Islamic and Modernity Elzahraa Hassane

Activity 2.1: Contemporary trajectory of Liberalism

What was the orientation of liberalism during the 1980s to 2010 in the US and in the UK?
Was it heading more towards the welfare state or the classical tendency supported by the
ideology of economic rationalism and libertarianism?
A critical trend against the absolutist rule of monarchs and the Roman Catholic Church swept
through post-Renaissance Europe, where the idea of liberalism was gradually created. As a
result, it disregarded the pastoral function of the established religion as well as the divine right of
monarchs and any other type of hereditary power. Liberalism was established on the individual
liberty and the right of the human being to freedom of expression and thought. However, in the
political perspective, liberalism is based on the complete equality before the law.1

The liberalism's economic perspective promotes the broad laissez-faire economic principle,
which was strongly defended by the Economist Newspaper founded by James Wilson in 1843.
The laissez-faire economic principle was based on the freedom to contract, possess property, and
engage in free enterprise in trade and commerce.

In the course of modernity in the west, liberalism has taken two different directions: a classical
one that favors little government involvement in socioeconomic concerns because it symbolizes
freedom from coercion, as the proponent of this direction prioritize the market over the aspects
of social interactions. Whereas, the other direction is a more compassionate one that supports the
welfare state, as the proponents of this direction believe that the capability of human beings rely
on their freedom of the basic things such as ignorance, hunger and unemployment. However, the
principle of economic rationalism that promotes the free activities of the market and seeks
greater efficiency and profit maximization, has recently eclipsed most other liberal principles. As
a result, unemployment has increased, the gap between the rich and the poor has widened, and
competition has been stifled by the concentration of wealth and industrial power in the hands of a
small number of corporate oligopolies.

According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, liberalism in the US, liberalism is associated with the
welfare-state policies of the New Deal program of the Democratic administration of President
 Islamic and Modernity Elzahraa Hassane

Franklin D. Roosevelt, whereas in Europe it is more frequently associated with a commitment to

limited government and laissez-faire economic policies. 2

In the beginning of the late 19th century, the concept of liberty was modified by the British
philosopher Thomas Hill Green to what is called positive liberty, as he emphasized the complex
circumstances that are involved in the evolution of the moral character of the human being . He
called for the enhancement of individual identity and freedom. 3

Several political and theoretical philosophers have contributed to the evolution of liberalism in
various ways. There are numerous diverse approaches to the liberalist understanding of personal
and social reality, making it a continuing intellectual undertaking. Because of this, some political
scientists prefer to use the term "liberalisms" rather than the actual word "liberalism."

1 Unit content
2 "Liberalism". Encyclopædia Britannica.
3 Adams, Ian. Ideology and politics in Britain today. Manchester: Manchester University Press,
1998. ISBN 0-7190-5056-1., pp. 54–55.