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The word “liberal” has been bandied about quite a lot
lately. Most of the time the term is criticised for something completely
unrelated to what the word actually means. There are also many cases of people
being labelled as liberals when they are not.
Clearing the confusion surrounding liberalism is not
easy. But we have to start somewhere. So let me try.
The word ‘liberal’ has been abused so much that, in some
cases, the meaning has been greatly distorted. In America, the word has been
stolen by those who generally believe in greater state intervention (e.g.
Obama’s Democratic Party). In Malaysia, some have been trying to associate
liberalism with Pakatan Rakyat. Neither of these represents liberalism in the
classical sense. In Malaysia, none of our mainstream political parties have a
coherent philosophical foundation, while in the US, the Democrats are on the
left.
Classical liberalism is usually used in Europe to
describe a political philosophy that in the United States would be called
libertarianism. Of course there are differences in the details, but for the
purpose of this article, let us simplify the discussion and use liberalism and
libertarianism interchangeably.
A libertarian’s most basic belief could be traced back to
the Abrahamic and Greek idea of a “higher law”, a law by which everyone,
including the ruling elites, could be judged. The advent of Islam strengthened
this belief, and reinforced the idea that those in positions of power are not
the ultimate source of authority. They too are subject to the law.
Libertarians believe in the “rule of law”, not the lack
of rules and laws. Libertarianism is a call for everyone to be subject to the
same set of rules, with no one being above the law. This is the best safeguard
that we have against dictatorship and totalitarianism.
Rule of law calls for equality between the ruled and the
ruler. Since the ruling elite holds the key to coercive power – such as the
ability to legislate, and control of the armed forces and the police – it is
very important that their powers are limited.
If the ruling elites have unlimited powers to legislate
and dictate, we will quickly descend into the rule of men. Hence we need a
“limited government”, which is another important principle of liberalism.
The government is an institution to which citizens
delegate the authority to rule. It is this delegation that gives government its
power. But the government is such a powerful institution that it can easily
become a dangerous one, especially when it coerces citizens into obedience.
To prevent government coercion, the roles and powers of
the government must be limited, usually through a written constitution that
both enumerates and limits executive power with checks and balances.
This is an important point. The ruling elite exists because
we the citizens empower them. The rakyat is the true master, and those in power
are the servants. Not the other way round. We must do all that we can to
prevent anyone in power from behaving like kings and this is why we must demand
a limited government.
The concept of limited government implies the need to
respect “individual liberty and responsibility”. Individuals are free to choose
how they live their lives as long as they do no harm to others, and they must
be responsible for what they do. The religious ones must be free to practice
their religions, while those who are not must be free to be so too.
Islam tells Muslims to be among the most liberal in this
sense. In the Golden Age of Islam, a Muslim leader Rubi’e bin Amir proudly told
Persian General Rustom that Islam was sent to free mankind from servitude to
other men so that they serve only God. Of course, the rise of a new generation
of human gods in Islam (and in other religions) deserves a treatment on its
own, but we must be careful to distinguish the principles from the practice.
Perhaps most importantly, the concept of individual
liberty demands that those in power must not encroach into what is private to
the individuals. The government should only step in when individuals do harm to
others, but otherwise they should leave us alone. (See: The Liberty Manifesto)
It is well known that liberals support free markets. But
many are confused about why this is so. Some accuse free marketeers as
supporting inequality between the haves and the have-nots. And others confuse
between the actions of capitalists and principles of capitalism.
Libertarians support the free market capitalism because
it is the only system that respects human dignity. The free market is the only
system that truly gives people choice and prevents cronyism. In a free market,
businesses have to compete to please the rakyat, the consumers. But in a
non-free market, businessmen can ignore the rakyat because all they need to do
is to collude with politicians to gain favourable treatments and subsidies.
A non-free market system victimises the rakyat because it
denies our freedom to choose. And more often than not, systems other than the
free market result in the privatisation of profits and nationalisation of
losses. All the cronyism, nepotism and corruption that we see around the world
are almost always the result of collusions between politicians and businessmen,
which can only happen when the economy is not free and this is exactly what the
free market want to eradicate.
In short, and at a great risk of oversimplifying a
complex issue, being a liberal or a libertarian means believing in the rule of
law, limited government, individual liberty and responsibility, and the free
market. (See:
Philosophy of IDEAS)
The next time someone accuses liberalism of this and
that, I urge you firstly judge whether that person knows what he is talking
about or not. We need to spot those who more often than not talk nonsense, and
expose them for their ignorance.
See also:
Think tanks for liberty 1: IDEAS Malaysia, February 02, 2011
IDEAS 2: Wan Saiful Talk in Manila, September 9, September 07, 2013
IDEAS 3: Wan Saiful's Presentation in Manila, September 11, 2013
IDEAS 4: Photos of Wan Saiful's Talk on the Politics and Economy of Malaysia, September 12, 2013
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