1822.Some Thoughts

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Some Thoughts 011 Liberalism* The first principle of liberalis111 is that human beings are and ought to be free; that they all have a right to freedom; and that the proper business of governlnent is to secure their right and to promote their freedom.

The first principle of de1110cratic liberalism is that hUIuan beings are and ought to be equally free; that they all have a right to equal freedom; and that the proper business of goverrlluent is to secure their right and to prOluote their equal freedom.

The history of liberalism, including deIuocratic liberalisIu, has been

detenuined, above all, by two fundaluental changes:

understanding of

political freedo111 and a share in goverrlluent to including the right to all

basic requireluents of human security and development necessary to personal

dignity and equal opportunity; and (2) an expanding understanding of

scope of democracy-frolu

as citizens to including all adults as citizens regardless of race, property, and .gender.

The deIuocratic liberal principle of equal freedolu, and so also equal respect requires a systelu of rights, which protect the

But, then, a necessary condition of there being fundaluental (huluan, or inalienable) rights is that there be a distinction between what the govcnlluent (In a deIuocracy, the Iuajority) believes to be so and what really is so. Consequently, a necessary condition for citizens to(1) an expanding the right to freedom-from including solely the right to the including only white, propertied, and male adults citizens~ freedolu to pursue their own lives as much as possible as they themselves see fit. Such rights can be fundaluental or nonfundaluental, Iuatters of principle or Inatters of policy. A fundamental right that is a matter of principle (also called a "hulllan right/' or an "inalienable" right) is justified either because it is necessary out of the basic respect due to any human being or because it is constitutive of any political systelu that accords such basic respect. A nonfundalllental right, on the other hand, is a matter of policy and is justified as a l1lCanS to a worthwhile social goal. believe that they have 2fundanl.ental rights is that they also believe that there is a difference between vvhat the luajority believes and what is really the case.

On the other hand, believing in any particular theory of fundamental rights, such as the theory of the American founders that there are inalienable rights because there are rights that are natural and God-given, is

("-After studying Paul Starr,not a necessary condition of believing that one has fundanl.ental rights. All that is necessary in order to believe that is to believe that the proposition, "Every person has fundaluental rights that she or he cannot lose," is aluong the propositions that are somehow objectively true, whatever anyone mayor 111.ay not believe, including whatever any governluent or majority mayor Ill.ay not believe. Freedom's Power, and Michael Lynch, True to Life) 21 Noveluber 2007