Social 30-1 · Related Issue 2
Resistance to liberalism
To what extent is resistance to liberalism justified? This issue is a story in three acts: liberalism arrives, people push back against what it does to them, and liberalism changes shape in response.
The thinkers behind classical liberalism
The idea: classical liberalism came out of the Enlightenment belief that individuals are rational, have rights by nature, and should be as free as possible from government.
| Thinker | Key work | Big idea |
|---|---|---|
| Thomas Hobbes | Leviathan (1651) | Without government, life is a war of all against all — so people give up freedom to a strong sovereign |
| John Locke | Two Treatises of Government (1689) | Natural rights to life, liberty and property; government exists to protect them |
| Montesquieu | The Spirit of the Laws (1748) | Separation of powers into legislative, executive and judicial branches |
| Adam Smith | The Wealth of Nations (1776) | Free markets; self-interest guided by the "invisible hand" benefits everyone |
| John Stuart Mill | On Liberty (1859) | The harm principle: freedom should only be limited to prevent harm to others |
Watch out: calling Hobbes a liberal. He shares the starting point — government comes from people giving up some freedom — but his conclusion is a powerful ruler, which is why he is usually set up as Locke's contrast.
Classical liberalism in practice
The idea: during the Industrial Revolution, laissez-faire economics produced enormous wealth — and terrible conditions for the people producing it.
Laissez-faire ("let it be") meant minimal regulation. Factory owners could set wages, hours and safety as they chose. The result, especially in 1800s Britain, was long hours, low pay, dangerous machines, child labour and crowded, unhealthy cities.
Classical liberals argued that free competition would eventually improve things for everyone. Many workers did not want to wait for "eventually".
The pushback
The idea: resistance came from both directions — from people who wanted to overturn society, and from people who wanted to protect it.
From the left: Marx and socialism
In the Communist Manifesto (1848), Marx and Engels argued that history is driven by class struggle. Under capitalism, the bourgeoisie (owners) exploit the proletariat (workers), and the only fix is revolution and collective ownership of the means of production.
From the right: Burke and conservatism
Edmund Burke, writing about the French Revolution in 1790, argued that society is a partnership across generations. Tearing down institutions in the name of individual rights destroys what took centuries to build. Change should be slow, careful and respectful of tradition.
From the ground up: workers and reformers
Labour unions, reform movements and early socialist parties used collective action — strikes, bargaining, petitions — to win shorter hours, safety laws and the vote for working people.
Why opposites agreed on one thing
Marx and Burke disagreed about almost everything. But both believed classical liberalism's focus on the individual damaged society — Marx because it let owners exploit workers, Burke because it dissolved tradition and community. Different diagnoses, very different cures.
In the 20th century, communism in the Soviet Union and fascism in Italy and Germany rejected liberalism far more completely, abolishing elections, free expression and individual rights altogether.
Toward modern liberalism
The idea: liberalism survived its critics by borrowing from them. Modern liberalism keeps individual rights and markets, but accepts that government should step in to protect people.
The Great Depression that began in 1929 was the turning point. Markets did not correct themselves; unemployment stayed catastrophic for years. John Maynard Keynes argued in 1936 that governments should spend more during downturns, even running deficits, to create demand and jobs. The U.S. New Deal put similar ideas into practice.
After the Second World War, countries like Canada built a welfare state: unemployment insurance (1940), public pensions, and eventually universal healthcare through the Medical Care Act (1966). That mix is welfare capitalism — private enterprise plus a public safety net.
| Classical liberalism | Modern liberalism |
|---|---|
| Government as small as possible | Government actively protects well-being |
| Laissez-faire markets | Regulated markets |
| Individuals responsible for themselves | Social programs as a safety net |
| Freedom from interference | Freedom also needs basic security |
Watch out: saying modern liberalism rejected liberalism. It kept elections, rights and private property — it changed how much government should do, not whether individuals matter.