Thomas Taylor
How far has Modern Liberalism departed form Classical Liberalism?
Liberalism did not denote a political allegiance until the early part of the nineteenth Century, and was first used in Spain in 1812. The first real Liberal government in the UK was Gladstone’s in 1868. Liberal ideas resulted from the breakdown of feudalism in Europe and the growth of its replacement of a market or capitalist society. At first, Liberal ideas were radical because they sought fundamental reform and even revolutionary change. This early, or Classical, liberalism advocated an industrialized and market economic order free from government intervention. However, these views and beliefs later changed during the twentieth century, to become, what is commonly known as modern liberalism. The question is how far has modern liberalism departed from the original classical liberal ideas?
Liberals believe in the supreme importance of the individual. Therefore, they want a society in which each individual is capable of developing to their full potential. This is where there is a difference between classical and modern liberals. Classical liberals believe that individuals are egoistical, this means self-interested and self-reliant, basically selfish. Therefore, society is a collection of self-interested individuals. This view has been called atomistic, in that it conceives of individuals as ‘isolated atoms’ within society; in fact it can lead to the belief that society does not exist at all, but is merely a collection of self-sufficient individuals. C. B. Macpherson characterized classical liberalism as ‘possessive individualism’ because, he argued it regarded the individual as ‘the proprietor of his own person and capabilities, owing nothing to society for them’. Modern liberals, however see the individual as altruistic because the individual possesses social responsibility for one another, especially those who are unable to look after themselves. This view of individuals is much more optimistic when compared to the view of classical liberals. A belief in the supreme importance of the individual leads naturally to a commitment to individual freedom. There is also a difference between classical and modern liberalism regarding freedom, with classical believing in negative freedom whilst modern believes in positive freedom. The classical liberal idea is that individuals can do whatever they please as long as it does not infringe upon others freedom. It involves government not interfering with individuals by passing laws restricting what they can do, unless it is to stop individuals doing something which affects other people’s freedom. Whereas modern liberals would be in favour of having compulsory seatbelt wearing as a law because it would protect individuals from being injured in the event of a crash, which is providing guidance. It is obvious that there are some differences of opinion between classical and modern liberals as far as the individual is concerned. However, there is a consistent view that there needs to be a society where individuals can fulfil their potential. Therefore, it is clear that modern liberalism has, on this issue, departed by quite an extent from the classical liberal beliefs.
