit motive" and believe that government should use its power to ameliorate these problems. According to John Dewey and Mortimer Adler's interpretation of this form of liberalism, since the individual is the foundation of society, all individuals should have the basic elements needed to achieve their goals, such as education, Economic opportunities, protection in the face of unsolvable disasters. For social liberalism, these elements are also considered part of rights. These requirements, called positive freedom, must be produced and provided by others, and are different from classical negative freedom—negative freedom only requires that people do not infringe upon each other. Social liberals believe that ensuring these positive liberties is a necessary process to safeguard the right to liberty. Schools, libraries, museums, and art galleries must be supported by taxes. Social liberals also support some restrictions on economic competition, such as antitrust laws and minimum wage restrictions. They also advocate that the government should provide the basic social Welfare, and taxes to support these welfare systems, bring out the best in people and prevent revolution.

Political liberalism advocates that the individual is the basis of society and law, and that society and institutions exist to advance individual goals without favoring those with higher social status. The Magna Carta is a political document that declares that individual rights are higher than the privileges of the monarch. Politically liberalism emphasizes the social contract between rulers and the ruled, under which citizens make laws and agree to abide by them. This is based on trusting individuals to take actions that are best for themselves. Political liberalism grants the right to vote to all adult citizens regardless of gender, race, or economic status.

Political liberalism emphasizes the rule of law and supports liberal democracy.

Cultural liberalism focuses on individuals’ rights to moral values ??and lifestyles, including issues such as sexual freedom, freedom of belief, and cognitive freedom, and protects individuals from government intrusion into their private lives. John Stuart Mill eloquently wrote of cultural liberalism in his essay “Only for the purpose of self-preservation can an individual or group interfere with the free conduct of other human beings. Only to prevent one person from injuring other human beings.” Only for the purpose of preventing the free intentions of other members of civilized society can one's own interests, whether material or spiritual, be a sufficient reason for this principle." Cultural liberalism generally opposes government restrictions on literature, art, scholarship, gambling, sex, prostitution, legal age for marriage, abortion, birth control, alcohol, marijuana, and other drugs. Most liberals oppose government interference in these areas. The Netherlands can be considered the freest country in the world in this regard.

However, there are also some distinctly different propositions within liberalism:

Economic liberalism is an ideology that supports the rights of individual property and freedom of contract. The catchphrase of this liberalism is "free enterprise." Supporting a laissez-faire capitalist system means removing legal barriers, such as barriers to trade and government-imposed monopoly and subsidy privileges. Economic liberalism hopes that the government will have as little control over the economy as possible, or no regulation at all. Some economic liberals will accept government restrictions on monopolies and oligopoly, but some of them believe that monopoly and oligopoly are caused by government intervention. Economic liberals argue that the value of products and services should be determined by the free choice of individuals, that is, by market forces. Some agree that the government can play a monopoly role in some areas, such as policing and court services. Economic liberalism accepts that economic inequality arising from transactions involving unequal bargaining positions is the result of natural competition—as long as no coercion is involved. This form of liberalism was particularly influenced by 19th-century British liberalism. Miniarchism and anarcho-capitalism are both forms of economic liberalism. (See Free Trade, Liberalization)

The debate between economic freedom and social equality is as old as freedom itself. Plutarch wrote about Solon, the ancient Greek legislator: "Solon had the privilege of relieving others from their debts; this was the instrument he used to confirm civil liberties; it is useless to give everyone the same rights by law. , If the poor must sacrifice these rights in exchange for the forgiveness of debts, then they are just pleading and nodding to the rich everywhere, whether in judicial courts, state officials, or in discussions of public affairs.”

1.3 Comparison of influences

Thinkers of the early Enlightenment era regarded liberalism as being related to the old political system, feudalism, mercantilism and God before the French Revolution. Contrast with the Church of Cyprus. Later, more radical philosophers linked their ideas to the lines of the French Revolution and the 19th century. Liberalism defined itself in contrast to socialism and communism, although modern European liberal parties are often associated with Social democratic parties formed an alliance. In the 20th century liberalism defined itself as the opposite of totalitarianism and collectivism. Some liberals also oppose the classical just war theory that focuses on neutrality and free trade, preferring the concepts of multinational interventionism and collective security.

Liberalism advocates limiting the power of government. The most extreme antistatist liberals, such as Herbert Spencer, Frederic Bastiat, and Gustave de Molinari, are sometimes considered anarchists or libertarians forms of voluntarism. Most liberals believe that government is necessary to protect individual rights. Recently, liberalism has begun to conflict with those who pursue a stable society based on faith values: for example, Islamic fundamentalists completely reject liberalism.

[Edit this paragraph] 2 The Development of Liberal Thought

2.1 The Origin of Liberal Thought

John Locke emphasized "liberty" as a necessary right for human beings politics repeat themselves throughout history. As mentioned above, the conflicts between the common people and the nobles in ancient Rome, as well as the struggle between the Italian cities and the Holy See. Throughout the 15th century the governments and polities of Florence and Venice consisted of electoral systems, regulations, and the pursuit of free enterprise, until they were dominated by other outside forces in the 16th century. Dutch resistance to (Spanish) Catholic repression was also common - although they also refused to grant freedom to Catholics.

