Concept of Liberty
The term liberty means freedom. Freedom can be understood in different ways i.e. freedom of
speech, freedom to move, freedom to practice profession of one choice, freedom to practice and
propagate religion of one’s choice. In short freedom means absence of any kind of restrictions,
where a person can do whatever he/she wishes to without any hindrance. In order to understand
freedom in a better way we can take some other examples like desire of bird in a cage to fly in the
open air, desire of the prisoner to set himself free from the prison and lead a free life, desire of
patient to go home who is admitted long time in a hospital for treatment. Freedom also implies
non-interference in once life in any form word or action. So we can say liberty has different
meanings to different people. The term liberty is derived from the Latin word liber, which means
“absence of restraints”. In other words, liberty implies freedom to act without being subject to any
restraint. Liberty signifies “a power or capacity of doing or enjoying something worth doing or
enjoying.” According to Hobbes, ‘By liberty is understood…absence of external impediments,
which impediments may oft take part of man’s power to do what he would do’. According to Hegel
liberty consists of obedience of law. Rousseau said that liberty consists in the obedience of General
will. J.S. Mill describes, ‘The only freedom which deserves he name is that of pursuing our own
good in our own way so long as we do not deprive others of theirs or impede their efforts to obtain
it.i Laski explains liberty as “Absence of restraints upon the existence of those social conditions
which in modern civilization are a necessary guarantee of individual happiness”
Meaning of Equality
The belief of equality is a major assumption of a self-governing society. Equality does not entail
complete equality. Equality originates from aequalis, aequus and aequalitas. These are all old
French or Latin words. These French/Latin words mean even, level and equal. In general term,
equality means full equality of treatment and reward for all. It is needed as natural equality. It is
thought that all men are born natural and free.Men are neither equal inrespect of their physical
features nor in respect of their mental capabilities. Some are stronger others weaker and some are
more intelligent and capable than others.In common word, the meaning of equality is taken equally.
It is considered opposite of disparity. Equality has been demanded in society since ancient times.
Many theoretical and intellectual grounds have also been presented for this. In other words,
equality means that all people in the society should have equal status and everyone should getequal
prvillages. But this is not completely real because not all people are equal. Man has been
made equal by nature. Depending on anatomy, form, color, strength, intelligence, the variation
found in individuals is found. Due to the fundamental distinctions given by nature, complete
equality cannot be brought in a person.For example, in the same way that all the fingers of the
hand cannot be equal, in the same way not all the people of the society can be equal. Equality does
not mean that all individuals get equal property. The basis of property sharing is also physical and
intellectual inequality. In the end, not every person can get the same property. The real meaning of
equality is that all people should get equal opportunity for their development and should not be
differentiated on the basis of caste, birth, religion, sex, class, property race. The state should
provide proper opportunities for the development of their intellect and personality without any
discrimination. One should not be bound in the development of a person by qualification.
Here equality has three Basic elements:
a) Absence of special privileges in society.
b) Presence of adequate and equal opportunities for development of all.
c) Equal satisfaction of basic needs of all.
According to Laski, the most influential positive liberal thinker, set down the following conditions
for equality:
1. End of special privileges in society
2. Adequate opportunities to all for developing the full potential of their personalities.
3. Access to social benefits for all with no restrictions on any ground like family position or wealth,
heredity etc.
4. Absence of economic and social exploitation.
Characteristics of Equality:
• Equality does not stand for absolute equality. It accepts the presence of some natural
dissimilarities.• Equality stands for absence of all unnatural manmade inequalities and specially
privileged
classes in the society.
• Equality assumes the grant and guarantee of equal rights and freedoms to all the people.
• Equality infers the system of equal and adequate opportunities for all the people in society.
• Equality means equal satisfaction of basic needs of all the persons before the special needs', and
luxuries of some persons may be met.
• Equality supports an equitable and fair distribution of wealth and resources i.e. Minimum
possible gap between the rich and poor.
Equality accepts the principle of protective discrimination for helping the weaker sections of
society. In the Indian political system, right to equality has been given to all and yet there stands
incorporated provisions for granting special protection facilities and reservations to persons
belonging to scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, other backward classes, minorities, women, and
children.
