Without the rule of law, constitutions and laws are meaningless. Liberals, in short, believe in equality before the law and equality of opportunity. This is clearly unequal treatment.īut does equality also mean that everyone must get the same salary or live in the same kind of house? Liberals will say ‘no’, but will demand that all people must have the same opportunities to improve their lives – therefore liberals the emphasize to improving education for all. There are still places where, for example, what a woman has to say in a court counts only half as much as what a man has to say. In a court of law, for example, there can be no discrimination on the grounds of race (black or white) or gender (male or female) or religion (Christian or Muslim). All liberals will agree that equality means there can be no discrimination. As with other fundamental rights, there is debate about what exactly equality means. Of particular importance among the fundamental human rights is the right to equality. However, liberals are usually very much against limiting freedom of expression, or censorship, because it is often used by governments to suppress people and views that differ from what the government wants people to believe or say. Doing so would cause a panic and people would get hurt trying to get out. But what about freedom of expression? A famous example of a limitation here is that one cannot allow people to shout “fire” in a crowded theatre when there is no fire. The right to freedom from slavery is an absolute right that cannot be limited.
Respect for human rights is essential to social stability and peace while human rights abuses breed resentment, hatred and unrest.įundamental human rights, for example, are the right to human dignity, life, freedom from slavery, freedom of religion, freedom of belief, freedom of expression, freedom of association and so forth. They protect the individual as well as the freedom and dignity of that individual. Human rights are rights that the individual deserves to enjoy as a human being and member of a society. But what are the basic principles of liberalism and liberal democracy exactly? Human Rightsįirstly, there is a commitment to fundamental human rights.
#Economic freedom definition simple free
Liberalism, as the name implies, is the fundamental belief in a political ideal where individuals are free to pursue their own goals in their own ways provided they do not infringe on the equal liberty of others.
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