Liberalism and Neoliberalism

The debate of origin and development Introduction
The concept of "liberalism" is of great importance in philosophical and factual studies from two perspectives:
First: the ambiguity surrounding the term itself and the lack of much perception of its significance and definition.
Second: the clamor evoked, and the great talk about it with and without knowledge at many times.
The Renaissance generation - as it is called - portrayed that the renaissance of the West and the power of its material civilization were due to the embrace of this philosophical doctrine.
This doctrine is distinguished from others by its proximity to the practical application, and its wide and deep concept carries multiple doctrines while remaining on its de-script-ion as an intellectual doctrine.
After the fall of communism as an ideology that threatened Western liberal thought, Western thinkers became so much more liberal that they proclaimed it in every forum and claimed that it is the only human option and employed their intellectual and media energies with political and economic support to transfer this doctrine to the light-;- to all humanity.
Perhaps the most important intellectual product of this great doctrine is the book "The End of History" by Francis Fukuyama, in which he clearly demonstrated his influence this major doctrine (liberalism).
Western liberals have exploited all their great potentials to transfer this doctrine to the far reaches of the world and setting the human life on its foundations and principles through the political and economic power and the employment of means of communication that enable them to address all people and all over the earth.
Perhaps one of the most important results of liberalism in the field of economics is (globalization) and its implications of intellectual content and moral values and civilized patterns-;- and it revolves around Western desire for control in every aspect: military, political, moral, civilizational and economic.
The influence of the Western world on human life has become abundantly clear in all areas of life.
Topic I: The concept of liberalism.
It is difficult to provide a precise definition of liberalism because of its many facets and its evolution from generation to generation.
"A clear and precise definition of liberalism seems to be beginning to be difficult and extremely useless," says David Baldwin. "And in case liberalism is given a precise definition, we find that this definition does not apply to a number of philosophers and thinkers who have a liberal character.
The Lalande Encyclopedia of Philosophy has decided the confusion in the concept of liberalism: "We see through the previous definitions the degree of ambiguity in this diction. It is further confused by its occasional use as a reference to political parties´-or-political tendencies" .
That s why there are different definitions of these concepts, and there is a difficulty in establishing a logical, comprehensive and decisive definition that defines its meaning accurately. Even the derivation of the word "liberal" itself differed: Is it taken from "Liberty", which means free, as it is known´-or-is taken from a Spanish origin?
However, liberalism has a fundamental essence to which all liberals of all ages agree, despite the diversity of their trends and how to apply them as a method of reform and production.
Of that origin, Kenneth N. Waltz says "the essence of liberalism is the emphasis on the importance of the individual and the need to free them of all kinds of control and tyranny, since the liberal aspires to liberate him/ herself from the domination of its two types: the domination of the state (political tyranny), the group (social tyranny). So the historical roots of liberalism are in the movements that made the individual self-sufficient, opposing, in many cases, traditions, customs and authority, refusing to make the will of the individual merely an extension of that of the group.
The most important characteristic of contemporary liberal-classical literature is its excessive interest in freedom, where liberal thought assumes that freedom is the first and main goal the individual is looking for.
There is no absolute answer to the famous philosophical question: What is the optimal life for man? Because everyone has the right and freedom to choose the life style that suits him/ her.
Therefore: the principle of freedom and self-realization of the individual represents a starting point in liberal thought in all its forms, and in all different fields.
The Lelande Encyclopedia states that "this concept is especially indicative of the beliefs that are aimed to increase the individual s freedom, and the beliefs that see the-limit-ation of the role of the state as a basic means to this freedom".
This is not a precise definition of a philosophical doctrine, the concept of which has changed throughout years because of intellectual, political and social fluctuations.
Actually, this term is precisely defined according to the area through which it is seen, and we can define it as follows: Political liberalism, economic liberalism, moral liberalism... and so on, as classified by the Lalande Encyclopedia.
1) The formation stage, and its basic concept is that the human being is the actor of choice and initiative.

2) The completion stage, and its basic concept is that the wise individual, the owner of his life, his mind, and his work. On the basis of this concept the mental economy that is contrary to the feudal economy and the rational policy based on the theory of contract, and contrary to the flabby despotism policy have been established.
3) The independence stage and its basic concept is the creative initiative of the preservation of inherited rights, and dependence on the slow development, a development from the imaginary mind to the real world.
4) The isolation stage: its basic concept is that of heterogeneity and objection and leaving the prevailing views, because disagreement and objection keep away from tradition and generate creativity.

