“Every man, provided he does not violate the laws of justice, is free to pursue his own interests as he pleases, and to compete in his activities and the use of capital with other men or classes.”(Adam Smith "The Wealth of Nations").
The idea of liberalism is built on the Old Testament commandment: “Do not do to others what you would not do to yourself.”
History of liberalism
Liberalism was born in Western Europe during the era bourgeois revolutions XVII-XVIII centuries in the Netherlands and England. The principles of liberalism were put forward in the essay “Two Treatises on Government” by the British educator and philosopher John Locke; in continental Europe, his ideas were supported and developed by thinkers such as Charles Louis Montesquieu, Jean-Baptiste Say, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Voltaire, and figures of the American and Great French revolutions.
The essence of liberalism
- Economic freedom
- Freedom of conscience
- Political freedoms
- Human right to life
- On private property
- To protect the state
- Equality of all before the law
“Liberals...represent the interests of the bourgeoisie, which needs progress and a somewhat orderly legal system, respect for the rule of law, the constitution, ensuring some political freedom» (V.I. Lenin)
The crisis of liberalism
-
Liberalism, as a system of relationships between people and states, like communism, can only exist on a global scale. It is impossible to build a liberal (as well as a socialist) society in one single country. Because liberalism is social order peaceful, respectable citizens, without coercion, aware of their rights and responsibilities to the state and society. But peaceful, respectable citizens always lose in a clash with aggressive and unscrupulous ones. Therefore, they either must try by all means to build a universal liberal world (which is what the United States is trying to do today) or abandon most of their liberal views in order to preserve their own little world intact. Both are no longer liberalism.
-
The crisis of the principles of liberalism also lies in the fact that people, by their nature, cannot stop in time, at reasonable limits. And the freedom of the individual, this alpha and omega of liberal ideology, turns into human permissiveness.
Liberalism in Russia
Liberal ideas came to Russia with the writings of French philosophers and educators of the late 18th century. But frightened by the Great French Revolution the authorities began an active fight against them, which continued until the February Revolution of 1917. The ideas of liberalism were main theme disagreements between Westerners and Slavophiles, the conflict between which, now subsiding, now intensifying, lasted more than a century and a half, until the end of the twentieth century. Westerners were guided by the liberal ideas of the West and called them to Russia, Slavophiles rejected liberal principles, arguing that Rus' had a special, separate, different path European countries historical road. In the 90s of the twentieth century, it seemed that the Westerners had gained the upper hand, but with the entry of humanity into the information age, when the life of Western democracies ceased to be a secret, a source of myths and an object for imitation among Russians, the Slavophiles took revenge. So now liberal ideas in Russia are clearly not in trend and are unlikely to return to their positions in the near future.
Introduction
Relevance of the problem. The state is the main institution; it organizes, directs and controls joint activities and the relations of people, social groups, classes and associations. The state represents the form of organization political power in society.
Today they talk and write a lot about the crisis democratic state. The famous French political thinker R. Aron writes in his book “Democracy and Totalitarianism”: “One can dream of an ideal constitutional regime without any imperfections, but one cannot imagine that all political figures simultaneously care about the private interests that they represent.” , and about the interests of the community as a whole, which they are obliged to serve; It is impossible to imagine a regime where the competition of ideas is free, and the press is impartial, where all citizens are aware of the need for mutual support in any conflicts” Aron R. Democracy and totalitarianism. - M.: Foundation " Open Society", 1993. - P. 131..
Many experts state the fact that the current crisis of democracy has several manifestations. This is a crisis of statehood, a crisis of forms of participation and political activity, crisis of citizenship. The famous American political scientist S. Lipset notes: Americans' trust in the authorities and in all government institutions in the United States is steadily declining. Mushinsky V. ABC of Politics. - M.: Avangard, 2002. - P. 54..
