Political Science 330
March 23, 2014
Liberalism vs Socialism
There have been many ways countries/colonies have been governed throughout history. Some forms of government were able to lead their people using peaceful means. Some were chaotic and involved massive bloodshed. Liberalism derived from the word liberty is a form of that has two forms, classical and modern. Classical liberalism heavily rooted from Jock Locke and Adam Smith of the seventeenth and eighteenth century. Modern liberalism introduced around the nineteenth century uses classical liberalism as a structured base with some modified theorists from Jane Adams and T. H. Green.
Socialism introduced around the early nineteenth century is another form of government which is similar yet different than liberalism. Socialists deriving from the word society, believe in meeting basic needs of the entire society. Socialism has two types as well which include Marxism-Leninism and social democracy. Socialists and liberals share similar positions on many social issues such as civil rights, gay rights and gender equality. They oppose racism and sexism as well as keep religion out of the government. Both forms of government support Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, minimum wage as well as other laws and regulations aimed at helping poor and working people.
Classical and modern liberalism differ in slight but significant ways. In classical liberalism, the people are more important than the state. The people have their own rights and the government made it it’s duty to protect and enforce the people’s rights. One of the significant powers given to the people under this form of government is it gives individuals the power of autonomy. Another difference is the economic inequality which encourages those at the bottom of the economy to work harder. Classical liberalism also encourages the economic freedom to freely sell services. Modern liberalism was tweaked to look at economics from a social point of view. There is welfare to help those with lower incomes, this created more opportunity for equality in the social workforce. These tweaks gave the government views of being more involved with individuals and social life to prevent people from denying freedom to others. Modern liberalism looks at liberty from a broader view. It seeks out ways to hone human potentials and contribute to the society.
Socialism is a form of government that wants to improve its economic system. An economic system controlled by the people and based on the needs of the planet and its population rather than people who do for themselves. Socialists want to get rid of the corruption that the rich seem to get, when people acquire great wealth. In order for this to be attained socialists, believe that by granting the state total economic and political power economic progress and equality among citizens be attained.
Even though liberalism and socialism share many of the same positions they do fifer in many areas of their beliefs. In conclusion classical liberalism believes that the state should ensure that citizens can freely benefit from that particular institution’s services. Classical liberalism government believe that it does not need to thoroughly enforce its law in order to reach economic progress and equality, and that the state should only take over an institution to ensure that citizens can freely benefit from that particular institution’s services. Socialistic government believe that only by granting the state total economic and political power can economic progress and equality among citizens be attained.