What Liberalism Means

 

A Locke unpicked.

It is a scandal that most people today, and certainly most young people have no idea what liberalism is all about. Despite the fact that it is the philosophy on which the U.S.A. is founded. I think it is fair to say that it is also the philosophy on which the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, or New Zealand is founded. It is what unites us. Whereas most nations are united by ethnicity, we are historically united instead by our shared embrace of this philosophy. Accordingly, it is disastrous, almost traitorous, not to make it the core of our educational system.

Here is a quick primer for the uninformed. 

First, a list of some of its key figures, with a bit of a Canadian bias: John Locke, Thomas Jefferson, Robert Baldwin, Lord Acton, Wilfred Laurier, William Wilberforce, William Gladstone, Daniel O'Connell, John Stuart Mill, Martin Luther King Jr.. With a hat tip to such older thinkers as Thomas Aquinas, Ibn Khaldun, and the New Testament.

The most famous and succinct statement is in the American Declaration of Independence:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.”

This is Jefferson’s take on Locke; I think Locke’s formulation is better. I paraphrase:

“We hold these truths to be sacred and inviolable, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the possession of Property.”

Human equality and human rights are not self-evident—that is false in philosophical terms. Locke derives this from the Bible. It is an article of the Judeo-Christian faith. Forgetting this has had disastrous consequences, and may lead to worse in future. Nevertheless, it is God’s truth. Given that God loves us all as his children, we are all equal in moral worth, and due respect. Other religions and philosophies do not necessarily agree. Hinduism has the different castes emerging from different parts of Purusha’s body—the manual labourers from his feet. Shintoism has the emperor a direct descendant of the sun; an entirely different class of being from mere mortals. Roman Emperors were worshipped as gods. I’ve seen Mao Zedong worshipped as a god in temples in China.

And Jefferson wrongly swapped out “property” for the meaningless “pursuit of happiness.” Pursuit of happiness is included in the right to liberty; and it is a vain pursuit. “Property” means we have a moral right to the products of our labour. That is a critical right, often currently dishonoured.

Another crucial document is John Stuart Mill’s explanation of freedom of speech, in “On Liberty.” 

Other helpful quotes: 

Lord Acton: “Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

MLK: “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”

The modern Marxist left seems to work against all of these principles. And it is the modern Marxist left that has seized control of our educational system.

The abolition of slavery, for example, was the great liberal project of the nineteenth century. The modern left ultimately endorses slavery, at least in principle, for they expand compulsion whenever possible. Historically, more completely articulated Marxism has led to the reimposition of slavery in states like Nazi Germany, Soviet Russia, Kampuchea, or China today. 

The modern left also opposes human equality, giving special rights to one group over another. This has become mass genocide when pushed to its logical conclusion in places like Nazi Germany, Soviet Russia, China, or Kampuchea. 

The modern left opposes freedom of speech, freedom of association, and even the right to life.

To be clear, if we lose our shared commitment to liberal values, the US collapses into civil war; as does Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the UK. We are seeing this happen.