Liberalism: from antiquity to modern neoliberal ideology
As you know, the word “liberalism” comes from the Latin liber, meaning “free”. As predecessors, liberals of the past referred to philosophers and political figures of antiquity, in particular to the ancient Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius, who wrote in his writings about a state with laws equal for all its citizens, and about a autocracy that prioritizes the freedom of its subjects. However, freedom and democracy in ancient times were understood completely differently than in the 18th and 19th centuries. Thus, in ancient times it was believed that free people would create their own state, and classical liberalism presupposes the freedom of man from the state and society.
Classical liberalism developed in the 17th - 18th centuries in the most economically developed countries at that time: Holland, England and France. The ideologists of the “theory of freedom” were educated, and most importantly, well-to-do people, who believed that free people follow exclusively their own benefit, while the royal power and the church only restrain them in this desire. Moreover, according to their concept, human freedom should include two components: absolute inviolability of private property and freedom of conscience.
Perhaps the greatest contribution to the development of the ideology of liberalism was made by the Scottish economist Adam Smith, who formulated the basic concepts of political economy: working capital, rent and profit, wages and income. Smith outlined the main task of an entrepreneur, which, according to his theory, should be the accumulation of capital and its investment in order to make a profit. Smith argued that the basis of wealth is the division of labor, specialization and the desire to earn income. According to Smith's theory, it is extremely harmful to limit the right of an entrepreneur to dispose of property; it is impossible to regulate the cost of raw materials or products, wages or the length of the working day. Smith called the market the only and ideal regulator of the economy. He considered the selfishness of individual people to be the source of universal wealth and prosperity. Smith introduced two basic concepts of liberalism: Homo Economicus (Economic Man) and the Invisible Hand of the Market.
In the 18th century, Smith's teachings seemed extremely innovative and even revolutionary. In the 19th century, it was considered a classic concept according to which the state should not interfere in the economy at all. The beneficial role of free competition was considered obvious until the twentieth century. The ideas of the classics of political economy, Karl Marx and David Ricardo, were drawn from the ideas of Adam Smith. The modern ideology of neoliberalism is largely built on Smith's ideas.
The ideology of liberalism underwent significant changes after the Great Depression that gripped the United States at the beginning of the last century. The concept of an “open society” emerged, welcoming economic freedom, competition, pluralism of opinions and multiculturalism.
Neoliberalism, combined with globalism, which involves bringing the political systems of all states under a common denominator, in contrast to the basic concepts of classical liberalism, which deny the need to wage any wars and interventions, presupposes the need to wage wars to “protect liberal values” and “liberate people groaning under the yoke dictatorship."
Classical liberalism defended the interests of 10-20% of the population of the most developed countries of the world, while modern liberalism fights with states and peoples in the interests of a negligible percentage of the world's population. At the same time, absolutely any state can be blamed to one degree or another for suppressing personal freedom, violating democracy and subordinating the interests of the individual to public interests.
The protection of human rights and freedoms turns into a political slogan suitable for fighting any undesirable state: Russia, Iran, Kazakhstan or Uruguay. The more the line between good and evil, reason and madness is blurred in this defense, the greater sins one can accuse the opponent of, in order to then subjugate him through wars and coups and make him part of the global system of international capital.
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