Global history shows that liberalism is not a "Western" set of ideas and behaviours
When I was active as a liberal in the Liberal Party in Sweden, as well as an individual member of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE), from time to time would meet liberals saying things as “Western civilization” or “Western values”. In such situations, I made arguments and opinions saying that there are no different civilizations today due to the Internet and globalization and that term Western is often used in arbitrary and mythological ways, including in anti-liberal ways.
Many people often think and feel that “the West” = USA, Europe, Christianity, capitalism, markets, individualism, etc. Another of my experiences is reading and hearing that “the West” = being socially conservative and market-liberal - a very strange and flawed position. Because ideas with social and institutional influence through modern histories such as socialism, social democracy, environmentalism, and communism, were mainly developed in “Western” parts such as North America and Europe.
Another reason for my objection against claims that certain idea or behavior is “Western” is because I have read literature about human rights, including the article written by India-based liberal thinker and economist Amartya Sen, who responded to claims of politicians in Asia that universal human rights are “Western” and not compatible with “Asian values”. One of Sen's main arguments was that ideas similar to the modern understanding and sense about human rights existed earlier in our history worldwide.
Universal values and behaviors exist not only because of our social world but also because of our biological world as human nature, psychology and morality. One can say that, in principle, all humans can have the same values, and the difference is more about how, when, and why we use those values, at which levels, and for which ambitions.
People who really believe in things like “Western civilization”, as the racist and right-wing collectivist intellectual Douglas Murray, are often individuals who do not see other people as individuals nor humanity as a global and human civilization. Instead, such thinkers and individuals want to put people in imaginary boxes and divide us by civilisationist, racist and nationalist behaviors.
I am mainly writing this post because I recently read the book “Classical liberalism. A Primer” by Eamonn Butler. I am not a fan of Butler’s political behaviors in general due to his support for Brexit and British nationalism. At the same time, I do respect much of his writings about liberalism and he is still seen as one of the main active liberal thinkers in the UK and among more global public.
The book contains several statements about liberalism regarding humanity and global history. Examples such as:
And the one mentioned at the beginning of the article:
By understanding liberalism as a historical construct and set of ideas based on universal human behaviors, it is easier to feel connected to our planet, global history, and insights that humans have been reasoning about similar ideas, values, and behaviors worldwide. This party explains why aspects such as markets, tolerance and openness have proven better than centralized planned economics, intolerance, and isolation.
The book can be downloaded for free via the UK-based (neo)-liberal think-tank Institute for Economic Affairs. If you have any thoughts about the book, please make some comments.
Thanks for reading. You can support and reward my writing via:
Pay Pal – lauvlad89@gmail.com
Seeds – vladlausevic
Skycoin – ZxjhWMJRbTNCRQzy5MekZzH4fhdWFCqBP8
Bitcoin 3HbxyDXE9MhNQ8RqsirqgYvFupQzh5Xby2
Swish – 0762345677
Tezos — tz1QrRzkTAKuPKF8dmGW6c1ScEHBUGvoiJBM
Cardano – addr1q9vfs6nqz4xmtnpljwhv4tukyskd2g7enxd87rpugkwwvfun5pnla5d5tes2mvurrc77e7837yd0scrfk063qlha8wgs8d4ynz