World History

Principles involved in liberalism include that of autonomy, in which it is posited that the individual is the best judge of his or her own interests. Another principle is the principle of equality, in that no individualÆs interests have more or less intrinsic value than those of anotherÆs. The principle of being free to pursue oneÆs own interests, so long as it does not harm the interests of another, is also involved in classical liberalism. A final core principle involved in classical liberalism is the belief that each individual should be held responsible for the consequences that stem from his or her actions.

In response to the economic and population-based pessimistic views of Thomas Malthus, who argued that ôhuman suffering and poverty were unavoidable, a natural result of overpopulationö, Jeremy Bentham proposed his view of utilitarianism (Cannistraro and Reich, 1999, 816). BenthamÆs theory of uti

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t the growing wealth and education in capitalistic societies created two kinds of individuals who are able to gain access to the public ear, i.e. policy formation. One kind is the communicators and the other kind is professional individuals positing theories outside their respective fields. As Brittan (2003) maintains, ôIn both cases they will go for the more plausible rather than the more profound ideas...they are easily tempted to go for the state-imposed solution to every problemö (2). The rise of wealth and access of power to the will of the people also worried Salvador de Madariaga, who argued that democracy thus fashioned was dangerous to individual liberty. As Madariaga wrote, ôA prodigious magician, called Rousseau, managed to case such a spell over the Insula Barataria, that everyone became at once governor and governed, and this enchanted and enchanting island be renamed Democracyö (Pope, 1988, 3). Individuality and liberty require tolerance. In On Liberty, Mill (1960) posits the notion that individuals will have different ideas of what makes them happy and different interests in forms of pleasure. These, in a free and tolerant society, will be shaped by character traits, perceptions and attitudes. As Mill (1960)
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