FAQs about Liberalism.

What is Liberalism? What do Liberals believe?

Liberalism is about individual liberty. Liberals believe in giving people control over the decisions that affect their own lives, to enable them to live their lives in the way that they want to. Capitalists and Socialists both want to impose their view of utopia on everybody else. Capitalists base their view on money - you are free to do what you want if you have lots of money. Socialists want to use the economic power of the State to enforce equality. Both these views are founded on economic relations - Liberalism is founded on power relations. Liberalism is the opposite of authoritarianism.

Aren't Liberals just in between the other parties because they can't make up their minds?

Labour and Conservative, left wing and right wing parties both fundamentally want to tell people what to do. Capitalist multinational corporations, or Socialist trade unions all have the capacity to be illiberal and authoritarian, if Liberals do not influence them. Liberals support the market where it works best and support trade unions but both can be abused. Take another example, privatisation. Capitalists know that privatisation is always good, Socialists know that it is always bad - Liberals look at each case separately to see what the effect on people will be.

What kind of society do Liberals want?

Liberals do not postulate a utopia, a vision of a perfect society. Instead they want to create the conditions in which each individual can strive to attain his or her own vision of utopia. Perfection is never reached, individuals attain happiness by working, usually as part of communities, to achieve their own goals. Conrad Russell has noted that "Utopianism is at all times a threat to freedom, and a party concerned with liberty must be concerned not to impose a single ideal but to hold the ring between different ideals." (John Stuart Mill, the Free Market and the State, page 4).

There has to be the rule of law and a stable society in which everyone can live. We agree with John Stuart Mill "the only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilised community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others." (On Liberty, Everyman edition p.78). This is difficult to define but that does not make it any less correct. Or to put it another way " Liberals are anarchists by nature and constitutionalists by necessity" (Michael Meadowcroft, former Liberal MP).

'I'm a libertarian not a Liberal?' Or 'Aren't Liberals just dangerous libertarians?'

Libertarians want absolute freedom - they are right wing anarchists. (The far right and the far left whether libertarian or authoritarian are in the end the same, envisaging a society where the powerful dominate the weak). Liberals realise that individuals can have freedom only to the extent that their behaviour does not harm others. Most people who call themselves libertarians do agree that there has to be a framework in which individuals can carry on their lives. Freedom can only be attained in society, in community - and there has to be a basic framework of constitutional rules for community to exist. Without rules there is only anarchy - the strong, majorities, are successful; minorities, the weak, are not. There is only uncertainty - no one has freedom.

Liberals also differ from Libertarians as we realise that freedom is not only the freedom from interference with liberty but also equality of opportunity (not to be confused with Socialist imposition of equality of ends), freedom to do. Individuals are not truly free unless they have the means to control their lives. Thus society must help individuals achive the economic and personal means to be free. One is not truly free without economic resources.

Don't you just support the free market? Liberals are just Capitalists aren't you?

Liberals support the free market in principle, as a philosophical measure, but also as a practical one. Ask any Socialist to answer the question - What other way is there to allocate goods and resources? Socialists cannot answer the question. State planning often promotes inefficiency. Individuals lack choice, are forced to conform with the ends of others, and lack incentives to develop. Individuals work hardest when working for themselves - this is why Liberals support small businesses (increasing incentives and choice) and even better, workers' cooperatives - each individual gets the fruits of his or her own labour, and goods are still allocated by the market to reflect consumer demand (choice). In large companies Liberals have encouraged employee profit sharing, share ownership and representation, promoting cooperation not confrontation in industry. This approach combines Liberal economic beliefs, with Liberal political beliefs in giving individuals a say in decisions that affect them.

However, we do not live in an ideal world. The free market is an ideal vision - Adam Smith recognised that the market could only work if there was a 'level playing field' i.e. no market inequality. But there is. Therefore the state must do its best to counter this inequality of economic position, to set the conditions, the framework, in which free trade can exist. As there has to be market regulation this can efficiently and effectively encourage fairer trade.

Liberals, the market and the environment. Isn't a free market bad for the environment?

Recognition that market mechanisms can be the best way to prevent environmental destruction is a more recent development of liberal principles. Building the true cost of environmental destruction, pollution etc. into the price system (Adam Smith's 'invisible hand') ensures that the people responsible pay the price. 'The polluter pays', e.g. taxing cars and petrol heavily, is a free market principle. In this way a system of regulation can ensure that the market system can still operate but within a framework to avoid its worst excesses. (This has been in parts belatedly taken up by the UK Labour Government after being proposed by the Liberal Democrats in 1992 and 1997).

Why are Liberals internationalists?

