Political Science Ideologies: The Classical Liberalism Approach

Political Science Ideologies: The classical liberalism approach
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Classical liberalism is an ideology that emphasizes political freedom and respect of civil liberties. As such, economic freedom and the rule of law are seen to be integral to the advancement of society, with the people choosing their leaders through a representative democracy. Democratic societies that allow their citizens to thrive are necessary, especially since there is no government overreach. Additionally, the ideology supposes free and fair competition allows people to thrive, with the profit motive spurring people to work in an environment where the government does not interfere with private business (Maher, 2015 a). The origins of classical liberalism focus on liberty of individual rights, democratic liberty as well as popular rule (Barash, 1992). I think that classical liberalism with its emphasis on equality freedom and the right to own property, rationality and seeking self-interests is the best way to organize the society. This paper explores the ideas behind classical liberalism, and then looks into arguments against the ideology followed up by counter arguments to provide more clarity on the ideas that make classical liberalism the best political ideology.
Classical liberalists argue that everyone has the opportunity to accumulate wealth and everyone can work hard to achieve this. It follows that people get wealthy through opportunity and exercising their freedom, where class plays minimal role in the society. However, Marxists argue that the classical liberalism systems foster inequality and socio economic classes (Maher, 2015 b). There is likelihood that the powerful minority accumulates wealth and dominates the working class to the extent that they are unable to improve their economic well being. Marxists argue that democracy is a sham since the ruling people simply perpetuate their dominance over the people being ruled. However, the Marxist view is too simplistic as it assumes that the rich purposely impoverish the poor so that the working class can work for them. In reality, the classical liberalism ideology envisions a society where people have equal access to opportunity, with a minimal government role (Barash, 1992). In any case, even the poor people can improve their economic well being though engagement in business one of ways that people have been able to build wealth.
Classical liberalism emphasizes individualism, where people seek their self serving interests. The communitarian perspective has a differ view highlighting that communities need to be responsive to members of the society. Strong democracy is favored in communitarianism, since this system is responsive to the needs of the people. Nonetheless, the participation of the community in the society seeks ...