Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Friedrich Naumann Stiftung für die Freiheit
- Foreword
- Preface
- 1 The Evolution of the Liberal Idea
- 2 The Fundamentals of Liberalism
- 3 Historical Roots of South Asian Liberalism
- 4 Liberalism and Constitutionalism: Parliament and the Judiciary
- 5 The Market Economy and Welfare: An Introductory Note
- 6 Grassroots Capitalism: A Glimpse of the Unrecognised India
- 7 Empowering the Poor: A Liberal Approach to Education Reforms
- 8 Not by Religion Alone: Aspects of Pakistani Society
- 9 An Appraisal of Economic Liberalisation in Pakistan
- 10 Religion and Culture in the Liberal State
- 11 Social Freedom in the Liberal State
- 12 The Future of Liberalism in South Asia
- Select Bibliography
- Notes on Contributors
5 - The Market Economy and Welfare: An Introductory Note
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 November 2011
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Friedrich Naumann Stiftung für die Freiheit
- Foreword
- Preface
- 1 The Evolution of the Liberal Idea
- 2 The Fundamentals of Liberalism
- 3 Historical Roots of South Asian Liberalism
- 4 Liberalism and Constitutionalism: Parliament and the Judiciary
- 5 The Market Economy and Welfare: An Introductory Note
- 6 Grassroots Capitalism: A Glimpse of the Unrecognised India
- 7 Empowering the Poor: A Liberal Approach to Education Reforms
- 8 Not by Religion Alone: Aspects of Pakistani Society
- 9 An Appraisal of Economic Liberalisation in Pakistan
- 10 Religion and Culture in the Liberal State
- 11 Social Freedom in the Liberal State
- 12 The Future of Liberalism in South Asia
- Select Bibliography
- Notes on Contributors
Summary
The liberal view on the market economy is not guided by economic theory but by ideological commitment. It is therefore necessary to understand at the outset that a liberal would base his economics on the political commitment to maximise individual liberty. This is because, crucially, for liberals the most important political value is a fundamental commitment to individual liberty.
Classical liberals were unequivocal in their belief that it was a minimal degree of state intervention that would optimise individual liberty. It is well known that classical liberals such as David Ricardo, John Locke and Adam Smith were in favour of the laissez-faire economy. Indeed from the seventeenth century onwards, when John Locke wrote his Two Treatises of Government, the advocacy of the market economy and the support of individual liberty have been inextricably linked. This, certainly, is a tendency that continues to the present day.
However, the nineteenth century saw divisions within liberalism on the extent of state intervention required in a liberal society. While even revisionist liberals such as Mill and de Tocqueville were in principle advocates of market economics, others were suspicious of it. In his Lectures on the Principles of Political Obligation, the Oxford philosopher TH Green developed a new, interventionist form of liberalism which he believed could, in fact, enhance the liberty of individuals. He declared categorically that the state could, by appropriate intervention, enable individuals to exercise their liberty successfully, and that the state indeed had a moral obligation to create the conditions in which individual liberty was maximised.
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- Information
- Liberal Perspectives for South Asia , pp. 65 - 69Publisher: Foundation BooksPrint publication year: 2009