Liberalism: Political and Economic

Abstract

Political liberalism began in the eighteenth century with the effort to establish a secular state in which religious differences would be tolerated. If religious views include universal principles to apply to all by force if necessary, diverse religions must conflict, perhaps fatally. In a sense, then, political liberalism was an invention to resolve a then current, awful problem. Its proponents were articulate and finally persuasive. There have been many comparable social inventions, many of which have failed, as Communism, egalitarianism, and perhaps socialism have all failed to date. The extraordinary thing about political liberalism is that it seems to have succeeded in its authors' initial hope for it. It may have helped end the turmoil occasioned by religious differences. Political liberalism has since expanded in various ways under other influences, and, if it were not for Islamic fundamentalism with its seemingly coercive theocratic program, we might no longer today associate religious conflict with the core of liberalism in its actual practice.

Is the Transition to the Market Too Important to Be Left to the Market?

“…The political scientist Russell Hardin (1993) has argued that economic and political liberalism have an interesting history. Economic liberalism was a practice in search of a theory, while political liberalism was a theory in search of a practice.…”

Constitutional Mythologies

“…As Russell Hardin (1993) has pointed out, the fact that individuals will seek out the gains from trade under any conceivable set of circumstances means that economic liberalism is a natural human practice in search of a legitimating theory, while political liberalism is actually unnatural and is instead a theory in search of an application to the real world. Economic liberalism requires the state to refrain from interventions, political liberalism, in contrast, requires the state to actively build institutions that govern the ordinary workings of politics (rules for election, rules of parliament, etc.…”