Democracy:
Introduction
The term democracy and the classical conception of democratic rule are firmly rooted in Ancient
Greece. Like other words that end in ‘cracy’ – such as autocracy, aristocracy and bureaucracy –
democracy is derived from the ancient Greek word kratos, meaning ‘power’ or ‘rule’. Democracy
therefore means ‘rule by the demos’, demos standing for ‘the many’ or ‘the people’. In contrast to
its modern usage, democracy was originally a negative or pejorative term, denoting not so much
rule by all, as rule by the property-less and uneducated masses. Democracy was therefore thought
to be the enemy of liberty and wisdom. While writers such as Aristotle were prepared to recognize
the virtues of popular participation, they nevertheless feared that unrestrained democracy would
degenerate into a form of ‘mob rule’. Indeed, such pejorative implications continued to be attached
to democracy until well into the twentieth century. Democratic government has, however, varied
considerably over the centuries. Perhaps the most fundamental distinction is between democratic
systems, like those in Ancient Greece, that are based upon direct popular participation in
government, and those that operate through some kind of representative mechanism. This
highlights two contrasting models of democracy: direct democracy and representative democracy.
Moreover, the modern understanding of democracy is dominated by the form of electoral
democracy that has developed in the industrialized West, often called liberal democracy. Despite
its undoubted success, liberal democracy is only one of a number of possible models of democracy,
and one whose democratic credentials have sometimes been called into question. Finally, the near
universal approval which democracy currently elicits should not obscure the fact that the merits of
democracy have been fiercely debated over the centuries and that, in certain respects, this debate
has intensified in the late twentieth century. In other words, democracy may have its vices as well
as its virtues.
Meaning
Although the democratic political tradition can be traced back to Ancient Greece, the cause of
democracy was not widely taken up by political thinkers until the nineteenth century. Until then,
democracy was generally dismissed as rule by the ignorant and unenlightened masses. Now,
however, it seems that we are all democratic. Liberals, conservatives, socialists, communists,
anarchists and even fascists have been eager to proclaim the virtues of democracy and to
demonstrate their democratic credentials. This emphasizes the fact that the democratic tradition
does not advance a single and agreed ideal of popular rule, but is rather an arena of debate in which
the notion of popular rule, and ways in which it can be achieved, is discussed. In that sense,
democratic political thought addresses three central questions. First, who are the people? As no
one would extend political participation to all the people, the question is: on what basis should it
be limited – in relation to age, education, gender, social background and so on?
Second, how should the people rule? This relates not only to the choice between direct and indirect
democratic forms, but also to debates about forms of representation and different electoral systems.
Third, how far should popular rule extend? Should democracy be confined to political life, or
should democracy also apply, say, to the family, the workplace, or throughout the economy?
Democracy, then, is not a single, unambiguous phenomenon. In reality, there is a number of
theories or models of democracy, each offering its own version of popular rule. There are not
merely a number of democratic forms and mechanisms but also, more fundamentally, quite
different grounds on which democratic rule can be justified. Classical democracy, based upon the
Athenian model, is characterized by the direct and continuous participation of citizens in the
processes of government. Protective democracy is a limited and indirect form of democratic rule
designed to provide individuals with a means of defence against government. As such, it is linked
to natural rights theory and utilitarianism. Developmental democracy is associated with attempts
to broaden popular participation on the basis that it advances freedom and individual flourishing.
Such ideas were taken up by New Left thinkers in the 1960s and 1970s in the form of radical or
participatory democracy. Finally, deliberative democracy highlights the importance of public
debate and discussion in shaping citizens’ identities and interests, and in strengthening their sense
of the common good.
Critics of democracy have adopted various positions. They have warned, variously, that democracy
fails to recognize that some people’s views are more worthwhile than others’; that democracy
upholds majority views at the expense of minority views and interests; that democratic rule tends
to threaten individual rights by fuelling the growth of government; and that democracy is based
upon the bogus notion of a public interest or common good, ideas that have been further weakened
by the pluralistic nature of modern society.
What Is Socialism?
Socialism is a populist economic and political system based on collective, common, or public
ownership of the means of production. Those means of production include the machinery, tools,
and factories used to produce goods that aim to directly satisfy human needs.
In contrast to capitalism, whereby business owners control the means of production and pay wages
to workers to use those means, socialism envisions shared ownership and control among the
laboring class.
Essential Features
In a purely socialist system, all production and distribution decisions are made by the collective,
directed by a central planner or government body. Worker cooperatives, however, are also a form
of socialized production.
Socialist systems tend to have robust welfare systems and social safety nets so that individuals rely
on the state for everything from food to healthcare. The government determines the output and
pricing levels of these goods and services.
Socialists contend that shared ownership of resources and central planning provide a more equal
distribution of goods and services and a more equitable society.
Key Takeaways
• Socialism is an economic and political system based on collective ownership of the means
of production.
