Liberalism & its Effect on Society

     An Introduction

Liberalism is the world’s most predominant ideology[1] 

with almost all western nations having embraced its fundamental political values and ideas. Liberalism represents a global force that seeks to transform societies in accordance with its values and practices, and under the banner of the ‘Liberal Project’ the United Nations regime on human rights is an attempt to enforce liberal values on non-liberal nations [2]. 

Emeritus Professor John Charvet in his book The Liberal Project and Human Rights comments that,

“…liberal states must recognise that the liberal project for world order is unavoidably a long-term one, which they need to pursue with patience and persistence and not to be seduced by tempting short-cuts…”[3]

Liberalism however, has not always sought to export itself from the west via peaceful, and some may argue, covert means[4]. The various contemporary military expeditions, including Iraq and Afghanistan, have attempted to impose Liberalism using force, as well as trying to fulfil the goals of strategic dominance and the acquisition of much needed resources. 

The effects of Liberalism are felt not only in the political arena but at the social level as well. Influential economic, political and social structures are used to propagate its values, but this has directly contributed to a number of social problems. These problems range from child abuse and neglect to violent crime and rape. A common trend in liberal societies, such as the UK and US, is that social breakdown has become a norm, and has shaped academic and popular cultural discourse. Professor Daniel Bell, lecturer in Political Science at the University of Singapore, states,

“Liberalism, it is claimed, contributes to, or at least does not sufficiently take account of, the negative social and psychological effects related to the atomistic tendencies of modern liberal societies. There is undoubtedly a worrying trend in contemporary societies towards a callous individualism that ignores community and social obligations, and liberal theory does not seem up to the task of dealing with this problem.”[5]

As an ideology Liberalism is hard to describe. It can be best portrayed as a broad political philosophy that considers and emphasises individual freedoms, and the primacy – or priority – of individual rights. Liberalism has various intellectual strands however these fundamental political values are shared by all types of Liberal thought.

On the superficial level these political values may seem attractive, however under intellectual scrutiny they are found to directly affect contemporary societies in the most negative way. It is the scope of this essay to highlight Liberalism’s negative effects on society using historical, philosophical, legal, practical and social research arguments. This essay will finally draw attention to a potential solution by discussing the Islamic perspective and contrasting Liberal and Islamic Social Models.

The arguments are summarised as follows:

1. Liberalism is purely a European product. Liberalism’s political values are the outcome of specific social and historical conditions, subjected to a specific type of analysis. Therefore it must be asked, is Liberalism an 'absolute' alternative to other ideologies, or is it historically and geographically bound? If Liberalism is found to be historically and context bound then it can not have any relevance in today’s modern society.

2. Philosophically, liberalism’s political values rest on the premise of individualism, or what some political philosophers call atomism.[6] This essay will argue that individualism is ontologically false, in other words, it is an incorrect premise to base a political philosophy.[7] The logical conclusions from this are that the results of individualism – and therefore Liberalism - will also be incorrect. 

3. From a practical and social research perspective modern liberal societies, specifically the UK and US, exhibit signs of increasing social breakdown and social malaise.[8] This essay will argue that if the most predominant political values propagated in western societies are Liberalism’s political values, and these societies are showing signs of social decay, then it naturally follows that Liberalism is a key contributing factor to modern social problems. This argument rests on the premise that there is an established link between propagated values and a society’s behaviour; this essay will bring to light social research strengthening this premise. 

4. This essay will argue that Liberal values are not conducive to good legislation. This will be explained by showing how legal pornography – violent and nonviolent – can cause rape. There are many factors that play a causal role in the crime of rape, however this essay will bring to light overwhelming evidence that strongly indicates pornography is a major factor. It logically follows from this argument that, if what is legal in Liberal societies facilitates crime, then Liberal values should not be a basis for legislation – as they are seen to provide impetus to social anomalies and criminal behaviour.

In the last part of the discussion this essay will exam how Islam’s view on humanity does not rest on a false premise and that its core political values are cohesive, in contrast to Liberalism’s non-cohesive values, and that they have produced a cohesive society in the past. This essay will argue that if Islam has a correct premise and it has produced a cohesive society, it - at least - must be investigated and used as a reference in the dynamics of political discourse. This essay will also contrast the Liberal and Islamic social models by highlighting and discussing some of their key features, in the hope to demystify aspects of Islamic law and demonstrate that in actual fact the Islamic penal code is founded on a workable model, which has produced positive results and has a greater capacity to achieve a cohesive society.