As for Russia, the formula for the crisis state of democracy, defined by R. Aron as “not yet,” is quite applicable to it. Indeed, in Russia there are no deep roots of democracy (people's power), not to mention liberal (constitutional) democracy, i.e. the power of the people, respecting the rights of every person. Today in Russia there is a contradictory situation. On the one hand, it can be argued that democracy has taken quite deep roots in Russia. At the same time, many studies indicate that in Russia the alienation of citizens from politics and, above all, from power is growing. They are still immeasurably to a greater extent the object of politics rather than its subject. About urgent needs ordinary people those aspiring to power hear only during election campaigns, but, having entered power, they immediately forget about them and their needs. The responsibility of the authorities for the results of their leadership and management of society is less than ever.
The purpose of the work is an analysis of the relationship between a liberal and a democratic state. To achieve this goal, it is necessary to solve the following tasks:
· study the features of a liberal state, its characteristics;
· consider the features of a democratic state, its basic principles;
· identify similarities and differences between liberalism and democracy.
The concept of a liberal state, its characteristics
The liberal (semi-democratic) regime was characteristic of developed countries in the 19th century In the 20th century it has developed in a number of developing countries that have approached developed ones ( South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand), as well as as a result of the elimination of the command-administrative system in post-socialist countries of Eastern Europe(Russia, Bulgaria, Romania).
The significance of the liberal regime is such that some scientists believe: the liberal regime is not actually a regime for the exercise of power, but a condition for the existence of civilization itself at a certain stage of its development, even the final result, which ends the entire evolution of the political organization of society, the most effective form of such an organization. But it is difficult to agree with the last statement, since at present time is running the evolution of political regimes and even such a form as the liberal democratic regime. New trends in the development of civilization, the desire of man to escape from environmental, nuclear and other disasters give rise to new forms of defining state power, for example, the role of the UN is increasing, international rapid reaction forces are emerging, contradictions between human rights and nations, peoples, etc. are growing. Theory of State and Law / Ed. A.V. Vengerova. - M.: Infra-N, 1999. - P. 159.
In the theory of state and law, political methods and methods of exercising power that are based on a system of the most democratic and humanistic principles are also called liberal. These principles primarily characterize the economic sphere of relations between the individual and the state. Under a liberal regime in this area, a person has property, rights and freedoms, is economically independent and on this basis becomes politically independent. In relation to the individual and the state, priority remains with the individual, etc.
The liberal regime defends the value of individualism, contrasting it with collectivist principles in the organization of political and economic life, which, according to a number of scientists, ultimately lead to totalitarian forms of government. The liberal regime is determined, first of all, by the needs of the commodity-money, market organization of the economy. The market requires equal, free, independent partners. A liberal state proclaims the formal equality of all citizens. In a liberal society, freedom of speech, opinions, forms of ownership is proclaimed, and space is given to private initiative. Individual rights and freedoms are not only enshrined in the constitution, but also become enforceable in practice.
Thus, private property remains the economic basis of liberalism. The state frees producers from its tutelage and does not interfere in the economic life of people, but only establishes the general framework of free competition between producers and the conditions of economic life. It also acts as an arbiter in resolving disputes between them. In the later stages of liberalism, legitimate government intervention in economic and social processes acquires a socially oriented character, which is determined by many factors: the need to rationally distribute economic resources, decide ecological problems, participate in the peaceful division of labor, preventing international conflicts, etc. Theory of State and Law / Ed. A.V. Vengerova. - M.: Infra-N, 1999. - P. 160.
A liberal regime allows the existence of an opposition; moreover, under liberalism, the state takes all measures to ensure the existence of an opposition representing interests and creates special procedures for taking into account these interests. Pluralism, and above all, multi-party system, are necessary attributes of a liberal society. In addition, under a liberal political regime, there are many associations public organizations, corporations, sections, clubs that unite people by interests. Organizations are emerging that allow citizens to express their political, professional, religious, social, everyday, local, national interests and needs. These associations form the foundation of civil society and do not leave the citizen face to face with government authorities, which are usually inclined to impose their decisions and even abuse their capabilities.
