The importance of the individual is heavily emphasised in Liberalism.
They argue that the ‘State should not impose a preferred way of life, but should leave its citizens as free as possible to choose their own values and ends, consistent with a similar liberty for others’. (Sandel, M. 1984. Page 63)
Liberalism emphasises the recognition of equality, this is also know as the strategy of privatization. Liberals argue that a individuals political and religious views are a matter of private concern.
They stress that equality should be enforced through a set of basic and civil rights and economic entitlements.
Liberals generally argue that one person’s view of how others should live is acceptable just as long as that person recognizes the equal status of others.
It can be said that the first seeds of Liberalism were sown in England.
‘As an ideology, liberalism can trace its roots back to the that began to challenge the authority of the during the , and the Whigs of the in Great Britain, whose assertion of their right to choose their king can be seen as a precursor to claims of ’. (Wikipedia.org)
Liberalism in Britain has mainly focused on power of the government, religious,personal and economical freedom. Liberalism has emerged in different forms in different countries.
In France liberalism had taken the form and encouraged democracry and secularism. This was evident during the French revolution. During that time the French political system under went refrom. It can be said that dissatisfaction with absolute monarchy was one of the causes of the french revolution.
In the United States liberals often combine a devotion to personal liberty with an antipathy to capitalism. A perfect example of this is the introduction of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Amendment 1 of the Bill of Rights states that ‘Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a of grievances’
One can argue that true political Liberalism started from the age of Enlightenment. ‘Enlightenment refers to an intellectual movement, primarily in France and Britain, that spans approximately one hundred years from the 1680s to 1789’. (Gray, J. 1993. Page 4)
Certain thinkers and writers primarily from England and France such as John Locke (1632-1704, English) and Jean Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778, French) believed that they were more enlightened than their compatriots and set out to enlighten them.
They essentially believed that rational thought and human nature could be used to fight ignorance, superstition, and tyranny and to eventually improve the world and making it a better place. Their principal targets were religion (embodied in France in the Catholic Church) and the domination of society by the monarchy and a hereditary aristocracy (Britain).
Adams and Sydie state that these "thinkers put society and social relations under intense scrutiny”. (Enlightenment and Liberalism. Jan 13 2003)
Enlightenment was closely linked with scientific revolution. And at the forefront were scientist such as Isaac Newton.
In order to answer the question of this essay, one should examine what the Liberal views on world politics are. Unlike the realist, liberals believe that humans are not essentially evil and that they are capable of peace. Liberals believe that human nature is not the cause of war but rather the unorganized international system and the absence of effective IGO’s. They argue that international political problems can be dealt by the international community and the sovereignty of a nation does not have to be compromised. They see the world in a positive light they argue that progress is possible in the international spectrum. They believe that war is not inevitable and through co operation and involvement of an effective medium such as the UN, conflict and war could be avoided. They argue that this could also eradicate the anarchical condition of the international system. The Liberal ideology is, that by emphasising and promoting freedom that this will in turn result in peaceful Liberal states, founded on the thesis of basic human rights, with tolerance for religious freedom and freedom of speech.
Kant a major influence on the liberal perspective on world politics, states that peace and harmony can be established in world politics through the creation of a pacific federation of nations. He states that International law need to be established and that these laws would essentially be enforced and regulated collectively. Kant came up the Democratic Peace Thesis. The general idea ‘law’ was that democracies do not fight each other.
Perpetual Peace, written in 1795 (Kant, 1970, pp. 93-130), helps to understand the interactive nature of international relations. Kant states that systemic relations of states nor the varieties of state behavior independent from each other. He suggests that liberal states are not pacific in their relations with non liberal states. Kant argues that perpetual peace will be guaranteed by the ever-widening acceptance of three "definitive articles" of peace. When all nations have accepted the definitive articles in a metaphorical "treaty" of perpetual peace he asks them to sign, perpetual peace will have been established.
Although Liberal perspective on world politics clearly shows a concern for citizen, states, IGO and Ngo’s, it mostly emphasises the right of the individual and freedom. Gaus states “freedom is normatively basic, and so the onus of justification is on those who would limit freedom”. He refers to this as ‘Fundamental Liberal Principle’ (Gaus, 1996: 162-166)
Neoliberalism essentially emerged as an unpdated version of Classic Liberalism. Unlike Classic Liberalism it agrees with Realism that states are the most important actors in world politics. Although they do maintain that IGO’s play a role in international relations. Neoliberalism believes that states are focused on absolute gains ( economic) rather than relative gains to other nations. (Gray, John. 1993)
Transnational Liberal theory emerged during the properity of the industrial world in the 1950’s and 50’s. During this time there international organisations such as the European Union and the Un started to emerge. During this time Transnational liberals such Keohane and Nye developed the ‘Complex Interdependence’. By this they meant the various transnational links between interdependent staes. They argued economic links between states are flourishing, while the use of military force and power were decreasing, but nevertheless remained important. They argue that the decline of the use of military force and power and the increase in economic intedependence between states would increase the co operation between states. This theory essentially argues the more states are intertwined the less chance of military conlict. (Gray, John. 1993)
Referring back to the question, on whether Liberal perspective on World Politics is too idealistic, one can argue that this is not the case. Liberals stress the importance of nation states cooperation with to prevent conflict. This is evident in contemprary politics, for example in the case of the development of nuclear weapons in Iran, The United Nations stepped in providing a resolution instead of the US taking the matter into their own hands. Regional transnational institution, such as the European Union has brought economic prosperity and increased political power to its member states. Members of the UN essentially seek approval from the UN before going into war with member states. This can in turn prevent conflict. Organisations such as Amnesty International and other Human Rights groups and the introduction of the International Bill Of Human Rights in 1946, are there to look after the core value of the liberal theory, which is the freedom and equality status of the individual. The Liberal believe that international problems such as war and justice could be dealt with internationally, can be said has transcended in the creation of the World Court (based in The Hague). Individuals no longer are answerable just to their nation but to the essentially to the world. One such example was the trial of Slobodan Miloševic for war crimes and crimes against humanity during the Yugoslavia war.