The definition of the stages of liberalism is not intended to date the evolution of liberal thought but rather to define the system of different ideas that makes clear the error of giving one definition of this multi-concept philosophy.
Ranzoli observes that this word is used in England especially in the economic sense, while it is almost always used in Italy in its religious and political connotation.

Tocqueville, one of the magnates of the nineteenth century liberalism, tried to define freedom: "The true meaning of freedom includes every person who assumes wisdom, who can behave properly-;- who has rights, and doesn t compromise his right to live independently from others in everything relevant to him/ her and organize his own life as he/ she wants".
Considering freedom as a general concept that leads to conflict and disagreement between contradictory freedoms, Himoun hopes that liberalism will be as opposed to the chaotic theory, and this is a change of the concept of freedom (chaos) "and then the first (liberalism) which is considered as the moral and political theory that aspire to the individual s freedom and at the same time-limit-s the demand´-or-access to these freedoms once they become permissive (In other words, the declaration of rights). On the other hand the chaotic theory can be an image of an individualism that does not recognize any familiar and legal-limit- of an individual s liberty-;- it is the only judge of the individual s rights according to his power."

summary:

Liberalism has multiple concepts according to the field in which it is tackled, but these are all united by its excessive attention to freedom, self-realization, looking at freedom as a means and an end in itself.
Liberalism is the "theory of freedom", a theory of multiple motives and different aspects, in varying degrees.
Freedom - as the researcher observes- is a general concept that can mean absolute freedom without specific meaning, and some may want a specific meaning.
But the philosophical concept of this intellectual doctrine is absolute freedom, which is not restricted by-limit-s, except for those which exceed to the freedom of others as to the rule (your freedom ends where the freedoms of others are shown).

Topic II: Liberalism for John Stuart Mill as an example-;-
Mill is considered one of the most prominent western thinkers who played part in liberal philosophy through his book on liberty, which became the main source of neo- liberals thought.
Practically and socially he reflected in liberalism, but not philosophically. He said: "This article does not address the so-called freedom of will, which is contrary to what is called a mistake in the necessity philosophy-;- it is rather a study of civil and social freedom".
Mill addressed the movement of thought and said about religious beliefs: "I cannot say that thinking in the honesty of belief is infallible, but what I say is that the claim of infallibility means forcing others to accept what we see in faith without hearing their opinion, and I cannot claim immaculacy even to protect my most cherished beliefs".
Mill confines freedom so that it cannot be chaotic, saying "Whenever a real´-or-potential harm is inflicted, either for the individual´-or-the public, the act that causes the harm is taken off from the freedom space to catch that of morality´-or-of law."
He also says: "what is peculiar to an individual is his own right, and what is peculiar to society is a right of society."

Topic III: the emergence and evolution of liberalism. The origin and roots of liberalism-;-
Liberalism has developed through the social changes that swept Europe since the early sixteenth century AD, and the nature of social and intellectual change is that it comes slowly and gradually.
It did not "crystallize as a theory of politics, economy and society thanks to one single thinker, but several thinkers contributed to giving it its basic form and distinctive character.
Liberalism is not Lockeanism (after John Locke 1632- 1704), Rousseau- ism (after John Locke 1712- 1778),´-or-Millianism (after John Stuart Mill 1806- 1873), although each one of them has contributed in giving it its characteristics and features.
According to David Baldwin, "Liberalism in modern Western political thought originated and developed in the seventeenth century, although the two dictions liberal and liberalism were not common before the nineteenth century.
It is clear, therefore, that liberalism in its contemporary form originated with the European Renaissance and then evolved in different ages until the current day.
Some researchers respond attribute the roots of liberalism to the Athens democrats in the fifth century BC, the Stoicist in the early stages of Christianity, and the Protestant reform action.
Jean-Paul Sartre, a thinker, mentioned that there is a religious approach in the religious reform movement, saying: "naming a movement in the contemporary Protestantism after liberalism emphasizes the intellectual freedom."
John Locke is considered one of the first liberal philosophers and his philosophy is related to political liberalism.