Under liberalism government is formed through elections, the outcome of which depends not only on the opinion of the people, but also on financial opportunities certain parties necessary to carry out election campaigns. Public administration is carried out on the basis of the principle of separation of powers. A system of checks and balances helps reduce opportunities for abuse of power. Government decisions are made by majority vote. Decentralization is used in public administration: central government takes upon itself to resolve only those issues that it cannot resolve local authority Tsygankov A.P. Modern political regimes. - M.: Open Society Foundation, 1995. - P. 153..
Of course, one should not apologize the liberal regime, since it also has its own problems, the main ones being the social protection of certain categories of citizens, stratification of society, actual inequality of starting opportunities, etc. The most effective use of this regime becomes possible only in a society that differs high level economic and social development. The population must have a sufficiently high political, intellectual and moral consciousness, legal culture. At the same time, it should be noted that liberalism today is the most attractive and desirable political regime for many states. A liberal regime can only exist on a democratic basis; it grows out of the democratic regime itself.
More often than in a democratic regime, the state has to resort to various forms coercive influence, because the social base of the ruling elite is quite narrow. The low standard of living of numerous sections of society gives rise to marginality and a tendency to resort to violent actions to achieve their social goals. Therefore, democratic institutions, including the legal opposition, function as if on the surface public life, only weakly penetrating into the depths of society.
A liberal state is characterized by such specific signs Kudryavtsev Yu.A. Political regime: classification criteria and main types // Jurisprudence. - 2002. - No. 1. - P. 199.:
· formalism of the law and formal equality of rights; a liberal state is a formal legal state that does not recognize social and other differences between citizens;
· a priority individual rights and freedoms of citizens, non-interference in their private affairs, in the right of property and social relations. There is still no law limiting working hours in England;
· limiting multi-party system to old (“traditional”) parties. Exclusion of new parties from participation in power. Liberal states of the interwar period prohibited the activities of communist and sometimes social democratic parties, as well as the propaganda of the ideas of socialism in the press. These measures were taken in accordance with laws protecting the constitutional order from propaganda for its violent overthrow. In many cases it was about limiting democracy;
· government of a parliamentary majority and the absence of a strong counterbalance.
The ideology of the liberal state can be briefly summarized in two famous expressions. One thing that does not have an exact translation from French into Russian is laissez faire, which roughly means: do not interfere with an individual from going about his business. The second is very short: “The State is the Night Watchman” by A.P. Butenko. The state: its yesterday’s and today’s interpretations // State and law. - 1993. - No. 7. - P. 97..
The theoretical core of liberalism consists of: 1) the doctrine of the “state of nature”; 2) the theory of “social contract”; 3) the theory of “people's sovereignty”; 4) inalienable human rights (life, freedom, property, resistance to oppression, etc.).
The basic principles of liberalism are: absolute value; personality and its commitment to freedom, expressed in human rights; the principle of individual freedom as social: benefits, i.e. benefits; for the whole society; law as a sphere of realization of freedom, balancing the rights of an individual and other people, as a guarantee of security; the rule of law rather than people, the reduction of issues of power to issues of law; separation of powers As a condition for the rule of law, independence of the judiciary, subordination of political power to the judiciary; the rule of law as an instrument of social control; priority of human rights over state rights.
The main value of liberalism is freedom. Freedom is a value in all ideological doctrines, but their interpretation of freedom as a value of modern civilization differs significantly. Freedom in liberalism is a phenomenon from the economic sphere: by freedom, liberals initially understood the liberation of the individual from medieval dependence on the state and guilds. IN; In politics, the requirement of freedom meant the right to act according to one’s own will, and, above all, the right to fully enjoy inalienable human rights, limited only by the freedom of other people. Once the liberals’ focus was on such a limiter of freedom as other people with equal rights, it followed that the idea of freedom was supplemented by the requirement of equality (equality as a requirement, but not an empirical fact).
The development of liberal principles is reflected in the diverse theories created by convinced supporters of liberalism. For example, the principle of individual freedom as a social benefit is reflected in the theories of the free market, religious tolerance, etc. The above-mentioned liberal principles of interpretation of the law are expressed in the theories of constitutional law, the rule of law, etc. And the principle of the priority of human rights over state rights state was developed in the theory of the “night watchman state”, according to which it is necessary to limit the volume and scope; the activities of the state in protecting human rights, his life, property, inaction; negative freedom (“freedom from” - from oppression, exploitation, etc.); abstract freedom - like human freedom in general. any person; individual freedom: most important view, freedom - freedom of enterprise.
