The concept of Liberalism originated from the three major events of European history; the Enlightenment, the English Revolution, and the French Revolution. While the Enlightenment contributed by maintaining that there is no absolute right, moral or otherwise that the state can impose, the Glorious Revolution enriched liberalism by discarding the divine right of any kind of rule. The French Revolution contributed to the idea of liberty, a very sacred concept that no authority can violate it.
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Rise of Liberalism
Liberalism rose from the debris of Mercantilism that was prevalent in Europe and it resulted in virtual anarchy. There was feudal anarchy where the nobles were constantly at war with one another. The bourgeois class was interested in capital accumulation and they wanted to put an end to the outdated controls on trade, capital instruments, and business growth. They stood for the abolition of inherited privileges and wanted to establish parliamentary supremacy. They wanted to put an end to the outdated controls on trade, capital instruments, and business growth.
What is Liberalism
Liberalism stands on the basic principle that Liberals are those who can make their own decisions freely. Only that society was good that maximizes the satisfaction or the interest of the individual. For them, society was a mere collection of individuals who rationally decided their interests and sought the poor to fulfill these interests. ‘There was no such thing as social good or common good or public welfare apart from good of the individual’s composing society.’
Characteristics of Liberalism
The liberals believed that individual interests could be maximized through increased production and market mechanisms. These can be achieved by individual enterprise and unlimited property rights. Free competition was the guiding principle of economic theory that liberals propounded as it decided the nature of production, the prices of the goods produced, and the structure of human relationships as producers, buyers, and consumers. They believed that if individuals were allowed to pursue their rationally calculated interests, there would be equilibrium in society.
Ideology of Classical Liberalism
According to the liberal concept, the state is a necessary and useful institution but they also held that the state should be put under checks and balances so that it can not undermine the individual freedom and his sphere of activities. That is why it is in favor of constitutional checks on the state. Liberal scholars like Rousseau believe that the state is a man-made institution, not natural or divine as believed by some thinkers.
Since the state is man-made is a man-made organ, that has emerged after the social contract among the people, it has to act for the good of the people. Herbert Spencer and Adam Smith believed that the state was a necessary evil. The individual must guard against arbitrary tendencies. They are of the view that the individual is more important than the state.
To ensure his liberty and balanced and unfettered development of his personality, they propounded a state with minimum functions. They limited the functions of the state of policing, maintenance of law and order, and removal of hindrance to individual liberty. This is known as Classical Liberalism.
Thus, the concept of liberalism is among the important aspects of the modern-day state, especially in democratic states.