Authority and Liberty

Drinking is a good habit. One should drink daily and get fully drunk. Men who are fully drunk reach a level that they quite forget those vast political, religious, cultural and social differences which mankind clings on to, feels is necessary and which separates them like the banks of a river.

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Authority and Liberty

Today we are not even aware what the word liberty means. The word has been twisted so vigourously like the washerwoman twisting the wet clothes, that the term has become the exact opposite. I dug out the meaning of Liberal and Liberalism as follows :

Liberal :
"One who favors greater freedom in political or religious matters" (Webster's Dictionary)

Liberalism :
"A belief in the value of human personality, and a conviction that the source of all progress lies in the free exercise of human energy" (Encyclopedia Britannica)


"Liberalism" in the historic sense is the struggle of man to emphasize his liberty against authority. In the political field, this struggle is against the authority of the state. Those who, today, call themselves liberals believe in increasing the authority of the state at the expense of individual liberty. It is true that they do so for the commendable purpose of advancing the public welfare but, whatever their motives, they have taken their stand against individual liberty and in favor of authority. Whatever they may call themselves, they are not liberals.

"Liberalism" in the historic sense regards government as a necessary evil. It looks upon all governments, including our own, with suspicion. It believes that the only way to preserve and defend liberty and protect the individual from the domination of government is to limit the functions of government. It fears government and seeks to enforce restraints upon the power of government.

"Liberalism," as the term is used today, looks upon the citizen with suspicion and upon government with approval. It seeks to build a strong government to control and corner the individual for the good of society, to prevent the strong from taking advantage of the weak, to counterbalance inequalities in wealth and incomes, and to play the historic role of Robin Hood, who robbed the rich and distributed ‘some of the proceeds’ to the poor. [I always thought that Robin Hood was a communist]

The concept of life is known as liberalism. The attitude of authority was always to enslave the human spirit during the greater part of recorded history. Each generation has fought the authority and tried to liberate the human spirit. Oliver Cromwell, John Milton, John Locke, Adam Smith and John Stuart Mill were outstanding spokesperson of liberalism.

I am reminded of an old phrase ‘ All men are created equal”. Did this mean that all men have equal intelligence, physical strength, character etc? I know it meant that all men were equal under a given country’s law. But is he really is? Under the rule of the authority a man’s status in the social structure determines what laws apply to him and what he must obey. {for eg do you think that you and the driver of Ratan Tata would be treated the same way for a small traffic violation specifically if Ratan Tata is seated as a passenger?... I am not even comparing you with Ratan Tata – but his driver!}. The special privilege that the Traffic Police would bestow on Ratan Tata’s driver is a direct conflict with the liberal philosophy of equality under the law.

Most of our legal courts try to follow the so called rule of the law, but in reality justice is based upon class distinction and social status.

Are there authorities who desire to dispel an authoritarian government and want to improve the lot of mankind? Do they want everyone to be decently housed, decently fed, and decently clothed? Can we have a government powerful enough to override ‘liberal twisters’ without being powerful to harm the individual’s liberty?
Perhaps all these questions may not be answered in one’s lifetime. There are generations which ask questions and there are generations which answer those questions.
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