Ethics Finder

Liberalism

In its several forms liberalism concerns the organisation and regulation of society through the power of the state, and is in general concerned to limit these in the interest of protecting, and perhaps promoting personal freedom and responsibility. There are different sources and forms of liberalism. In Western Europe one important point of origin was the idea of the Protestant Reformers that each person stands in a unique relationship to God unmediated by Church and that belief cannot be coerced or lack of it justly punished. Another source was in 19th century reactions to the growing economic and legal power of the State which was thought to impede people’s own powers of moral discovery and development. A third source prominent in 20th century American liberal thought is the concern to maintain political stability under conditions of social diversity and disagreement leading to the thought that the sate should be neutral as between different ideas of the good life, and so far as possible restrict itself to procedural matters upon which all parties can agree. Three major thinkers associated with these arguments are John Locke (1632-1704), John Stuart Mill (1806-1873), and John Rawls (1921-2002).

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