Evolution of Liberalism:
Liberalism has gone through many phases according to time and place, and its concepts changed as to the different stages-;- and in all its stages there is an emphasis on freedom and giving the individual their freedom without any interference in it.

Here, we can point out two important phases:
First: Classical Liberalism:
John Locke (1704) is considered one of the most prominent philosophers of classical liberalism, and his theory is built on political liberalism. His theory is based on the notion of the social contract in his conception of the existence of the state, which in itself is a demolition of the doctrine of the divine right that the Church leads.
Locke has distinguished himself from other philosophers of the social contract that the authority´-or-the government is restricted by the individuals acceptance of it and therefore the confidence in authority can be withdrawn.
Adam Smith (1790) highlighted economic liberalism as the absolute freedom of property without restriction´-or-interference from the state.
Democracy and capitalism have been formed through this liberalism, the spirit of the doctrine and the basis of its formation, inspired by the slogan of the French revolution "let it work" in economic freedom, and "let it pass" in political freedom. This will be elaborated in the aspects of liberalism.

Topic IV: Neoliberalism.
"Liberalism in the twentieth century has undergone a significant change in its assertions. Since the late nineteenth century, many liberals began to think about the terms of the freedom of seizing opportunities rather than think about the conditions of this´-or-that constraint. They concluded that the role of government was essential at least in order to provide the conditions under which individuals can realize their capacities as human beings.
Liberals today prefer active government regulation of the economy for the public benefit. In fact, they support the government programs to ensure economic security and mitigate human suffering.
Modern liberals believe in giving first priority to individual liberty, but maintain that the government must effectively remove obstacles that hinder the enjoyment of that freedom.
Today, those who support old liberal ideas are called conservatives.
It is observed that the most prominent point in the distinction between the two previous phases is the extent to which the state is free to organize freedoms. In classical liberalism, the state intervenes in freedom, but it must protect it, so that the individuals can achieve their freedom as they like without guardianship.
Contemporary liberalism, on the other hand, has changed this and demands that the state intervene to regulate freedoms and remove the obstacles that hinder individuals to enjoy them.
This is a fundamental point that asserts that liberalism differed from one era to another, from a philosopher to another, and from one country to another-;- and this adds to its ambiguity as previously mentioned.
Liberalism has experienced many other developments, most notably its evolution towards globalization, which has been mainly a liberal trend.

Topic V: Areas of liberalism
Liberalism areas varied according to the human activity-;- since liberalism is a holistic concept of human management and freedom in the realization of this will. From this angle and through this consideration, liberalism can penetrate every human activity.
"Generally, the liberals singularity is that he sees freedom as the origin of true humanity and the stimulus of history," said Robert Cohen, "the best remedy for every deficiency, failure´-or-breakdown."
The most prominent of these areas are the political area and the economic one.

First: political liberalism
According to the Lalande Encyclopedia of Philosophy "Liberalism: Political doctrine believes that it is desirable to maximize the independence of the legislative and judicial authority in relation to the executive and procedural one, and to give citizens maximum guarantees in the face of arbitrariness of government."
Democracy is considered a liberal system that seeks to give an individual their rights, and a kind of scientific application for liberal thought. Joseph M. says "the starting point of liberal thought is not only that it calls for democracy in the sense of participation in governance, but rather it is an individual thought that society is not merely a group of individuals in which each individual seeks to achieve his´-or-her own goals.
As a political system, democracy has given a variety of political freedoms such as: freedom of speech, freedom of thought and expression, freedom of assembly and freedom of protest. It also provides a number of guarantees against the assault on individuals and their freedoms, such as ensuring the accusation, investigation, implementation and defense.
Spencer believes that state -function-s must be-limit-ed to police, justice and military defense in confronting the aliens.
This signifies a claim of the state s absence except for the cases of general protection of society-;- and this is the opinion of the classical liberals. This view has become extinct in neoliberalism, which inclined to consider the individual freedom as the primary goal-;- even with the intervention of the state, whereas the basic doctrine of the classical liberals was to claim the absence of the state whatever its consequences on the individual.
Classical liberals disagreed with democrats in who has the right of general legislation. Democrats see the majority as the ones who decide, initiate and hold power. Liberals are concerned with protecting the individual from harm, and this is the task of law instead of stressing the right of others in favor of the majority, and these are the points of conflict between them.
But liberalism differed in the contemporary reality from what it used to be.
The new trend can be called neoliberalism and this is justified as a result of the non- conformity of the traditional liberalism with the evolution of the world, and this is why neoliberalism is created that is appropriate to the new conditions of society, namely, post-World War II liberalism.

