The Principles of a Liberal Social Order 1

Bibliographic Data

ID23178366
AuthorsPaul Lewis (0000-0002-1459-3981, corresponding author)
Year2022
Pages272-291
Publication date2022-05-09
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeCHAPTER
VenueEssays on Liberalism and the Economy (SOURCE_BOOK)
PublisherRoutledge (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.4324/9781315734927-21
OpenAlexW4229376563
ISBN9781315734927
LanguageEN
Citations received14

Liberalism and democracy, although compatible, are not the same. The first is concerned with the extent of governmental power, the second with who holds this power. The difference is best seen if we consider their opposites: the opposite of liberalism is totalitarianism, while the opposite of democracy is authoritarianism. Liberalism thus derives from the discovery of a self-generating or spontaneous order in social affairs, an order which made it possible to utilise the knowledge and skill of all members of society to a much greater extent than would be possible in any order created by central direction, and the consequent desire to make as full use of these powerful spontaneous ordering forces as possible.

Economics · Order (exchange) · Political science · Politics · Social order · Sociology · Computer Science · Law · Political Economy and Marxism · Political Philosophy and Ethics

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