Liberalism on the test: dealing with criticism and renewal of fundamental values: Research examines the principles of traditional liberalism and offers a strong and sensitive approach to criticism, with the aim of reawakening its relevance in the modern world
The word "liberalism" has many meanings in different contexts. In political philosophy, liberalism is a family of concepts that emphasizes fundamental values of liberty, equality, and personal autonomy; that puts the individual (and not some collective, such as a nation) at the center; which emphasizes rational methods for deciding political disputes; and supports a substantial democratic regime. Such liberalism is sometimes presented as a fundamental convention in modern Western regimes, but it is sometimes at the center of broad political disputes, such as, for example, around the legal reform proposals of 2023 in Israel (the evaluation of the editor of the website - the more accurate term should be a regime coup).
Prof. David Enoch, full professor in the Department of Philosophy and Faculty of Law at the Hebrew University and head of the Department of Philosophy of Law at the University of Oxford, deals with the philosophy of morality and law, and political philosophy. In doing so, he tries to promote a comprehensive liberal position - one that does not pretend to neutrality (for example, the type of "political liberalism", from the seminary of the American philosopher John Bordley Rawls).
In his current research, which won a grant from the National Science Foundation, he tries to initiate a concept that, on the one hand, will protect the principles of traditional liberalism, such as freedom, equality and human value, and on the other hand, take into account objections to it. Prof. Enoch says: "We are talking about the crisis of liberalism in the world, which in part stems from the opposition to it. The idea is to develop a strong and uncompromising liberal position, which understands the objections, internalizes them, and manages to deal with them. For example, liberals emphasize consent as a moral basis. They are right in this - there is no way to develop a serious position in ethics and political philosophy that does not give significant weight to agreement. But according to critics (e.g. Marxists and Socialists), consent alone is not enough because it also depends on the conditions under which it is given. For example, consenting to sexual relations under hierarchical conditions (for example in the army) is not exactly consent. And so is consent to work in exploitative and degrading working conditions, which is usually given out of lack of choice. Therefore, in order to resolve this conflict, a more sophisticated concept needs to be developed, which will be sensitive to criticisms and deal with them, but will not give up the great moral principle inherent in agreement."
Prof. Enoch's research, like other philosophical studies, includes in-depth discussions with his team (five post-doctoral students), raising arguments, making distinctions and refining insights, and reading and writing materials related to the field under study. According to him, "the main question in the current study is whether it is possible to restart liberalism in a way that addresses the criticisms and deals with them, and the issue of consent is an example of this. Liberalism has lost a bit of its prestige because of the criticisms from the right and the left and it needs to be revived. Serious liberalism needs to be connected to reality, to activism and demonstrations, with a clear vision and careful attention to criticisms and problems. As such, he cannot be politically neutral."
One of the issues of recent research was consent under duress. The examples discussed were, for example, a robber who threatens a person with a knife to give him his property (such as a wallet and phone) and he agrees out of lack of choice, compared to a person agreeing to pay a bodyguard to protect him from a third party who threatens him. "In both cases there is coercion, but it is different. When does she reject consent and when does she not - we examined this in the last study; During a robbery there is a threat where the person has to agree to hand over the property or risk physical injury. But he has a right to protect both his body and his property. Therefore, when he agrees to give up his property, he gives up his rights out of choice, under duress.
The idea is to develop a strong and uncompromising liberal position that understands the objections, internalizes them, and manages to deal with them
"On the other hand, the agreement to pay a bodyguard due to a threat from another person is valid. Although the threatened person has a right against the threatener, not to be exposed to the threat in the first place (just like in the example of the robber), but he has no such right against the bodyguard. As far as the relationship with the bodyguard is concerned, the threat is only a background fact. In this sense there is no difference between a threat that comes from a third person and a threat that comes from a natural disaster. Thus, the agreement to pay the bodyguard is valid. Of course, if the threatened later demands the bodyguard's salary from the threatener, the threatener will not be able to avoid payment on the grounds that the threatened has agreed to pay. In relation to him, consent is still forced," explains Prof. Enoch.
Another example of coerced consent examined in research is the consent to work under a contract in an exploitative labor market. According to Prof. Enoch, "the background for many agreements in our lives includes coercion or at least injustice. Thus, many agree to work in deplorable working conditions, which would not happen if it were a welfare state. However, the employers are not the ones who shaped the labor market, so it is possible that the agreement towards them is valid, even if it does not merit the arrangement in the entire market."
It can therefore be understood that the research is indeed theoretical but may have practical philosophical conclusions, for example regarding the design of the labor market, normative behaviors and a significant liberal political struggle.
Philosophical research examines issues such as consent and coercion in order to initiate an innovative concept that on the one hand defends the principles of traditional liberalism, such as freedom and equality, and on the other hand takes into account objections to it
More of the topic in Hayadan:
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First, there are two more messages of mine that have not yet been published, after 4 days.
Second, the same people who supported isolation and lockdowns and vaccinations in the US also supported... the violent demonstrations and the BLM riots. The virus did not work, it turns out, when tens of thousands marched in total, and ran in the streets and burned down shopping centers, but it did catch on and people who walked the dog had to be fined theirs (and only him) on the beach in California.In addition, they acted strongly against cheap drugs, even after they proved successful in treatment In a virus such as ivermectin and others.
