Hello Reverend Kobby,
I am so grateful to God you are alive to read this. Wow! 50 years old and you are still kicking in good health? I cannot wait to be like you. I cannot wait to graduate from Ashesi University College. This school is trying to tear me apart with regular intensive assignments and projects. Nevertheless, I believe God would see me through.
Reverend, do you remember your viral video on YouTube, where you expressed your support for Modern Liberalism among other panelists who were conservatives, anarchists, fascists and communists? Regarding how people change with time, I wonder if you are still a modern liberal. Over the months, I have gained insight studying these political ideologies and I support modern liberalism most among the other ideologies.
For me, being an economics enthusiast, I subscribe to this Microeconomics principle of Gregory Mankiw: A rational person thinks at the margin and goes with a decision with the least marginal cost. (Mankiw, 2011) For example, if all things are equal and a biscuit at Shop A costs GHC2 while that same biscuit at Shop B costs GHC3, as a rational person, I would buy the biscuit from Shop A instead of Shop B. Applying this principle to all the political ideologies explains my support for because I believe modern liberalism in practice has the least marginal cost compared to socialism, anarchism and conservatism.
Reverend, I hope you still remember why modern liberalism developed. Let me refresh your memory for the sake of doubt. Modern liberalism came about in the twentieth century with the aim of correcting the flaws of classical liberalism. Even though the achieved aims of classical liberalism in the nineteenth century brought wealth for some individuals through industria...
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Mankiw, N. G. (2011). Principles of Microeconomics (6th ed.). Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning.
Rawls, J. (1970). A Theory of Justice. Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States: Belknap.
Ross, R. (2013, October 25). Capitalism Finds a Way: China’s New Special Economic Zone. Retrieved May 5, 2014, from http://www.caseyresearch.com/articles/capitalism-finds-a-way-chinas-new-special-economic-zone.
Rugolo, S. (2012, October 7). What Has Hugo Chávez Done for Venezuela Lately? Retrieved May 5, 2014, from http://reason.com/archives/2012/10/07/what-has-hugo-chavez-done-for-venezuela.
Smith, A. (1776). An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. London, Scotland: W. Strahan and T. Cadell.
Svanberg, C. (2013, May 20). Chavez’s Socialism Has Been a Disaster. Retrieved May 5, 2014, from http://capitalismmagazine.com/2013/05/chavezs-socialism-has-been-a-disaster.
Commanding Heights: Social Assignment 1. Response of socialism to Classical liberalism: Classical liberalism is an ideology that embraces the principles of individualism such as rule of law, individual rights and freedoms, private property, economic freedom, self-interest, and competition. Classical liberalism stresses the importance of human rationality. Just as it values political freedom, classical liberalism also holds freedom to be the basic standard in economics, and believes the most beneficial economic system to be the free market. Whereas, the term socialism, when generally used, refers to any ideology that believes that resources should be controlled by the public for the benefit of everyone in society and not by private interests for the benefit of private owners and investors.
What is a civic stance? Broken down into two separate words civic and stance, the word civic, according to Webster means, of or relating to a city, citizenship or civil affairs. The word stance means a way of standing. So, more or less it means the way you stand on civil affairs. The next question is what kinds of civic stances are there?
Richard Hofstadter, the leftward leaning author of Age of Reform, in his appraisal of the progressive movement makes the central argument that the progressive movement was not catalyzed by economics or moral principal but instead by psychology. Hofstadter describes the progressives as primarily “urban, middle class, and nation wide.” He makes the case that t...
This article, written shortly after the death of Hugo Chávez, reports on the effect the Chávez administration has had on the course Venezuela will be on for the future.
Metaphysical Premises And Types Of Liberal Ideology: Liberalism As The End And Liberalism As The Way
Smith, A. (1776). An inquiry into the nature and causes of the wealth of nations [electronic resource]. Dublin: printed for Messrs. Whitestone, Chamberlaine, W. Watson, Potts, S. Watson and 15 others in Dublin.
