Essay Sample on Liberalism: Protecting People's Interests in Politics

Introduction

Liberalism is a moral and political philosophy that is concerned with protecting the interests of the people when it comes to representation in political affairs. The liberalist wants politics to be focused on the people. The government needs to come up with the necessary steps to protect the people from the threat of self-interests. Liberalism is concerned with democracy by advocating for free and fair elections where the people are allowed to elect people that they want in leadership positions. On the other hand, realism is an art that represents the main thing that the people want without adhering to the artistic conventions.

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There is a history of liberalism in Latin America because of the history of the revolution and colonization of the countries. Liberalism was formed after the colonization of Latin American countries where the people wanted to liberate themselves from the colonialists (Mahon, 2016). The ideology of the people changed because the people began to recognize the importance of deciding on political leadership that they wanted because the native people know the challenges that the people face. Some conflicts come up in Latin America between liberalism and realism. The difference in political views resulted in divisions among the leaders who had different views on the direction that the country takes.

The challenge of liberalism in Latin America was because of the liberal ideas of the political leaders to bring change that the leaders wanted to see in their countries (Wade, 2017). The liberal activists that wanted change in Latin America in terms of the changes that they wanted to see to the formation of a new society that would shape the development people needed from the challenges brought by colonists. The divisions among the leaders in Latin America led to political theorists and philosophers that advocated for a different type of leadership and the things that they wanted to see in terms of change in leadership.

There was a great difference between how the liberals wanted the state to be governed from how the realist wanted the state to be governed. The difference in opinions between the two groups is what brought the challenge between the two groups. The colonizers had an influence on how they wanted Latin America to be governed in an attempt to protect their interests (Mahon, 2016). The conflict of interests led to decades of political conflicts between political leaders that had different ideologies that they could not believe in. The opposing sides rejected any attempt by other groups to form a government that did not embrace their ideology (Wade, 2017). The differences experienced back then continue to reflect up to today where there is political Imbalance because the people do not agree on the way forward that the countries will take. The frustrations have created political conflicts among the people.

Liberalism as more influence that realism in Latin America because it advocates for the idea of popular sovereignty, liberty, and equality of all the people regardless of the position of the person in society. The history of the people influenced the stand of the people where they had experienced bad things in the past, such as slavery and class stratification; hence, the people tend to have a believer that will advocate for their rights and equality in society. The changes that the people wanted to see were aligned to past experiences; hence, they wanted a political leadership that would address their challenges. The conflict between the liberals and the realists has been attributed to be among the main causes of conflict because the leaders use the people to advocate for their desire to get into leadership positions.

On the other hand, realism as assumptions that make it not to be the perfect solution to the challenges that the people from Latin America wanted to see. The assumptions include that the people are united without conflicts; there is a group of Latin Americans that believed there was conflict in the society (Fawcett, 2018). The politics of Latin American countries are led by dictators who don't want to listen to the views of other stakeholders because they want to remain in leadership positions for long periods.

International relations theories help us understand the functioning of international systems. Different international relations theories help the diplomats and experts in international relations to decide the direction that the government may take in international issues. Liberalism and realism are theories that are very critical in the international relations of any country. Professionals in international relations adopt these key theories.

Realism in international relations is a school of thought that is based on conflictual and competitiveness (Doyle, 2018). In the realism theory, the first assumption is that the state is the primary actor in international relations. The state has more power than other stakeholders, such as organizations and individuals. The power and contribution of individuals and non-governmental organizations are limited. The second assumption is that the state is the unitary actor; hence, the reason why during war or any crisis, the state acts with one voice.

In realism theory, the decision-makers are rational actors, and the decisions they make are for the interest of the nation (Doyle, 2018). The decision-makers ensure that the decisions they make do not make the state vulnerable or weak but instead are for the overall interest of the state. With the realism theory, political orientation and persuasion do not matter, and all leaders work to ensure the affairs of the state are in order, and this helps in surviving the competition.

Realism implies that it is not always possible to fulfill the national interests morally, so violence and deceit are tools that can be used to achieve national interests (Doyle, 2018). In the United States, international relations and foreign policy realism are gradually becoming extinct, with few leaders influence the state interests.

Both the democrats and republicans believe in liberal idealism theory. In the presidency, realism may not be the best approach to dealing with international affairs since it is not easy to reconcile leaders from both parties to think and make decisions unanimously. Realism theory helps us understand why different states might have similar ideologies (Doyle, 2018). The Soviet Union and the United States, for example, had similar international behaviors such as the assassination of foreign leaders as well creation of weapons.

The realism theory assumes that the states take care of their interests (Doyle, 2018). Latin American states such as Mexico adopt a liberalism approach to international relations with countries such as the United States of America. Their foreign policies are not anchored towards their interests but to those of other countries as well. In international relations, each country should strive to create foreign policies that facilitate the growth of the countries. For example, for Mexico to benefit from the United States, they must have something to offer. Sometimes it becomes challenging for leaders from different countries to agree on some issues unanimously; hence, the reason why a realist approach to foreign policy is sometimes not applicable.

In realism, the decision-makers are not so much concerned with the details, and they regard explanations as unnecessary (Doyle, 2018). The government is not dedicated to understanding the details of the problem, but they focus on decision making. The decision is based on the interests of the state and the implications.

Today, the majority of the countries, including Latin America, are shifting away from the realism ideologists. The emphasis of the theory on violence is now considered irrelevant and outdated. The realism theory of international relations does not promote interconnection between the states and societies. In international relations, contact and mutual benefit and understanding are important for long term engagement with countries. With self-interests in the center stage, the economic goals are unlikely to be realized (Cohn, 2016). The economic and social interconnection is very important in international relations, so the best theory of foreign policy is that which takes care of different aspects of a state.

Conclusion

In conclusion, both liberalism and realism philosophies have their strengths and weaknesses if political leaders embrace them. Latin American countries have embraced liberalism more than realism based on the history of the people where they want leadership that can protect their rights. People from Latin America have been advocating for leadership where their interest is the priority of the leaders.

References

Cohn, T. H. (2016). Global political economy: Theory and practice. Routledge.

Doyle, M. W. (2018). New thinking in international relations theory. Routledge.

Fawcett, E. (2018). Liberalism: the life of an idea. Princeton University Press.

Mahon, J. (2016). Theories of Fiscal Politics, States, and Liberalism in Latin America. Williams College (forthcoming).

Wade, P. (2017). Liberalism and its contradictions: democracy and hierarchy in mestizaje and genomics in Latin America. Latin American Research Review, 52(4).