GROWTH OF LIBERALISM

Classical liberalism: Liberalism rose as a reaction against the absolute authority of the State, Church and the Feudal Lords in the sixteenth century. It was largely the product of the age of Reformation, science and individualism and represented the changed thinking which characterized the then society. It laid emphasis on the need to remove obstacles in the path of human progress and to break up the bondage of man that society and Government had imposed and to free the enormous potential that were present in man The concept of Liberalism was further developed and consolidated during the 17th and 18th centuries. Some of the prominent philosophers who rendered
valuable service in this regard include Locke, Montesquieu, Thomas Paine, Hobbes and Rousseau etc.

Liberalism received its most detailed and lucid expression in the writings of John Locke who is often described as the father of the liberal political philosophy. He was a strong proponent of constitutional government and made a strong plea for limiting the sovereignty of the State through grant of rights to the individual. After Locke, Montesquieu, Thomas Paine, Bentham, Rousseau and a number of other thinkers carried the liberal philosophy further.
The Liberalism of this age is known as classical liberalism which was negative
in character. It not only viewed freedom as absence of restraints but also envisaged it only for the capitalist or propertied classes and did not care for the common people. It treated the State as an artificial institution which came into existence with the consent of the individual. To the liberal thinkers state was a necessary evil and the state which performed minimal functions was the best. In the economic sphere it defended the right to private property and pleaded for the
principle of free trade. Classical liberalism believed in the doctrine of Laissez-
faire (meaning ―leave alone‖ ) which opposed government interference in
economic affairs and gave maximum freedom to the invidual in the economic
sphere.

Positive Liberalism: The concept of negative liberalism in the sense of absence
of restraints flourished till the end of the nineteenth century when it suffered a
setback and was replaced by positive liberalism. By the last quarter of the
nineteenth century, it became evident that the unrestricted freedom granted to
the capitalists had resulted in another kind of barbarism viz. the exploitation of
the working class by the capitalists. This produced strong reaction and there was
a growing demand for improving the lot of the workers. It was emphasized that
the state must play a positive role.
The protagonists of positive liberalism do not consider the state as a necessary
evil; rather they treat it as a positive instrument for the promotion of general
welfare of the community. They do not favour curtailment of state functions and
want it to participate in social, political, economic, cultural and other activities
in the general interest of the individual. Positive liberalism does not consider the
rights and liberties as natural and holds that the same are the creation of state.
All the rights have to be enjoyed in the social context and the state can restrict
them if they obstruct the welfare of the society. Positive liberalism favours
regulation and control of the economic life of the society in the larger interest of
the community.

Contemporary Liberalism: In the post World War-II period, further changes took place in the liberal philosophy. The new brand of liberal thought that emerged came to be are designated as contemporary liberalism. Contemporary liberalism arose chiefly with a view to save mankind from the tyranny of totalitarian system. It lays more and more emphasis on the personality of the individual and his social groups. It is generally directed against the state and treats it as little more than a federation of groups, a union of guilds or a community of communities which coordinates the activities of these groups and adjusts their conflicting claims. According to David G. Smith, ― contemporary liberalism has faith in the value of free expression of individual
personality, men's ability to make that expression valuable to themselves and to
the society and the upholding of those institutions and policies that protect and
foster both free expressions and confidence in that freedom.

Some prominent scholars who made valuable contributions to the development of the contemporary liberalism include Schumpeter, Robert Dahl, Chapman, Rawls etc. Schumpeter holds that the democratic methods do not necessarily help in the realization of common good, because quite often they are used by the people to acquire the power to decide by means competitive struggles for people's vote. John Rawls also holds that inequalities are inevitable in any society and justice demands that all citizens should have a share in a society's wealth and enjoy equal economic opportunities. Thus, all the contemporary liberal thinkers have emphasized that man is essentially a doer and should be able to exploit his potential to the full.

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