The difference between them in relation to politics is:
The role of the state in the new perspective must be greater. It has the primary task of determining the legal framework for the institutions in which the economic activity takes place. The neo-liberals have defined the role of the state, which must be performed as follows:
1. To do its best against inflation and deflation.
2. Moderately and sequentially-limit- monopoly power.
3. Only nationalize monopolies that cannot be privatized.
4. To afford all public services.
5. Equally provide opportunities and resources.
6. Apply impact planning to minimize the potential risks.
7. Apply central planning where structural change is required.
8. Intervene when there is a defect in the mechanics of the market.

Second: economic liberalism
Economic liberalism: "An economic doctrine that sees that the state should not assume industrial jobs, nor trade -function-s, and that it is not entitled to interfere in the economic relations between individuals, classes´-or-nations. This is what is usually meant by economic liberalism.
It is noted that this definition is based on classical liberalism prior to the great transformation of the new liberalism as it will come. Economic liberalism is closely related to political liberalism. Liberals believe that the best ruling system of a government is the minimum one. They see that economy organizes itself if it is left alone-;- and that government regulation is not necessary. The most prominent of liberal economic systems is "capitalism", whose main ideas have been arranged by economist Adam Smith in his book The Wealth of Nations.
Among the freedoms that liberals demand is the freedom of movement of money and trade, freedom of labor, the freedom of contract, and the freedom to practice any profession´-or-economic activity, following the famous slogan of the French Revolution, "Let it work, let it pass".

What governs the economic rules of the game and its values is the supply and demand market without any government restriction´-or-labor -union-.
The worker has the freedom to work´-or-leave exactly as the capital owner is absolutely free to employ the number he needs with the wage he wants.
But we have already mentioned that the liberal concept changed and neoliberalism emerged on the surface after the Second World War because of the crushing economic crises and the depression of the concentration of capital and the emergence of large industrial monopolies, the collapse of the gold exchange base and the crisis of the labor revolutions in Germany, which made governments intervene to revive economy-;- and consequently the liberal ideology changed by asserting the importance of government intervention to regulate markets.
The author of "Wild Liberalism" described how the state intervened to revitalize the economy and reform the market. At this stage, the classical liberalism was extinguished-;- and since reality diminished the fact that market can reform itself, neoliberalism strongly came up to surface.
In the above-mentioned book liberal economy, self-empowerment was prolonged, and neo-liberalism was actually criticized for the decline of economic prosperity achieved by capitalism after the Second World War. Economic growth began to decline, unemployment and disrupted power rates rose, and productivity growth deteriorated.
Perhaps the most significant new development in contemporary liberalism is the "liberalism of globalization" and its intellectual significance: a return to classical liberalism as a concept. One of the most prominent features of globalization is the alleviation of government intervention in the transfer of money across borders and political fences to achieve the highest profits. In practice, the liberal philosophy has been applied through the political policeman who protects this ancient idea in the Western conscience.
Economy has become a political means of control and transfer of civilized cultures among nations. Therefore, the economically powerful is politically powerful. That is why Western countries are convinced of this philosophy while watching the effects of capitalism on poor peoples. In the economic game, countries can fall and while others weaken.
The intellectual root of globalization is the absence of states sovereignty over their borders and their citizens, as well as their lack of control over the free economic system demanded by classical liberals.
At the Davos Economic Forum in February 1996 German central bank president Hannas Titmar said "The majority of politicians are still unaware that they are now under the supervision of financial markets,´-or-rather under its control and domination."
The leaders of the world in the next phase (globalization) will be the capitalists, and the supervisors of the big economic institutions.
Globalization is based on an economic theory recommended by a number of economic experts and consultants. They do it willingly for those who are responsible for the management of the economic policy as the best approach (neoliberalism)-;- and with the slogan (what market produces is good, and the intervention of the state is bad.)
These are the signs of the reconstruction of classical liberalism and the return to it after the change witnessed after the Second World War.

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