Basically because we do want to make the World a better place. Liberals want to break down artificial barriers between peoples. The work of Liberals in each country, at each level, and together across countries helps achieve our vision of strong self-reliant individuals in strong communities. Diverse communities give people greater experience and more opportunity. Our internationalism is entirely consistent with our local aims. A belief in free and fair trade, where the prices paid for imports from developing countries reflects their true value, ties in with our support for credit unions, housing cooperatives and local exchange and transfer schemes (LETTS) in Britain. At every level of power structure, Liberalism puts individual liberty and choice first.

We realise that power must be exercised at the lowest practical level. The lowest level to end the arms trade or police multinational corporations is a European or wider level. This is especially true of environmental action - which cannot just be at a nation state or European level.

All property is theft. Doesn't property owning cause inequality?

Liberals realise that ownership of property gives individuals some independence. That ownership could be collective or communal but that must be a matter for people to decide themselves if they want to pool their property. It should not be forced on them by the State or by a majority. Without being able to own property people lack security and are entirely dependent on the State which limits freedom.

What about class? The political struggle is all about oppression of the working class by the Upper class isn't it?

Analysis based on class is complete nonsense. You can't judge people based on their social or economic background. Class analysis is all about economics and Liberalism does not judge people based on economics or social background, you have to treat people as individuals.

Many people who are working class have supported authoritarian intolerant repressive policies. Many people who are Upper class have done the same. Many people from both backgrounds and from Middle Class backgrounds have opposed them. Many people from Middle Class, Working Class and Upper Class backgrounds work to improve society and make it a better place. You can't dismiss their contribution just because of their background.

Social mobility was much more rigid in the past and in Western countries there was far greater inequality than today. Liberals however must guard against elites (whoever that elite is) taking away the opportunities that they had so that new people cannot challenge them for power. It is healthy for democracy that people lose power and new people are in charge not the same people all the time.

Some parties say they are liberal but aren't. What about them?

Some parties that have 'Liberal' or 'Democratic' in the title are not at all - they are right wing, conservative or authoritarian. It is true then that you have to look at the policies of the political party and what it believes, the principles on which it is established, rather than just the name. The nature of a political party can also change over time. Parties that may have been Liberal might become right wing, those that may have been socialist may become a more reformist political force, conservative parties or right wing ones might become more moderate.

The Liberal Democratic Party (Japan) and Liberal Party of Australia for example are both Conservative political parties, not like the Liberal Democrats UK or Liberal Party in Canada.

This passage from Helen Zille, Leader of the liberal party in South Africa may help explain:

"It is also worth saying at the outset that the term 'liberal' is widely misunderstood and actually used pejoratively by many in South Africa. That is why I don't generally use the term. It confuses more than it clarifies. Rather than spending time salvaging a label, I prefer to build the values, which is why we refer to the open, opportunity society, which I will define in more detail later."

From the speech "For an Inclusive Society" delivered by Helen Zille, Leader of the Democratic Alliance, Liberal International Congress, Belfast, 17 May 2008

http://www.liberal-international.org/contentFiles/files/ThemeReportInclusiveSocietyHelenZille.pdf

Thank you to Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, for help in checking some content.

http://www.wikipedia.org/

Source.

These points about liberalism are taken from my essay 'A Rough Guide to Liberalism' in the pamphlet "Passports to Liberty" vol. 1 'A Rough Guide to Liberalism' by Kiron Reid and 'The Road to Tatton' by Bill le Breton (published by Liberator Publications, 1997). The text is slightly amended for the Q&A format and updated in places.

Why did I put these questions up? Because so many people know little about politics and misunderstand "Liberalism" (I use big L though friends disagree). Actually because of a drunken argument with an educated politically aware woman in a pub in the Isle of Man. After the usual "oh, so can't you just make up your minds what to believe so you're just in between the other parties" and my insulting reply I realised that despite being a Liberal for 20 years I didn't have a standard witty answer or put down to this standard question and nor did I usually engage the person in a sensible political dialogue. I'll try again more but hope these FAQs on Liberalism will help the debate.

For further reading from the British Liberal perspective a very good start is: Conrad Russell "An Intelligent Person's Guide to Liberalism" (Duckworth, London, 1999), approx. £12.95. At 129 pages a relatively short read by the pre-eminent Liberal philosopher activist of his generation.

An accessible place to start for more thought on Liberalism (from a British perspective) is Alex Wilcock's reprint of an essay in the same series as mine, here: http://loveandliberty.blogspot.com/search/label/What%20the%20Lib%20Dems%20Stand%20For

Loveandliberty.

Alex modestly says this is about what the Liberal Democrats stand for but it is of wider relevance. Ignore the jumbled formatting on the blog and just READ and think about and act on the content. Any problem finding the text search on the heading 'Love and Liberty' on Alex's 'loveandliberty' blog. (Update March 2010).