Global Journal of Human-Social Science, A: Arts and Humanities, Volume 22 Issue 8

Civil War (1642-1651), Thomas Hobbes writes Leviathan, one of the pillarsof modern political philosophy, in which he puts forward the idea of the social contract. The maturation of classical liberalism was pushed further by Anglo-Saxon thinkers such as John Locke, John Stuart Mill, Adam Smith, and James Madison, who builds upon the natural law tradition, especially the idea of inalienable rights. Classical liberalism is founded on the following six principles: 1 (1) Negative freedom : Freedom is about being able to live a life one wants without undue interference from the state and society. Liberals reject state absolutism, that is, the unlimited scopeof the state’s action which annihilates human freedom. A liberal state is like a night watchman or an umpire. It guarantees little else than public order and the rule of law which allow people to make their own choices about the way they want to live. Having provided basic public goods, a liberal state takes a step back to make room for individual freedoms and human agency. In that sense, liberalism recognizes the pre- political rights of each person. In the economic sense, classical liberalism is opposed to excessive state intervention in the natural development of economy which stifles personal freedom and initiative. (2) No harm principle : Individuals are allowed to live as they please as long as they do not harm others in society. Inflicting harm on others equals violating others’ right to be free and autonomous in a plural society. (3) Social contract : The state does not have either divine or any other superior authority over individual citizens. The state is a man-made invention that consists of a series of norms, institutions, and agreements. The state is a contract that is established by representative democracy to safeguard negative freedoms The state is established to protect individual freedoms. The state’s prerogatives are limited, for the state that violates negative freedoms becomes a null social contract. (4) Human rights : Human rights are seen as non- negotiable, universal human goods that the state recognizes by law. Nevertheless, divisions persist among liberals regarding the basis of human rights. For some, human rights are pre-political, for they are part of human nature. For others, human rights are political, for they are privileges and benefits 1 (Abbagnano, 1998). (Law, 2007). (Garvey and Stangroom, 2012). (Kelly, 2013). established by the legislature in thefunction of social expectations that may change over time. (5) Pluralism : Being able to live a life of your own with minimal external interference implies a diversity of lifestyles. Liberals are in favor of pluralistic societies that bring together different world views, races, religions, cultures, and gender. Pluralism is a principal and an expression of liberalism at the same time. (6) Ordered liberty : Responsible moral conduct is a sine qua non condition that enables freedom. Liberalism is not about living a careless and predatory lifestyle. On the contrary, from Adam Smith onwards liberals have underlined the importance of responsible conduct. Even Milton Friedman, a much-vilified neoliberal thinker, points out that for-profit business activity is legitimate “so long it stays within the rules of the game, which is to say, engages in open and free competition without deception and fraud”(Friedman, 1970). Just these three simple postulates – free competition, no deception, no fraud – constitute a steep benchmark of business social responsibility. In addition, Friedman underlines the importance of individual responsibility. Whatever companies do or refrain from doing is an outcome of individual responsibility. Altogether, the classical liberal tradition is the basis of liberal market democracy, a model considered the gold standard of development since the Second World War. As for democracy, this model defines democracy beyond the representative government of the majority. In a liberal democracy, fair and representative elections are a necessary but not sufficient condition for full democratic life. Beyond elections, it also requires impartial rule of law, separation of powers, political checks and balance, and protections of political, social, and economic freedoms that promote social and economic pluralism. Liberal democracy allows for electoral uncertainty, and yet embeds it in a solid institutional framework that defends freedoms of the majority and minorities . 2 2 (Levitzky and Ziblatt, 2019) (Linz,1996) (Linz, 2000) However, illiberal populist regimes question the need to maintain this democratic scaffolding that guarantees majority rule and minority rights. They maintain the relevance of elections and the direct participation of the "people", but question other elements of democratic life. As a consequence, they transform liberal market democracy into illiberal democracy with elements of market economy, as follows (Zakaria, 1997): Volume XXII Issue VIII Version I 2 ( ) Global Journal of Human Social Science - Year 2022 © 2022 Global Journals A Catholic Liberalism: An Anti-Populist Proposal