Minimal State Liberals Active State Liberals A Critical Discussion

Minimal State Liberals Active State Liberals A Critical Discussion Both welfare and neo-classical liberals share some similarities arising from the fact they were born from the same set of ideals, but they also have their differing viewpoints that to a large extent stem from their divergent reactions to the social effects of the Industrial Revolution.Advertising We will write a custom critical writing sample on Minimal State Liberals Active State Liberals: A Critical Discussion specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In similarities, it is clear both welfare and neo-classical liberals believe in the value and promotion of individual liberty and a desire for a more open and tolerant society, not mentioning that they are guided by the twin elements of individual rational self interest and competition in their attempts to promote self interest (Dolbeare Cummings, 2009). Extant literature, however, demonstrates that the two political ideologies differ on very key issues that were pushed into the limelight by the social effects of the Industrial Revolution. Borrowing heavily on Darwin’s Theory of evolution, the neo-classical liberals, also referred to as minimal-state liberals, argue that people should not invest too much power in the government as such a move would obstruct the realization of individual liberty. Indeed, the neo-classical liberals suggest that â€Å"†¦the state or government should be nothing more than a night watchman whose only legitimate business is to protect the person and property of individuals against force and fraud† (Dolbeare Cummings, 2009 p. 71). Arising from this description, it is also clear that neo-classical liberals support minimal regulations in the pursuit of economic competition. The welfare liberals (also called the active-state liberals), however, argue from the perspective that the government should play a bigger role in ensuring the liberty of people by rescuing them from social ills such as poverty, ignorance and illness. Addi tionally, while neoclassical liberals reinforce the perspective that the strongest, smartest and most fit will survival in the competition at the expense of the poor and the weak, the welfare liberals are more concerned with ensuring that every person in the society enjoys an equal opportunity in life (Dolbeare Cummings, 2009). In the United States, it is clear that these differences led to the formation of the republican political ideology arising from neo-classical liberals set of ideals and democrat political dispensation arising from the welfare liberals set of idealsAdvertising Looking for critical writing on political sciences? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More It can be argued that the neo-classical liberals are more conservative than the welfare state liberals due to their quest to put in place a society that leans more toward the protection of property and its propensity to argue from the social Darwinism ori entation that only the strongest and the hardest working will survive. Neo-classical liberals come out strongly as more conservative than active-state liberals as they seem oriented to ‘conserve’ or ‘preserve’ the status quo by fighting for minimal government interference with private property. In a sense, it appears correct to argue that neo-classical liberals seem to hold a much higher value on private property and material wealth than on guaranteeing that people are assisted to achieve their liberty and full potential by providing them with a totally new framework and political dispensation to deal with a multiplicity of social ills bedeviling society, including poverty, ignorance and illness (Dolbeare Cummings, 2009). Lastly, it is correct to argue that neo-classical and welfare liberals exercise ideological and political philosophies that are clearly different from classical conservatism. While both neo-classical and welfare liberals believe in ration al human behavior guided by the value and promotion of individual liberty, classical conservatives are of the opinion that political society develops over time out of custom and human society, and that people’s capacity to reason is severely limited. Reference Dolbeare, K.M., Cummings, M.S. (2009). American political thought (6th ed.). Washington, DC: CQ Press.