Principles of Liberalism
OOnce the Iron Curtain fell in early 1990 Francis Fukuyama was predicting that from then onwards all countries would strive towards no other political system than liberal democracy and that its principles would gradually conquer the globe.
During the 25 years since Fukuyama’s prediction of “the end of history,” we have seen acute consequences of free-market capitalism, East Asian and Islamic states continuously rejecting liberal democracy, and the development of extremist political movements defined by denunciations of the principles of liberalism. So, does liberalism match today’s reality or does it offer a completely wrong, or unrealistic or outdated perception of the world?
Liberals believe that states’ legitimate political orders have the capacity to decrease and eventually eliminate global conflict. Liberal states based on civil rights, private property and representative government are assumed to be less prone to conflict and more to expanding their political power through political and economic co-operation. Still, although liberal democracies are indeed less inclined to use force to resolve conflicting interests, at the same time their international alliances fail to ensure peace. The United Nations Security Council has the right to decide on a humanitarian intervention as an ultimate measure to create peace. Nevertheless, as the 21st century examples of Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and Syria show both the interventions and the lack of thereof are contingent on political agendas of the great powers.
Free-trade capitalism was perceived as nourishing international co-operation and, consequently, international alliances. The creation of the Bretton Woods system and the World Trade Organisation to ensure economic stability and regulate trade tariffs at the global level were underpinned by those perceptions.
For liberals globalisation of the world economy is a new phase of capitalism, and thus the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank keep on promoting the neoliberal principles of free-market and state non-interventionism. Whereas those policies may prove beneficial for well-established economies, the developing countries benefit more from protectionism and state involvement in economic growth. And still, in face of a financial crisis like the one in 2007 – the whole world economy needed to resort to governmental intervention to prevent a greater financial catastrophe.
Hence, are liberal principles compatible with the contemporary world? Yes, to an extent. States which have democratically elected governments and protect the rights of their citizens are, in general, less prone to international aggression. Furthermore, as members of international organisations, states broaden their conceptions of self-interest.
Also, with the growing number of international institutions, the range of global policies such as environmental protection, global finance and trade, and counter-terrorism expands. All those processes are embodiments of the principles of liberalism. Yet, if one takes into consideration that liberals believe that progress in human history can be measured by the elimination of global conflict – then the current state of affairs is still very far from the principles liberals are preaching.
Author: Daria Paprocka
