Individualism

• Individualism


  Belief that all individuals are unique, equal and capable of self-realisation
• Individualism sits at the core of liberal ideology and shapes how liberals view human nature, society and the state
• John Stuart Mill: 'Over his own body and mind, the individual is sovereign'
• Both classical and modern liberals agree on the primacy of individualism
• Individual rights


  More important than any group or collective rights
• Classical liberals


  • Rejected religious conformity and monarchical rule and advocated for natural rights, equality and government by consent
• Modern liberals


  • Influenced by industrialisation and advocated for the state to play a greater role to facilitate social justice and individual development
• Egotistical individualism


  Individuals are self-seeking and self-reliant and should be left alone to help themselves
• Developmental individualism


  Individuals all possess the same potential for self-realisation and development but may require assistance in order for this to be realised
• All liberals view humans as unique individuals, capable of self development
• According to liberals, all individuals possess natural rights from birth, including a right to 'life, liberty and property'
• Individualism creates an optimistic view of human nature, underpinned by a belief that all humans are rational and capable of self-development
• Classical liberals believe in egotistical individualism, regarding humans as entirely self-seeking and self-sufficient
• Modern liberals believe that an individual's potential could be limited by circumstance and therefore help was necessary for self-realisation in developmental individualism.
• John Locke: 'Men being, as has been said, by nature, all free, equal and independent, no one can be put out of this estate, and subjected to the political power of another, without his own consent'
• Mary Wollstonecraft: 'I do not wish women to have power over men; but over themselves'
• John Stuart Mill: 'Over himself, over his own body and mind, the individual is sovereign'
• John Rawls: 'Each person is to have an equal right to the most extensive basic liberty compatible with a similar liberty for others'
• Betty Friedan: 'The only way for a woman, as for a man, to find herself, to know herself as a person, is by creative work of her own. There is no other way'
• According to liberals, society is a collection of individuals and only exists as an aggregation of individual rights
• Classical liberals promote a society that is tolerant of others, largely expressed in terms of tolerance for religious minorities
• Modern liberals have promoted the rights of various minority groups throughout the twentieth century
• For classical liberals, society is atomistic, meaning it is composed of self-seeking individuals pursuing their own interests, who require little more than freedom from restraint (negative freedom) to do this
• Modern liberals promote a society in which individuals collaborate to achieve social justice so that the potential of all individuals can be developed (positive freedom)
• Liberals hold a mechanistic view of the state, believing that the state is a human construct, created to serve the interests of individuals
• According to John Locke, individuals enter a social contract with the state, but the people remain sovereign and individual rights take precedence over the state which only exists with their consent
• Classical liberals believe that a limited state is the best way to facilitate individualism, as any intervention by the state will limit individual freedom and autonomy
• Modern liberals support a more interventionist or enabling state, as state intervention is necessary for individuals to fulfil their potential
• Classical and modern liberals do not agree on the means by which society and the state should protect and facilitate individualism
• At the heart of this disagreement between classical and modern liberals are the contrasting views on human nature, with classical liberals believing in egotistical individualism and modern liberals advocating developmental individualism