Typically Liberalism can be categorized into two different strands, Classical and Modern (yet some thinkers advocate a third strand that is referred to as Neo-Liberalism), each characterized by their differing and to some extent unavoidably overlapping attitudes regarding the theory behind the ideology and how it should be put into practice. Prior to examining how these relate to one another and before making any comparisons, it is important to give a definition, as best as possible, of Liberalism as a concept.
Assessment of the View that Liberalism has Triumphed as the Dominant Ideology in Contemporary British Politics
Liberalism, formed in the latter part of the 18th Century from opposition to existing political monarchies in Europe, was based on rights of individuals and the responsibility of government to protect those rights. Conservative philosophy was born as a reaction to dangerous tendencies detected within the liberal movement toward excessive governmental control. While conservatives form the base of their beliefs on traditional values, respect for authority, and maintaining custom, liberals fought government tendencies to diminish, ignore, or abuse individual human rights. Both beliefs balanced each other until liberalism shifted its emphasis from protecting individual rights from government to using government as a source for supplying basic life necessities. The modern liberal agenda began as President Johnson's Great Society to wipe out poverty and enhance the quality of life for all Americans.
one may ask whether or not the ideas and goals of classical liberalism have been
It’s viability relies upon the these beliefs, and when the general will of the people moves beyond liberal ideas, liberalism is no longer viable. This is seen in security measures taken by nations in the best interest of their people, and through the will of their people, such as the Emergencies Act of Canada, restricting the freedom of it’s people. The same situation is seen again when considering the universal health care system within Canada, and it’s popularity. While it is within the will of the general populace, it goes against classical liberalism in relation to equality and economic freedom. Economic freedom is also rejected through the Competition Act of Canada, an act that reject’s classical liberalism, while remaining within the parameters set for a viable ideology by the source. In each of these cases, an illiberal act fits within what the source sets as requirements for a viable ideology, yet they are each violating basic ideas of liberalism. It is through this corruption of liberalism, that liberalism is only viable as long as the will of its people remains
Liberalism is universalistic and tolerant. It believes that all persons share fundamental interest in self preservation and material well being. Each individual must be allowed to follow hi s or her own preferences as long as they do not d...
...iety. The source clearly displays its perspective that liberalism should not have an influence in society blames it for the world’s inequality. The source creator believes that any type of liberalism should be avoided. In Nazi Germany, there were little or no liberal principles seen in society. The lack of liberalism could be seen as the cause for the corruption of the country and the high death toll. On the other side, labor unions were created by the idea of implementing liberal ideals into society. When labor unions became popular, the wellbeing physically and economically grew substantially. Concluding on the idea that when liberalism is present in society and the government, the people have a better way of life. It is my firm belief that in order for a nation or nation-state to be successful and have equality, liberalism must play an important role in society.
Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations, published coincidentally the same year as the Declaration of Independence, is considered by many economic scholars to be the early framework of capitalism. Capitalism is an economic system based on the exchange of goods and services in the marketplace. Supporters of capitalism are convinced that the economic integration of globalization is rooted in the Wealth of Nations. Adam Smith’s “invisible hand” metaphor explains how the entrepreneurial motivation of the individual, a strong workforce and a decentralized market are the driving forces for economic prosperity.
Modern day society is engrossed in a battle for protection of individual rights and freedoms from infringement by any person, be it the government or fellow citizens. Liberalism offers a solution to this by advocating for the protection of personal freedom. As a concept and ideology in political science, liberalism is a doctrine that defines the motivation and efforts made towards the protection of the aforementioned individual freedom. In the current society, the greatest feature of liberalism is the protection of individual liberty from intrusion or violation by a government. The activities of the government have, therefore, become the core point of focus. In liberalism, advocacy for personal freedom may translate to three ideal situations, based on the role that a government plays in a person’s life. These are no role, a limited role or a relatively large role. The three make up liberalism’s rule of thumb. (Van de Haar 1). Political theorists have