Thirdly, there is a huge difference between the surgeon I choose to perform surgery with the best of my money, and the one that corrupt giants choose to fill their hospitals with. In the UK, the queue for surgeries is... you wouldn't know. There is a huge difference between who I choose to teach my children and who the progressive authorities assign in the big cities in the US, and there is a huge difference in the curriculum. No wonder it turned out that in Baltimore, out of 13 schools, 0 children reached a sufficient level in math, let alone reading and science and other important things .
https://foxbaltimore.com/news/project-baltimore/at-13-baltimore-city-high-schools-zero-students-tested-proficient-on-2023-state-math-exam
In his book "Why They Hate Private Schools", Thomas Sowell demonstrates how in private schools that operate in the same building where government schools are located, and teach exactly the same population, with the same socio-economic status (selected through a lottery), the students in the non-public schools, Not run by jaded and corrupt city officials, the students achieve exceptional results, sometimes even better than far more prestigious schools.
So yes, I don't need this particular billionaire to come run my life (or rather - for the Americans, because I'm not an American), but he, and his fellow party members Vivek Ramaswamy and Robert A. Kennedy will wash and clean these barns, get rid of a bunch of useless bureaucrats, and save the public The American trillions of dollars of tax money are wasted. Who knows, maybe in the end some of the things will be implemented here as well.
A normal country should take care of its citizens. During the Corona time, gatherings caused a large spread of the virus and the unnecessary death of precisely those followers of "absolute freedom". The freedom of detail only stops when it hurts others, and there are those like you who don't understand that. Not all control is communism.
And another question. When you go to have an operation, do you want to be treated by a qualified doctor or one who learned to analyze conspiracy sites on the net? Likewise, the government needs educated people, who will work for the benefit of the general public and not (as in America) a handful of billionaires.
The respected article does everything in its power to ignore the fact that the term "liberalism" has been hijacked and today "liberalism" and perhaps even "neoliberalism" in the USA, and in other Western countries, and of course also in Israel is used to describe something closer to a totalitarian police state with clear communist tendencies. For example During the Corona period, they imposed social isolation, and an aggressive and forceful vaccination policy and a forceful and absolute disregard for criticism of The vaccinations, about the costs associated with social isolation for children, young people and adults alike. In the USA, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom and Israel, the "liberals" in their own eyes have taken over the police mechanisms and they are brutally persecuting those who oppose them and their fascist regime, and these things are known and you can find hidden clues to them Even in the one-sided and biased media of the Western countries.
Correction: The article is not really respectable, and does everything to hide the reality behind the nonsense words along the lines of "Serious liberalism should be connected to reality, to activism and demonstrations, with a clear vision and careful attention to criticisms and problems". A connection to reality in my ass. A clear vision of these dull minds? Careful attention to criticism? Well, really.
Material for further reading: "The Psychology of Totalitarianism" by Prof. Mathias Desmet, recently published in Hebrew.
The research received funding from the Israel National Science Foundation
What is scientific about this article?
Where is the scientific content in this article?
The reason for reasonableness was created because the government and the Knesset are one and can make decisions with a simple majority even if the earth is flat. That is, there are only two authorities and not three, so they need to be balanced.
Martin Niemüller:
"In Germany, the Nazis took the communists first, and I did not raise my voice, because I was not a communist;
Then they took the Jews, and I did not raise my voice, because I was not a Jew;
Then they took the members of the trade unions, and I did not raise my voice, because I was not a member of a trade union;
Then they took the Catholics, and I did not raise my voice, because I was a Protestant;
Then they took me, but at that time there was no one left to raise their voice on my behalf."
Right now you think the dictatorship is in your favor, in the end it will reach you too
Martin Niemler, a Protestant pastor from the Methodist Church who opposed the Nazi regime originally said the words after World War II, probably in the late 40s or early 50s. The published quote is considered his response to the period of Nazi rule in Germany and the silence of large parts of the German population in the face of the persecution of the various groups.
I will never understand how the liberal Montesquieu's idea of separation of powers is compatible with the principle of reasonableness.
To the editor of the website, you are nothing more than a pseudo-intellectual and just a fake with a title and superior feelings.
Liberalism is a term that speaks of racial and gender equality and many other beautiful words. In general, many people call themselves liberals and in practice, they are disgustingly racist towards anyone who thinks differently than them, no matter what the issue. They are compulsive, tend to gizlight those they disagree with and do everything to impose their "liberal" views on others. Personally, I feel that the word "liberalism" was stolen from me and I need to invent another word that describes people who have patience for other people.
This is not an opinion, this is a fact. Each and every one of the laws is designed to prevent any criticism of the government, and in fact to become a dictatorship because there are no checks and balances.
I read until you defined the amendment of Aharon Barak's legal coup as a coup..
You don't know and neither does the whole society around you.
You are a minority that tries to dictate to others how to live and therefore you want the legal tools to dictate to the majority how to live.
This article is about dictatorship, not liberalism
"Liberalism is a family of concepts that emphasizes basic values of freedom, equality and personal autonomy; that puts the individual (and not some collective, such as a nation) at the center."
What about criticism of liberalism in your definition, which is actually sociopathy? Socioticism is not liberalism. It is possible to be a great liberal but understand that when your people are attacked there is a need for conscription. Conflicts of values also exist within liberalism.
"(Assessment of the editor of the science site - the more accurate term should be a coup d'état)"
Dear editor, you don't need to push your opinions everywhere possible.