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Liberalism
Blair, Peter
Blair, Peter
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2016-01-28
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Abstract
A political philosophy that emerged from the Enlightenment, liberalism has a complex relationship with democracy, colonialism, postcolonialism, globalization, and literature. Democracy has been shaped by a tension between “classical liberalism”, which prioritizes liberty, and “modern liberalism”, which emphasizes equality. Liberalism also moulded the informal empire of free trade, and the “liberal imperialism” that devised a “civilizing mission” to justify formal empire. The development of liberalism has been vital in the anglophone settler colonies, particularly the USA; often, especially in South Africa, it has been focused on racial justice. The neo-liberalism that emerged in the late twentieth century advocates the globalization of unfettered capitalism and personal liberty. Many postcolonialists consider neo-liberalism a reprise of liberal imperialism, with “human rights” replacing the “civilizing mission” as a cultural-imperialist pretext for economic exploitation.
Citation
Blair, P. (2016). Liberalism. In S. Ray & H. Schwarz (Eds.), The Encyclopedia of Postcolonial Studies. Chichester, United Kingdom: Wiley Blackwell.
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Wiley-Blackwell
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10.1002/9781119076506.wbeps208
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Book chapter
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en
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9781444334982