Essay on Untitled

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In reaction to the medieval ideas of ascribed status and religious conformity comes Liberalism. The basic idea of which is to have a society whose members are free to pursue their own ideas and interests with as little interference as possible (Ball and Dagger, Liberalism Introduction p. 65). Ideas on how to get there have been a point of argument since liberalism began. Many writers, theorists, and economists have studied and given ideas of what liberty is and how to ensure it. Take Thomas Hobbes for example. He saw liberty as “the absence of external impediments” (the State of Nature and the Basis of Obligation, p. 71). But he also believed that every one should posses certain rights to basic freedoms. Adam Smith, another philosopher agreed with this theory of a “welfare” type of system and the freedom to trade freely. He believed in mankind working to contribute to the greater good and saw liberty in guaranteeing that trading was as unrestricted as possible. He also saw private profit as good for the public. (Private profit, Pubic good, p. 102) Still other thinkers were more community or society minded than this. Thomas Paine spoke of government as being a necessary evil. He wanted elected officials to work for the betterment of society though new contracts for each generation. Paine feared that the elected officials could form separate interests that were not in the interests of the greater society. As a result of this fear he saw “prudence” in ho

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