Question

1. What were some conservative critiques of the liberal state and contemporary social liberation movements, naming some of the key figures of the movement?

Answer 1

Liberalism can be defined in numerous ways, but the most broad and accepted definition of the term refers to the idea of individualism and the freedoms associated with being a rational and uninhibited human being. It is the fundamental belief that individuals have a right to pursue their own goals and embrace their liberty, as long as their pursuit of freedom does not harm others or impinge on their freedom. Liberalism has numerous advantages for the individual and the community.

Liberalism became a distinct movement in the Age of Enlightenment, when it became popular among Western philosophers and economists. Liberalism sought to replace the norms of hereditary privilege, state religion, absolute monarchy, the divine right of kings and traditional conservatism with representative democracy and the rule of law.

1. Liberation of Individual Over the State
   • Liberalism, a term normally used upon the founding of the country, divorced the relationship between the individual and the state. Whereas the prevailing concepts of the time held that an individual was property of the state, the founding fathers sought to utilize liberalism to give individuals their own rights that were independent of the state.
2. Promotion of Freedoms
   • Because liberalism upholds individual rights, one great advantage is its guarantee of certain freedoms. Freedom to vote, speak a person's mind, publish government criticisms, protest and own weapons are all associated with the rights of an individual. Liberalism's main tenant is that individuals may do as they please as long as it does not harm others or affect their freedom, and these rights are the advantages of such a belief system.
3. Associations with Progress
   • Liberalism is frequently borrowed by certain parties that emphasize their liberal aspects. For example, the Democratic Party in the United States often purports a liberal ideology. Proponents of the party may use the term to uphold certain individual rights, but it may also be used to connote progress. The term liberalism often implies progress because it seeks to constantly reevaluate the overbearing presences of the government, always trying to bring the power back to the individual. The advantage of liberalism is that it is forward-looking in this way, as it promotes future change instead of being stuck in tradition.
4. Respects Minorities
   • One of the great aspects of liberalism is its capacity to respect minorities and minority traditions. Liberalism promotes equal rights for all, whether they be Ku Klux Klan members, gay rights activists, Muslims or college students. Regardless of demographics or beliefs, liberalism holds that individuals deserve to practice their own beliefs as long as it does not limit the freedom of others. A lot of notions of democracy come from this concept of liberalism, in which people are given certain rights to practice their viewpoints.

A liberation movement is a type of social movement that seeks territorial independence or enhanced political or cultural autonomy (or rights of various types) within an existing nation-state for a particular national, ethnic, or racial group.

The National Liberation Movement came out of the resistance of workers in the colonies in the wake of the Russian Revolution, generally inspired and led by the Comintern, and swept across the “Third World” following the Second World War, culminating in the defeat of the US in Vietnam in 1975.

THERE ARE TWO TYPES OF LIBERATION MOVEMENTS EXPLAINES AS FOLLOWING:-

Some national liberation movements are based on identification with and loyalty to a population and “its” state (or prospective state), regardless of the ethnic or racial composition of this population. The national feeling and identity underlying such movements is sometimes called “civic nationalism.” For example, the leading liberation organization in South Africa, the African National Congress (ANC), has long advocated a policy of “nonracialism” (in effect, multiracialism), maintaining that South Africa belongs to all people who live there, whatever their race or tribe. Nationalism in the United States is also generally understood as civic in nature, although ethnic and especially racial nationalism (white and black) has often competed with this understanding.