Liberalism
Contents
Full Title
The origin of Liberalism is anything befitting a free or generous man.[1]
From the Latin, liber = free.
Context
He misses the kicker. Antonin Scalia and Anthony Kennedy said money equals speech in Citizens United v. FEC (2010). The top 9% of the US population hold over 50% of the wealth and so has that much speech at its disposal.
https://www.citizen.org/wp-content/uploads/money-doesnt-equal-speech-fact-sheet1.pdf
FINAL Money Equals Speech Fact Sheet 10.2012 A Constitutional Amendment to Keep Corporate Money out of Elections: Overturning the “Money=Speech” Doctrine Even before its disastrous
Problems
The original liberals all considered themselves to be entitled to special treatment from the masses. They were all very afraid of democracy, especially after the French when given broad suffrage just voted in a dictator.
Enclosure
Note also the enclosure movement in England, which transformed communal lands into privately owned plots, was considered a good idea for several reasons:
- Agricultural Efficiency: Enclosure allowed landowners to implement modern farming techniques, leading to increased productivity and better use of resources.
- Economic Growth: By consolidating land, enclosure boosted the value of properties and contributed to the development of a market-driven economy3.
- Urbanization: The movement encouraged rural workers to migrate to cities, fueling industrialization and creating a labor force for emerging industries.
Solutions
Edmund Burke
Edmund Burke is a complicated figure, His political philosophy doesn't fit neatly into modern categories like "liberal" or "conservative." In his time, he was associated with the Whig Party, which had liberal tendencies, particularly in its support for constitutional government and opposition to absolute monarchy.
However, Burke is often regarded as a foundational thinker of modern Conservative Systems due to his critique of the French Revolution in Reflections on the Revolution in France (1790). He emphasized the importance of tradition, social order, and gradual change rather than radical upheaval, which aligns more with conservative principles. He had a mystical or religious belief and a deep engagement with the sublime and the transcendent. He felt that the formulas on which man's existence depended had never grown hollow. Politics rested on morals which were eternal and ubiquitous. Either order in the universe is eternal, or all is chaos.[2] See the wiki page on Chaos and Order.
That said, Burke also supported causes that might be considered liberal, such as the American Revolution and the rights of the Irish and Indian peoples under British rule. His philosophy was deeply rooted in pragmatism and a belief in balancing liberty with order. So, while he had liberal elements in his thought, his legacy is more often associated with Conservative Systems. It seems that conservatives can be liberals.
Russel Kirk
The Conservative Mind<ref> Conservative Mind</ref? explains American Conservatism from Burke to John C. Calhoun, who gets better treatment of his conservative position than most biographic that focus on his varied interactions with other figures. In all of these Kirk focuses on the mystical source of the supposed "constitution" that must guide politics. The actual US Constitution does not fit the bill as it is changeable whereas the true conservative constitution is not subject to revision.