As an ideology, liberalism can be traced back to the humanist confrontation with the authority of the state religion during the Renaissance. And the Whigs in the British Glorious Revolution claimed that people had the right to choose their king and can be seen as pioneers in promoting popular sovereignty. However, it was generally during the Enlightenment that these movements began to be recognized as true "liberalism", especially the British Whigs, French philosophers, and the North American colonies moving towards self-government. These movements opposed monarchy, mercantilism, and various other religious orthodoxy and statist forces. They were also the first to codify the concept of individual rights in statutes and, equally important, to achieve self-government through elected parliamentary systems.

Liberalism began to have a clear definition after it proposed the concept that free individuals can form the basis of a stable society. This concept was first proposed in the works of John Locke. In his "Two Treatises on Government" he proposed two basic concepts of freedom: Economic freedom means owning and using property. rights, as well as intellectual freedom, including moral freedom. However, he did not extend his views on religious freedom to Catholics. Locke fostered the early notion of natural rights, defining them as "life, liberty, and property." His concept of natural rights became the forerunner of the modern concept of human rights. For Locke, however, he believed that property rights were more important than the right to participate in government and public decision-making: he did not endorse democracy because he worried that giving power to the people would undermine the supremacy of property rights.

Montesquieu In continental Europe, the principle of limiting the power of kings by law was first expounded by Montesquieu. In his book "The Spirit of the Laws", he argued that "a better way to say it is, The government that is most consistent with the state of nature is the government that is most consistent with the temperament and character of the people and is established with the support of the people." It is not just the power of rule that serves as the state of government. Following Montesquieu's ideas, political economists such as Jean-Baptiste Say and Destutt de Tracy enthusiastically elaborated on the principles of markets. The term "harmonious state" may have given rise to the term laissez-faire. This also involves Physiocrats and Rousseau's political economy.

The next French Enlightenment also saw two figures who had a huge impact on liberal thought: Voltaire advocated that France should adopt a constitutional monarchy and abolish the Second Estate; Rousseau that humans have natural rights. Both, in different forms, argued that society may suppress a person's natural rights, but it cannot obliterate his natural state. Voltaire's ideas were more intellectual, while Rousseau's ideas were related to essential natural rights, perhaps similar to Diderot's ideas.

Anders Cudenius also advocated a concept that has repeatedly appeared in the history of liberal thought, that is, the social contract between the rulers and the ruled. He bases this on the individual's natural state, claiming that everyone knows how to act in their best interest. He claimed that everyone is born free, but education will fully limit him to the norms of that society. This statement shook the monarchy society at that time. He claimed that the people had a fundamental will (organic will) and advocated that the people should be allowed to self-determine, which also violated the political tradition of the time.

His ideas became an important component of the manifesto of the National Assembly during the French Revolution and also influenced American thinkers such as Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson. His view is that the unity of the country is produced through the agreed behavior of people, or through the "national will". Such unified behavior allows the country to exist without being bound by the existing social order (such as aristocracy).

The main group of thinkers who contributed a considerable portion of their works to the liberal movement were those figures associated with the Scottish Enlightenment, including David Hume and Adam Smith, as well as the German Enlightenment philosopher E. Manuel Kant.

Adam Smith and David Hume contributed quite a lot in terms of category and quantity, but the most important thing is what he advocated in his book "A Treatise of Human Nature" (1739-1740), that human beings Fundamental routines of behavior will prevail over those that seek to limit and regulate them. One example is his disdain for mercantilism and the accumulation of gold and silver bullion. He argued that prices were related to the quantity of money, and that the accumulation of gold and paper money would only lead to inflation.

Although Adam Smith is the best-known thinker of economic liberalism, he was not the first to propose similar concepts. Even earlier, French Physiocrats had proposed a systematic study of political economy and a state in which markets could organize themselves. Benjamin Franklin, writing in 1750, supported the freedom of American industry. The free and parliamentary government of Sweden-Finland from 1718 to 1772 produced the Finnish parliamentarian Anders Chydenius, one of the first to propose the concepts of free trade and unregulated industry. one. His concepts had a long-term impact on the Nordic countries in particular, but later had a huge impact elsewhere.

In his doctrine, the Scotsman Adam Smith stated that individuals can build a life of both economic and moral value without the guidance of the government. If the citizens of a country have the right to take action freely, that country will become stronger. He advocated the end of feudalism and mercantilist regulation dominated by state monopolies, and advocated "laissez-faire" government. In his Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759), he developed a theory focused on motivation that attempted to reconcile human self-interest with unregulated social order. In The Wealth of Nations, he argued that the market, under certain circumstances, would naturally regulate its own problems and produce a more efficient state than the regulated market of the time. The role he assigned to government was work that could not be entrusted to profit motives, such as the protection of individuals from violence and fraud that would end competition, trade, and production. His view on taxes is that the government can only impose an amount of tax that will not harm the economy, and "the tax rate that each person pays to the state should depend on the amount of income he earns under the protection of the state." "Definitely." He agreed with David Hume that "capital" was the source of a nation's wealth—not gold.

Kant was strongly influenced by David Hume’s experimentalism and rationalism. His greatest contribution to liberal thought was in the field of ethics, where he proposed the Categorical imperative. concept. Kant held that the reception system of reason and morality is inferior to the laws of nature, and therefore, trying to suppress the laws of nature will inevitably lead to failure. His idealism became more and more influential, and he claimed that there was a more important truth underlying the cognitive system.