Despite the presence of common liberal values and principles in Western classical liberalism of the 17th-18th centuries. serious disagreements emerged in the interpretation of the list and hierarchy of inalienable human rights, including on the issue of their guarantees and forms of implementation. As a result, two currents arose: the bourgeois-elite, defending the interests and rights of owners and demanding non-interference of the state in socio-economic relations, and the democratic, which believes that since rights should be extended to everyone, the state needs to create conditions for this. Before late XIX V. liberalism was dominated by the first direction, based on their understanding of private property as an inalienable human right and defending the idea that political rights should be granted only to owners who will conscientiously manage the national wealth of the country and adopt reasonable laws, because they -the results of your political activity they have something to answer for: their property. The Manchester School of Classical Liberalism was the first half of the 19th century V. with its preaching of market determinism or the social Darwinist school of the late 19th - early 20th centuries, the founder of which was G. Spencer, are typical examples of this direction. In the USA, followers of these views maintained their positions until the 30s.
The democratic trend in liberalism was developed by B. Franklin and T. Jefferson in the USA. Fighting for the realization of the “American dream”, the liberal democratic government of the United States in the 60s. XIX century under President A. Lincoln, approved an act on the right of every American over 21 years of age to acquire full ownership of 64 grams of land from the state fund, which marked the beginning of the success of the farmer's path in agricultural production. The democratic direction strengthened its position and became the dominant form of liberalism in turn of XIX--XX centuries During this period, it conducted an active dialogue with socialism and borrowed a number of important ideas from the latter. The democratic trend came out under the name of “social liberalism”.
For example, M. Weber spoke from the position of social liberalism. Among the political figures who shared the beliefs of social liberalism were D. Lloyd George, W. Wilson, and T. Roosevelt. Special success in the sphere of practical politics, social liberalism achieved in the 30s and 40s, which coincided with the “New Deal” policy in the USA, developed back in the 20s. D. Keynes as a theoretical model and implemented by F.D. Roosevelt. The model of “neo-capitalism”, developed in the USA, was proposed and successfully used in the conditions of post-war devastation in Western Europe to restore the liberal democratic foundations of life. In the second half of the 20th century. social liberalism has become firmly dominant in the liberal tradition, so when someone calls himself a liberal today, one must think that he shares not the views of two hundred years ago, but the views of the modern type of liberalism. Their essence is as follows: Grachev M.N. Democracy: research methods, perspective analysis. - M.: VLADOS, 2004. - P. 34..
1. Private property has a private-public nature, since not only owners participate in its creation, multiplication, and protection.
2. The state has the right to regulate private property relations. In this regard, an important place in liberal theory is occupied by the problem of state manipulation of the production and market mechanism of supply and demand and the concept of planning.
3. The liberal theory of industrial democracy develops the idea of worker participation in management (in production, supervisory boards are created to monitor the activities of the administration with the participation of workers).
4. The classical liberal theory of the state as a “night watchman” has been replaced by the concept of the “welfare state”: every member of society is entitled to a living wage; public policy should promote economic stability and prevent social disruption; One of the highest goals of public policy is full employment.
In the 20th century the majority of people are hired workers, to reduce the painful consequences of their economic dependence and helplessness in the face of the modern economy.
An important place in modern liberalism belongs to the concept of social justice, built on the principles of rewarding the individual for enterprise and talent, and at the same time taking into account the need to redistribute social wealth in the interests of the least protected groups.
Liberal politics defends the will of each individual. After all, it is the last one in in this case considered to be of the highest value. Laws are established as a fair basis for economics and order among people. The constitution plays an important role, within the framework of the rules of which the state and church have the right to influence social processes.
