Liberalism refers to certain values such as the commitment to individual freedom, an opposition to the role of military politics, and a support of the welfare state. A clear understanding of liberalism requires knowledge of its origin. Liberalism also means as political philosophy that emphasises individual freedom and the role of the state in protecting the rights of its citizens. It is also intended to be or to view a free, open-mindedness that is not confined to a particular flow of thoughts, and so on. Generally, there are two types of liberals who are classical liberalism and modern liberalism. Both of this liberalism has many differences.
First of all, classical liberalism was the earliest liberal tradition. Classical liberal ideas develop during the transition from feudalism to capitalism, and reached their high point during the early industrialisation of the nineteenth-century. As a result, classical liberalism has sometimes been called ‘nineteenth-century liberalism’. Whereas, for modern liberalism is describes as ‘twentieth-century liberalism’ that related to the further development of industrialisation. Industrialisation had brought about the massive expansion of wealth some, but was also accompanied by the spread of slums, poverty, ignorance and disease. Moreover, social inequality became more difficult to ignore as a growing industrial working class was seen to be disadvantaged by low up, unemployment and degrading living and working conditions.
The second differences between classical liberalism and modern liberalism are about the government involvement. Classical liberalism believes government intervention is minimal and only serves to maintain the security and safety for individuals responsible for themselves. As an economic doctrine, classical liberalism struggled to govern its own market where government intervention is considered unnecessary and damaging. Whereas for modern liberalism has government involvement where’s the government require to act positively to protect people against economic and other difficulties so that they can be free to enjoy their liberties. Instead of expelling the government from the market place, modern liberalism advocated bringing government back in, this time to protect people from a sometimes unfair economic system. They asked government to maintain competition in the face of monopoly and to ensure that consumers are not harmed by capitalism.
The next differences is classical liberalism are more emphasises about the rights and natural laws include the moral, political, economic and social. Classical Liberalism is the philosophy of giving special emphasis on personal sovereignty which private property rights are a very important part in the concept of personal freedom. It is a smart idea to support the public policy of laissez-faire. Classical liberalism also accepts inequality of wealth distribution resulting from competition in a free market that does not threaten the rights of someone property. However, they believe that companies should be taxed higher and pushing people should be taxed.
While modern liberal is more emphasising about public policy through experience, research and practical. Modern liberalism accepts the principal tenets of classical liberalism. They believe in individualism, rationality, rule of law, constitutional government and popular sovereignty. They agreed that government intervention in people’s moral, religious, and intellectual lives should be kept to an absolute minimum.
However, they questioned the need for the economic freedom of laissez-faire capitalism. By the late 19th century, it had become apparent that the free market was not self-regulating as Adam Smith had thought. Competition was not perfect. Worst of all, there were recurring economic depressions in which the poor and the working class suffered greatly. Hence, modern liberalism told the government to step in to safeguard liberty. Instead of the purely negative “freedom from”, there had to be a certain amount of the positive “freedom to”. ****That's all the differences that I got from a few books and articles that I've read and put it on my essay. Again, I really hope that this entry gave benefits to all of you. Thank you for reading :)
However, they questioned the need for the economic freedom of laissez-faire capitalism. By the late 19th century, it had become apparent that the free market was not self-regulating as Adam Smith had thought. Competition was not perfect. Worst of all, there were recurring economic depressions in which the poor and the working class suffered greatly. Hence, modern liberalism told the government to step in to safeguard liberty. Instead of the purely negative “freedom from”, there had to be a certain amount of the positive “freedom to”. ****That's all the differences that I got from a few books and articles that I've read and put it on my essay. Again, I really hope that this entry gave benefits to all of you. Thank you for reading :)