• In a socialist system, all legal production and distribution decisions are made by the
government. The government also determines all output and pricing levels and supplies its
citizens with everything from food to healthcare.
• Proponents of socialism believe that it leads to a more equal distribution of goods and
services and a more equitable society.
• Socialist ideals include production for use, rather than for profit; an equitable distribution
of wealth and material resources among all people; no more competitive buying and selling
in the market; and free access to goods and services.• Capitalism, with its belief in private
ownership and the maximizing of profits, stands in
contrast to socialism, but most capitalist economies today have some socialist aspects.
Socialism
Socialism is an ideology that has a range of economic and social systems characterised by social
proprietorship and democratic control of the means of production as well as the political beliefs,
theories, and movements that aim at their formation. Socialism has been theorised from the
standpoint of an economic system, a philosophy, or even a type of society. However, there is a
conjunction on socialism as an ideology which supports collective and as an economic/social
system that seeks the freedom of the oppressed in an unequal society. Boyle has noted that all
socialist of all schools, are agreed, as an abstract proposition, "the collective ownership and control
of the means of production, distribution and exchange, which can be operated "socially" for the
equitable good of all" (1912).
The central concept of socialism is a visualization of human beings as social beings united by their
common humanity. Popular poet John Donne stated that "No man is an Island entire of itself; every
man is a piece of the Continent, a part of the main". This emphasizes the degree to which individual
identity is shaped by social interaction and the membership of social groups and collective bodies.
Fundamentally, socialism favours the collective ownership of means of production. The
elementary idea of socialism originates from working man association and their mission to ensure
equality among all employees and all the people in a society. Therefore, one can consider socialism
or a socialist economy as an economy where the workers own the means of production. This is to
ensure that the class that produces the wealth of society collectively decides how it will be used
for the benefit of all. From this viewpoint, "socialist are those who seek to establish a society of
common ownership, democratic control and production for use, not profit" (Coleman 1990).
Socialists choose cooperation to competition, and favour collectivism over individualism. The
defining, value of socialism is equality, socialism sometimes being portrayed as a form of
egalitarianism. Socialists consider that a measure of social equality is the essential assurance of
social stability and cohesion, and that it supports freedom in the sense that it gratifies material
needs and helps for personal development. The socialist movement has conventionally articulated
the interests of the industrial working class, seen as systematically troubled or
structurallydisadvantaged within the capitalist system. The objective of socialism is to lessen or
abolish class
divisions.
It is elucidated in numerous studies that socialism evolved as a reaction against the social and
economic conditions produced in Europe by the growth of industrial capitalism. The birth of
socialist ideas was closely associated to the development of a new but growing class of industrial
workers, who suffered the poverty and deprivation that are so often a feature of early
industrialisation. Since two hundred years, socialism has established the principal oppositional
force within capitalist societies, and has pronounced the interests of oppressed and disadvantaged
peoples in many parts of the world. The major impact of socialism has been in the form of the
twentieth-century communist and social-democratic movements. However, in the late twentieth
century, socialism suffered a number of spectacular reverses, leading some to declare the 'death of
socialism'. The most remarkable of these reverses was the collapse of communism in the Eastern
European Revolutions of 1989-91. Partly in response to this, and partially as a consequence of
globalisation and changing social structures, parliamentary socialist parties in many parts of the
world revised, and sometime rejected, traditional socialist philosophies.
To summarize, socialism emerged as a challenging to classical liberalism in the 19th century. It
was a political response to the dreadful conditions of industrial workforces in the advanced
capitalist countries and laid claims to representation of the working class. Socialism contains
variety of divisions and competing traditions. Socialism is depicted as morally higher to capitalism
because human beings are ethical creatures, bound to one another by the ties of love, sympathy
and compassion. Since the socialist ideology is part of the appearance of mass politics, socialism
can be debated as having a contribution to modern democracy.
The modern democratic ideal is based on inhabitant participation in choosing who their leader
would be. The fact that the majority are the middle class and those below the rank also establish
the "proletariat", socialism has power to unite the majority in a class conscious situation which can
further democracy. It can be said that Socialism is a changeover of stage because the transition of
a society based on mistreatment to that based on equality is not just a straight process. Socialism
has main objective to eradicate poverty, racism, sexism the threat of environmental disaster and to
prevent the still posed threat of a catastrophic nuclear war. Socialism is never a one party approach
to government, it inspire mass political partaking, collective decision process and not an exclusive
model of social distribution and state ownership of the means of production.