Main features and features
Liberal ideology is characterized by:
- equality of all citizens and the chance to influence political processes;
- the opportunity to speak freely in public, decide on religion, vote honestly for a particular candidate in elections;
- inviolable private property, trade and entrepreneurship are unlimited;
- the law is supreme;
- citizens are equal, influence, wealth and position do not matter.
Wide dissemination of ideas
Liberal ideology is very popular these days. IN modern world freedom plays a very important role. Attention is paid to the sense of personal dignity and the universal rights of people. A person's privacy and private property must be inviolable. The market must remain free, religious choice must be tolerated.
When liberal democratic ideology reigns, the state is legal, the government is transparent, the power of the people is higher than the rulers. A good ruling force is one that speaks for the people and is regulated and controlled by them. Not only does the head of the country rule over man, but man also rules over his own land.
A state with a liberal ideology has those common features, which are now observed in Finland, Estonia, Cyprus, Uruguay, Spain, Slovenia, Canada and Taiwan. Here the values of will and freedom are given the dominant role. It is on their foundation that the country’s new goals are built.
Different features in individual territories
North America and Western Europe They differ in that the political currents there are in solidarity with the movement for people's power. The liberal ideology of the “right” representatives is more inclined to classical views about order in the state.
The influence of conservatives, who are inclined towards established models and schemes, is clearly visible here. Social and cultural progress, which can shake established moral norms, is alien to them.
There used to be rivalry between traditionalists and freedom fighters, but when the Second World War ended World War, authoritarianism was discredited. The leading role was given to moderate movements, whose ideas were expressed in the desire for softer regimes of conservatism and Christian democracy.
The second half of the 20th century was marked by the fact that liberal ideology suffered from an ingrained desire to preserve private property and privatization. Old customs had to be adjusted.
In the United States of America, the values of liberal ideology reached the people through socialists, as well as through the “left” currents of this political trend. Western Europe is characterized by differences in the actions of its public organizations. The “left” there pursues social policies in the struggle for the freedoms of the people.
The Liberal Party in Europe promotes non-interference in personal affairs and business. Such actions can only be carried out when the freedoms and property of some citizens must be protected from others.
Support is provided for cultural and economic trends in which liberal ideology moves. Social orientation is not supported. When seeking to implement the rule of law, it is required that the government has sufficient strength. Some people are of the opinion that private and public organizations are sufficient to ensure order. Armed movements are considered the most recent and unacceptable way to solve problems in the event of military aggression.
Differences in directions
When economic interests are respected, the liberal party can isolate itself into separate movements. Economic schemes of work that do not affect politics are considered. The state must ensure maximum freedom for the development of business and trade, without interfering with this process.
Only moderate regulation of the monetary system can be carried out, and the international market is accessible. Obstruction of foreign economic activity is not carried out by the authorities. On the contrary, any initiative is encouraged. The privatization procedure is being carried out. Margaret Thatcher set an example of such management by carrying out a number of reforms in Great Britain.
The effect of putting ideas into practice
Nowadays, liberals can be classified as centrist movements or social democratic ones. In Scandinavia, such management models are very popular. There were economic downturns, which made the issues of protecting society particularly acute. The population suffered from unemployment, inflation and poor pensions.
The Social Democrats increased taxation, and the state sector played a large role in the economy. For a long time, the “right” and “left” political forces fought for rule.
Thanks to this, effective laws have emerged, the government has become transparent, and now it is engaged in protecting civil rights human and property of business entities.
Nowadays in Scandinavia the state does not regulate pricing policy. Banks are run by private companies. Trading is open to everyone who wishes to participate in fair competition in both local and international markets. A liberal democratic system of politics was implemented. Level social protection became extremely tall. Other European countries are characterized by similar processes. There, social democracy is mixed with liberal government policies.
Proclamation of rights and freedoms
The main goals of liberal movements are to strengthen democratic views that give freedom to the people. The state must take as its basis the right to ensure an independent judicial system. The transparency of the work of governing structures must be monitored. Civil rights should be protected and there should be room for competition.
It is very important to understand, when talking about a particular party, whether it belongs to the social liberals, libertarians or the right sector.
