Ancient vs. Modern Freedom: Civil Society, Liberalism, and Socialism
Ancient and Modern Freedom
Freedom of the Ancients vs. Modern Freedom: The freedom of the ancients was rooted in participation in public affairs. A free man was considered a citizen, entitled to actively participate in the government of the polis, the political community.
Modern freedom emphasizes individual rights that society should respect. This gave rise to representative government, where the people do not govern directly, as in Athenian democracy, but through their representatives.
Civil Society
Civil Society: A set of institutions independent of the state.
Civil society and commercial society are composed of individuals motivated by self-interest and a propensity to exchange, resulting from the pursuit of mutual benefit.
Civil society functions as a system of needs, integrating economic needs, labor relations, trade associations, etc.
Political and Economic Liberalism
Political liberalism focuses on the idea that individuals should be free to follow their own preferences in religious, economic, and political affairs.
Economic liberalism advocates allowing the market to determine prices and allocate benefits.
Two Types of Socialism
Two forms of Socialism:
Scientific Socialism, supported by Karl Marx, rejects free-market principles and the liberal idea of a state with limited powers.
- Goals:
- Elimination of the market and socialization of the means of production.
- Abolition of private property and social class differences.
- Revolutionary destruction of the state.
Reformist Socialism, inspired by Lassalle, suggests state intervention without breaking its democratic and liberal foundations.
- Objectives:
- Subordinate the market to social needs.
- Control the economy, restricting private property.
- Socially distribute political power, strengthening the democratic state.
Liberal State
The first form of the modern state was the absolute monarchy of the ancien régime, where the king represented the sovereign will and his word was law. The liberal revolutions gave rise to new thinking, where all members of society are subject to the law emanating from popular sovereignty, leading to the concept of the rule of law.
Three principles of a modern state: freedom, equality, and security.
The basic functions of the liberal state are to protect the lives of its members while maintaining security.
- Reducing fear and uncertainty, promoting civil peace.
- Securing property rights and facilitating trade.
Democratic State
A constitutional state has a fundamental rule system. Liberalism is the inheritor of the republican tradition. To prevent abuse of power, the republican tradition implemented various elements: constitutionalism, separation of powers, and citizen participation.
Socialist Tradition
The socialist tradition seeks to establish material equality, ensuring equal economic and social conditions for all people. This leads socialism to control the market because, although it appears to correspond to individual freedom, the absence of equality oppresses some people over others.
Social State of Law
Concern for social equality addresses the demands of social justice for real equal opportunities.
In response to the problems of the economic system, the social state, like the welfare state, seeks to ensure the satisfaction of certain basic needs cost-effectively.
Social and Democratic State of Law
- A social state recognizes equality and works to ensure the economic, social, and cultural rights of the population through norms and institutions.
- A democratic state considers the people the origin of all public authorities.
- A rule of law subjects all persons to the constitution, respecting fundamental legal safeguards.