Futhermore, increased economic ties between countries resulted somewhat in the decline of the significance of nation borders. Nations are not neccesarily seeing security as the primary concern. Europe is a great example of this, most of western europe has to a certain extend become borderless. This has given the inhabitants of these nations more freedom. The introduction of the Euro has made Europe seem much more like an interdependent region rather than several independent nation states. Globalisations is one of the factors Complex Interdependence, this means that consumers in England could buy a cheaper sweater manufactured in Indonesia rather than pay more for and english made one, given individuals more freedom of choice.
The Liberal believe that the promotion and the emphasis on freedom in liberal states will eventually result in a peaceful liberal state can essentially be argued to be true. One can argue that the reason there’s evidently less conflict and war in Democractic regions of the world is because individual rights are implemented and freedom is paramount. The emergence of International Organisations help to determine government objectives, representation for weak states, set global agenda, constrain powerful states. This in turn can act as a checkpoint or a barrier to prevent conflict and war. It can be said that the influence of the liberal theory on world politics is significant, because the United States of America arguably the face of the democractic world was founded on its principals. The first amendment of the American constitution is about the freedom of expression and religion, the fifth is about the right of the person and the fifteenth amendment states the right to vote.
However, it can also be argued that the liberal perspective on world politics is too idealistic. Liberals can be criticized for being too optimistic and having too much faith in institutions. Realist would argue they have a Utopian view of human nature and conflict. From a realist point of view Liberals neglect the power of states. Economic interdependence between states is not necessarily a good thing. Rich powerful states constantly take advantage of poor developing nations, as is the case in countries such as Indonesia where there is no national minimum wage, this then often results in big corporation taken advantage of cheap labour in these countries. Although institutions such as the NATO and UN have their benefits, the distribution of power is predominantly in the corner of the rich state. The five permanent member states with the power to veto are China, Russia, USA, France and England. The UN is essentially run by these five nations and their interests are naturally at the forefront. Liberals overestimated the power of institutions such as the UN. In 2003 the United States along with allied nations went to war in Iraq without the backing of the UN. In 2006 Israel attacked Lebanon despite objections from the UN. There have been widely covered allegations of corruption in the UN’s Oil for Food program. Because Liberalism is essentially a western invention, it might unconsciously promote western values, morals and ideology. Despite the prevalence of Complex interdependence the world is still very much plagued by conflict.
To conclude, although some of the ideas and principals of liberalism have been put into practice, it can be argued that for the most part Liberalism is just a mostly theory that looks good on paper, but when in practice its pretty much ineffective. Most of its principals are too idealistic. Liberalism does not explain the balance of power in world politics instead it fantasises of world were complex interdependence pretty much prevents conflict and war. Hobbes states that “political authority is artificial: in the "natural" condition human beings lack government, which is an authority created by men”. He claims that “the only authority that naturally exists among human beings is that of a mother over her child, because the child is so very much weaker than the mother (and indebted to her for its survival)”.(Willliams, G. Moral and Political Philosphy. 2006)
This is evidently contradicted in contemporary world politics. Political power is very much real and not artificial, the actions of powerful nations although sometimes questioned are not regulated as much as less powerful nations. Balance of power is clearly shifted in favour of nations such as US, Britain and France. Hypocrisy is very much rife in world politics, no one questions the fact that all three nations have nuclear power, yet everyone is expected to be opposed to the alleged development of nuclear capabilities in Iran. Liberalism especially Neo Liberalism fails to mention the substantial influence of other institutions such as the media on world politics. Having economic ties and being somewhat intertwined does not prevent conflict, because most conflicts and wars in the world are not influenced by economical reasons. Most are about religion e.g. Yugoslavia, territory e.g. Israel-Palestine and Kashmir and ethnical cleansing e.g. Rwanda and Sudan. Liberal theory of world politics does not try to explain the economic gap between the rich and the poor, it is focused at the industrialised countries , therefore it’s incomplete and cannot address every aspect of world politics
Bibliography
Books
Gaus, Gerald (1996) Justifactory Liberalism. New York, Oxford Univeristy Press.
Gray, John. (1986) Liberalism. Milton Keynes, Open University Press.
Gray, John. (1993) Post Liberalism. Studies in Political Thought. New York, Routledge.
Kant, I. (1975) Perpetual Peace. New York. The MIT Press.
Manning, D.J. (1976) Modern Ideologies. Liberalism. London, J M Dent & Sons Ltd.
Sandel, Michael. (1984) Liberalism and its Critics. Oxford, Basil Blackwell Publisher Ltd.
Electronic Sources Date Accessed
21/01/2007
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23/01/2007
Willliams, G. Moral and Political Philosphy. 2006
Enlightenment and Liberalism. 23/01/2007
Jan 13 2003
20/01/2007