Society also promotes the ideas of equality and freedom with the most in a variety of ways. Some support free choice of sexual life, the right to sell drugs and weapons, and expand the powers of private security organizations, to which some of the powers of the police may be transferred.
In terms of the economy, a stable income tax or its change to a per capita tax is supported. They are trying to privatize educational institutions, the procedure for providing pensioners, health care. They want to make science associated with self-sustaining sponsorship. A number of states are characterized by the fact that the liberal party seeks to abandon the death sentence, disarm troops, and reject developments nuclear weapons, take care of the environment.
Unity of nations
The debate around multiculturalism is becoming increasingly heated. Ethnic minorities should share those values of the people that are considered fundamental. The majority of the population, having the same roots, must protect the rights of small communities. There is also an opinion that there must be rapid integration between minorities in order to keep the nation intact.
Organizations and associations
Since 1947, the Mont Pelerin Society has been working to unite economic, entrepreneurial, philosophical minds, and journalists to support the ideals preached by the classical struggle for freedom.
In our time, this policy is promoted by the Liberal International, which unites 19 organizations based on the Oxford Manifesto. As of 2015, the formation has 100 members, including the Free Democratic Party of Germany, Yabloko in Russia and so on.
(from the Latin liberalis - free) first appeared in literature in the 19th century, although it formed as a current of socio-political thought much earlier. The ideology arose in response to the powerless situation of citizens in the conditions absolute monarchy.
The main achievements of classical liberalism are the development of the “Social Contract Theory”, as well as the concepts of natural rights of the individual and the theory of separation of powers. The authors of “The Theory of Social Contract” were D. Locke, C. Montesquieu and J.-J. Rousseau. According to it, the origin of the state, civil society and law is based on agreement between people. The social contract implies that people partially renounce their sovereignty and transfer it to the state in exchange for ensuring their rights and freedoms. The key principle is that a legitimate governing body must be obtained with the consent of the governed and it has only those rights that are delegated to it by the citizens.
Based on these characteristics, supporters of liberalism did not recognize absolute monarchy and believed that such power corrupts, because it has no limiting principles. Therefore, the first insisted on the expediency of the separation of powers into legislative, executive and judicial. Thus, a system of checks and balances is created and there is no scope for arbitrariness. A similar idea is described in detail in the works of Montesquieu.
Ideological liberalism developed the principle of natural inalienable rights of a citizen, including the right to life, freedom and property. Possession of them does not depend on belonging to any class, but is given by nature.
Classical liberalism
In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, a form of classical liberalism emerged. His ideologists include Bentham, Mill, and Spencer. Supporters of classical liberalism placed individual interests rather than public interests at the forefront. Moreover, the priority of individualism was defended by them in a radical extreme form. This distinguished classical liberalism from the form in which it originally existed.
Another important principle was anti-paternalism, which assumed minimal government intervention in private life and the economy. State participation in economic life should be limited to the creation of a free market for goods and labor. Freedom was perceived by liberals as a key value, the main guarantee of which was private property. Accordingly, economic freedom had the highest priority.
Thus, core values classical liberalism were individual freedom, the inviolability of private property and minimal government participation. However, in practice, such a model did not contribute to the formation of the common good and led to social stratification. This led to the spread of the neoliberal model.
Modern liberalism
In the last third of the 19th century, a new movement began to take shape -. Its formation was due to the crisis of liberal teaching, which came as close as possible to conservative ideology and did not take into account the interests of a widespread layer - the working class.
As a leading advantage political system justice and harmony among the governed were proclaimed. Neoliberalism also sought to reconcile the values of equality and freedom.
Neoliberals no longer insisted that a person should be guided by selfish interests, but should contribute to the formation of the common good. And although individuality is highest goal, but it is only possible with a close relationship with society. Man began to be perceived as a social being.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the need for government participation in the economic sphere for a fair distribution of benefits also became apparent. In particular, the functions of the state included the need to create an education system, establish a minimum wage and control working conditions, provide unemployment or sickness benefits, etc.
In contrast to them are libertarians who advocate the preservation basic principles liberalism - free enterprise, as well as the inviolability of natural freedoms.