Paper Example on Liberalism in Modern-Day International Relations: Respect, Elections, Rights & Government

The liberal political ideology can be considered the most dominant political ideology in modern-day international relations and geopolitics. Through the 'liberal democracy' slogan, the liberal political ideology and system focus on respect for the rule of law, free and fair elections, and protection of civil and human rights. The liberalist theory has a variety of arguments and concepts on economic systems, institutions, and behavior that show connections on how the government works to ensure separation of powers and checks and balances to protect individual liberties. Compared to other political systems, realism focuses on a wider scope as it puts into perspective elements on international relations and world view geopolitics. The origin of the realist political ideology can be attributed to different historical readings in the realist scholarship. In this case, its origin can be traced back to the seventeenth century during the political turmoil in England. During the nineteenth century, the ideology was studied, and the main themes discussed and outlined in the concept. The limitations of the olden British liberalism became evident during the First World War, where it almost collapsed during the interwar period; however, the renaissance of the liberalism and the collapse of the soviet communism in the USSR made it an icon at the global scale. Most of the strongholds of liberalism originate from its ability to balance the quest for advancement with the protection of individual liberties; hence, liberalism is estimated as the future of democratic political ideologies.

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Initially, to understand the aspects that make are superior to the other political ideologies, it is vital to understand the vital elements that make up this ideology, including the morality of self-interest and mutual support and respect for individual liberties. In this case, while the driving force for a liberal philosophy is the need for self-interest, it drives the balancing of political power and institutional powers and interest in the society. Thus, the liberal political ideology is based on major themes that attribute to its superiority in avoiding tyranny and chaos in society. The eight major themes include:

Respect to individuals and their rights. Unlike its comparison, communism, liberalism places more focus on individuals as the root of the stronger goodwill of the whole society. Hence it approaches the topic from an ethical perspective. In addition, along with the positive attitudes to humans, the philosophy emphasizes the need for tolerance of individual differences and pluralism (Jost, Federico & Napier, 2009). Hence, encouraging diversity in opinions, the individuals’ freedom of choice, and realizing the value of societies that are made of cooperation and ethical competition. The superior aspect concerning the view of human rights concerns their innate and inherited state of human rights that one owns as a result of being born human. The government has the role of protecting and defending individual liberties. As witnessed in the United States Constitution, liberals are historical supporters of inclusive policy-making and rights in constitutions.

The second aspect can be derived from the perception’s optimistic view of humans in nature. Hence, unlike communism and the society that derive pride from the society, the liberalist ideology perceives individual human nature with little influence from cultures, the larger society, and history (Harrison & Boyd, 2003). This aspect can be applied to society is considered superior as it can apply to all kinds of societies in any social or economic development. The underlying slogan can be derived to dictate that human beings can think rationally if given chance and space to do so. Hence, through rationality and diversity in opinion, liberalist ideology plays an important role in societal progression.

The third aspect of this ideology's political strength can be denoted from its belief in human progression through cooperation and competition. Through the sovereignty of the individuals, groups, and nations, economic activities, thoughts, and expressions are made free to encourage logical and principled societies (Jost, Federico & Napier, 2009). Hence, with the presence of sensible frameworks of operations, societies are made free to flourish in the quest to improve the quality of life. A major example of this aspect realizes poverty to be an aspect that results from an unequal distribution of political power and property aspects that make up the primary limitations of freedom for the ‘common man.' Hence, for societal progression, there is a need to improve equality and fairness in society. This is unlike the communist and socialist fallacies that grant the power of solving equality and fairness aspects to the governments. In this case, the liberalist perception sounds more practical than all other political ideologies.

Further, based on the focus on individual liberties and individual freedom, the liberal ideology suggests the need for a limited government. Liberal societies 'suspect the state' as a threat to individual liberties. Hence, the need to regulate it as it is a people owned servant mandated with ensuring efficiency. In this case, institutions owned by the government should be structured for minimal risk as the primary principle to ensure the separation of powers between the various arms of government. Separation of powers is vital for society's existence as it helps avoid abuse of power by including arms that make sure of checks and balances government operation. This is one of the most superior aspects of liberalism as it makes sure the government is committed to serving the interests of its citizens. The ideology stresses the government's need to rule by consent for the legitimacy of its rule as it should be accountable to the interests of the group they govern. Hence the government is left with the role of protecting the nation from external threats. This aspect can be attributed to being the failure of many political ideologies that are, in most cases, prone to abuse of power due to lack of consent and transparency. For instance, the fall of communism in the USSR can be attributed to lack of consent and accountability in governance; in addition, the governments were too strong hence less consent in administration. This led the government to pressure other meaningless endeavors that do not serve the citizens (Lefort, 2007). Hence, the pressure for accountability and openness led to the fall of communism due to the lack of checks and balances in governance.

Finally, in economic perspectives, the liberal ideology favors private ownership of property in a free market economy. Hence, it upholds the need for individuals to be rewarded in the market based on their value and talents, hence allowing them to achieve their full human potential. In liberal economic systems, free trade, balanced work, free-market goods, labor, self-regulation, and services are some of the positive aspects that are strategic in improving economic efficiency and well-being of the private sector. These aspects create a free market where there exists the ‘theory of employment interest and money’ where the economy pumps money through taxes. Lastly, through a commitment to internationalism, the liberal ideology allows citizens to produce based on self-interest. Through international relations, political calm and improved choices play a vital role in improving security and sustainability (Lefort, 2007). Hence, liberalism is superior based on its sustainability plan. Unlike liberalism, communism and socialism increase government risks through the government being a player in the market, hence unsustainable for trade market security.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the core argument that makes the liberal political system a major political system compared to other ideologies is based on its focus on the small things that make up a peaceful nation (individual liberties). This political system focuses on governance while avoiding the concentration of uncontrollable violent political and military powers that may influence individual liberties. Hence, it argues for the utilization of both domestic and international institutions to restrain violent powers. In this case, the focus international-level organizations and institutions that work to limit nations' powers and foster cooperation by imposing sanctions and costs to nations that violate international commitments (Harrison & Boyd, 2003). On the other hand, ideology has economic institutions that are effectively used in fostering cooperation due to the benefits of economic interdependence on a global scale. Lastly, liberal norms are important in shaping the understanding of types of appropriate behaviors in public. To conclude, the modern liberalism political ideology cannot be considered part of the perfect theory that describes a world of peace and happiness. Instead, it provides realistic and firmly rooted evidence of a functional society based on theoretical traditions that foster cooperation and maintaining order.

References

Harrison, K., & Boyd, T. (2003). Understanding political ideas and movements. Manchester University Press.

Jost, J. T., Federico, C. M., & Napier, J. L. (2009). Political ideology: Its structure, functions, and elective affinities. Annual review of psychology, 60, 307-337.

Lefort, C. (2007). Complications: communism and the dilemmas of democracy. Columbia University Press.