How Liberism has Evolved During the 20th Century - 980 Words

INTRODUCTION Since the 17th century, liberalism has been one of the sources of political progress in the West. Liberalism is a philosophy based on ideas of liberty and quality. Liberalism is hard to define due to the term being used to describe ideas, parties, movements and practices in different societies and different historical periods. The core values of liberalism are individualism, rationalism, freedom, justice and toleration . Liberalism is one of the most powerful ideologies shaping Western Politics. Early Liberalism showed the goals of the fast rising middle class and this have linked liberalism and capitalism. Liberalism has dominated political ideas for almost two decades since the 1970s but the liberal demand of limiting powers†¦show more content†¦MODERN LIBERALISM Many things can be said about Modern Liberalism because it is both Radical individualism (liberty gone too far) and Radical Egalitarianism (equality gone too far), with the diverging effects upon fraternity. Modern Liberalism is neither a collectivist nor individualistic idea; it has the elements of both doctrines. Modern liberalism shows a more sympathetic attitude to the state. They believe that state intervention is therefore enlarging liberty by protecting individuals from social evils that are rampant. Modern liberalism believes that equal opportunity can be achieved only if there is a reduction in the social inequality. Therefore, the state would be able to create excellent conditions for people through education or the health service. A key difference between modern and classical liberalism is positive freedom. Modern liberals believe in a positive view of freedom with state created conditions that people choose in order to progress. Both the modern and classical liberals believe that freedom is the ultimate goal politically in whatever form it takes. All liberal views on equality stem from the idea of individualism. A qualified welfare is the means by which positive freedom and equal opportunity are allowed to take place and is unregulated and it is free of state intervention. ECONOMIC LIBERALISM This is the partner of the classical liberalism. This is an economic idea