William Gladstone. Does Liberal still equate to tolerance and rights of the Individual?

A visit to the web site for the William Gladstone Library inspired this comment on a blog from the Library entitled Why I am a Liberal.

http://www.gladstoneslibrary.org/capitalismcollection/

Contrasted with this very powerful deconstruction of the bastardisation of the Liberal viewpoint, particularly of, the importance of Individual rights in a community context.
http://www.globalresearch.ca/the-liberal-way-to-run-the-world-improve-or-well-kill-you/

I discovered the Gladstone Library looking for a favourite quote from Ruskin in the Viens of Wealth from his Unto this Last series of essays.

http://www.linkedin.com/groupAnswers?viewQuestionAndAnswers=&discussionID=149600151&gid=3056216&commentID=94327862&trk=view_disc&ut=2gvl3Wtz8ACRo1

As summary Kant named these four kinds of government:

A Law And Freedom without Violence (Anarchy)
B Law And Violence without Freedom (Despotism)
C Violence without Freedom And Law (Barbarism)
D Violence with Freedom And Law (Republic)

Civic discourse and collective effort by communities are paramount to the larger enterprise. It is the structure of decision making and the referencing of stakeholder interests that is hugely important.
John Ruskin put it this way.

“The whole question, therefore, respecting not only the advantage, but even the quantity of national wealth resolves itself finally into one of abstract justice. It is impossible to conclude, of any given mass of acquired wealth, merely by the fact of its existence, whether it signifies good or evil to the nation in the midst of which it exists. Its real value depends on the moral sign attached to it, just as sternly as that of any mathematical quantity depends on the algebraical sign attached to it. Any given accumulation of commercial wealth may be indicative, on the one hand, of faithful industries, progressive energies, and productive ingenuities: or, on the other, it may be indicative of mortal luxury, merciless tyranny, ruinous chicane. Some Treasures are heavy with human tears, as an ill-stored harvest with untimely rain; and some gold is brighter in sunshine than it is in rain.” John Ruskin, from ‘The Veins of Wealth’.

2 hours ago

Roger Lewis • Google Freee Market Mythology this article came up first in my Browser.

https://web.archive.org/web/20120630181253/http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/08/24

The Debilitating Myth of the ‘Free Market’ Alternative
by Robert Freeman

When choosing a pet, do you prefer unicorns or bunnies? I prefer unicorns because, though bunnies are undeniably snuggly, unicorns have a much better color. That lustrous pink fur beats out dull brown every time. And if you can get one with wings — well, how can floppy ears compete with that? It isn’t even close, is it?

The power and collusion of the media oligopoly were never better illustrated than in the run-up to the Iraq war. We now know that all of the putative justifications for that war were false. None of that mattered. The neoconservative political elite and their wealthy capitalist masters wanted a war so they manufactured one with the help of their hirelings in the mainstream media. Truth had nothing to do with it. Indeed, alternative voices, those that actually spoke the truth, were ruthlessly, viciously mocked and suppressed.

The entire country was frog-marched into a nakedly illegal colonialist takeover of a sovereign country that had not attacked the U.S., had not threatened to attack the U.S., had no interest in attacking the U.S., and had no capacity to attack the U.S.

Such is the power of controlling one of the most influential industries in the world, that you can, at will, manufacture a war that will expend trillions of dollars, raise the price of oil, and increase government deficits — all to your benefit. Or, in the case of health care, that can elevate moronic screamers to the level of cultural prophets or anoint six senators representing 3% of the country to prevent real competition in markets that you also control.

This narrow control of critical markets extends far beyond just the health care and media industries. It applies to industries across the entire economic spectrum.

Click the link I think its as good as any critique of the Free Market church of the Me-sire(sic)

2 hours ago

Roger Lewis • And on violence coercion and other frauds against the people.

http://www.globalresearch.ca/the-liberal-way-to-run-the-world-improve-or-well-kill-you/

John Stuart Mills described the power of empire. “Despotism is a legitimate mode of government in dealing with barbarians,” he wrote, “provided the end be their improvement and the means justified by actually effecting that end.” The “barbarians” were large sections of humanity of whom “implicit obedience” was required.

“failed states” (nations difficult to exploit) and “rogue states” (nations resistant to western dominance).

Unto this last is one of my favourite collections of Essays. It is the quote from the Viens of Wealth that led me to this wonderful site and Blog.

I am an Anarchist philosophically and indeed politically but if Liberalism in the Classical sense is about the individual and Community then I am an Anarchist Liberal.

In Poem, Song and Music here are the reasons why.
Let them eat cake.