Liberalism is a view of leadership based on principles of freedom and equality. Liberals promote ideologies such as free and fair elections, human rights, allowing freedom to the mass media, free world trade, and right to life and own property. This political philosophy became popular around the year 1815, following Napoleon’s defeat.
The removal of tariff barriers and promotion of free trade gave birth to a new order. People fiercely rejected notions such as inheritance of power and creation of absolute monarchs, thereby, creating fertile grounds for the rise of Liberalism.
Rawls explains that Liberalism depends on the legitimacy of political power. He said that, leaders ought to exercise their powers in the right manner by adhering to those principles that enhance cooperation in society and encourage collective decision making in matters affecting the citizens He further explains that, in a liberal society, the state ought to exercise its powers in agreement to everyone bound by it.
Rawls also claims that the correct social rules are conventional. The generation of wealth is the collective duty of every member of the society, and rules of justice only seek to enhance the ownership and distribution of these resources. From this idea, Rawls came up with his view of justice which he summed up in three forms.
First, he says adherence to justice is a moral duty drawn in the constitution. Second, that agreeing to a form of political organization does not disregard present doctrine but is a reasonable creation of the basic structure which enhances these doctrines. Lastly, justice depends on principles that promote democracy in a society.
Moreover, the basic structures of a society depend on institutions which oversee the rights of citizens and the distribution of the benefits that accrue from their social endeavors. The major issue behind this is that, to come up with controls that exceed the limits of the political, social and economic life, waters down aspect of respecting one’s freedom and equality in a democratic society.
In comparison to the status quo, liberalism stands out for its strong stand on observing human rights and equality. It observes and tries to offset any forms of social injustice and economic inequalities regarding a country’s resources. It assures citizens of equality as structured in the constitution.
There is no form of discrimination regarding educational and economic opportunities. It also enhances equitable distribution of resources to every citizen in a non-bias manner. This way, the underprivileged easily rise to high positions in society. Status quo disregards equality, since only a few people have access to most of the resources while the majority has to share the little that remains.
Liberalism has its limitations. It creates a situation where the citizens rely so much on their government to solve their problems. Situations where this lacks, results in mass panic and protests, and also individual talents are not fully exploited. In addition, in the context of the free world trade, poor countries are often at a loss. Their local industries stagnate due to the influx of cheap imports.
Liberalism’s way of addressing social issues finds favor in many people. It emphasizes equal opportunity to all regardless of one’s social status. In addition, it promotes political freedom, provides economic facilities to its citizens, and creates social opportunities, guarantees transparency, and security so that people get the opportunity to develop themselves and their society. This way, the less privileged easily rise in status, thereby, creating a harmonized society. It widens the people’s choices and their well-being and spreads wealth.
In conclusion, lessons from liberalism are fascinating. It offers a safe and sure way to address the world’s problems of social injustices and inequality and should, therefore, be promoted.