Rationalism fights Dogmatism through Liberalism   

 Ahmad Reza Taheri  

Radical      Liberal    Moderate     Conservative     Reactionary

Left………………………………………………………………………Right

Many of us have failed to understand fully what dogmatism is and what rationalism is?

Dogmatism is a strong and confident assertion of opinion, which is made without looking at the evidence or without analyzing the problem; without considering that different opinions may be right or justified, we follow our own way blindly. With little knowledge on our side we think of ourselves as the perfect people. On the other hand, rationalism is a belief that our life should be based on reason and not on emotions or religious beliefs. Here, in this note, we will read the role of liberalism in the battle between dogmatism and rationalism. This gives us a "read between the lines" understanding of the issue. We will focus on liberalism, as the second concept on the political spectrum, illustrated above. 

Well, like the Radicals, Liberals too, are dissatisfied with the status quo. But, Liberals are less satisfied than the Radicals; they wish to change the system significantly. The Liberals prefer progressive change, a change from the status quo to something new and different. One of the most fundamental differences between the Radical and the Liberal is the attitude of each toward the law. Radicals are basically opposed to the political system that governs them, so they are apt to see the law as one way in which those who dominate the society maintain their control. Hence, Radicals find it hard to respect the law. Liberals, on the other hand, generally appreciate the concept of law, and although they may want to change certain specifics of it, they usually will not violate it. Instead, they try to change the law through legal procedures. Liberals seek change in the system by several important means, but they reject any attempt to revolutionize the system because they support its essentials.

Liberalism is one of the intellectual by-products of the Enlightenment, of the scientific method and ultimately of the Industrial Revolution. During the medieval era, people looked heavenward for divine relief from their wretched earthly existence. Faith in human potential, as well as esteem for humankind in general, was very low. However, the discoveries of inquisitive people such as Copernicus, Galileo, and Newton revolutionized people's attitudes toward themselves and their function in life. Through the use of scientific method, people began to make improvements in their material existence, and in so doing they began to develop confidence in their ability to solve many problems that they had previously borne with little complaint. It was not long before people began to conclude that if physical difficulties could be solved through the use of human reason, perhaps the same could be done with social and political problems. This speculation led to the theory of Liberalism. Liberals are apt to apply reason to every problem and to be confident that, if a solution can be found, it will be discovered by rational exercise, rather than by means less responsive to human will. 

Thus, liberalism enjoys a philosophical base. Let us remind you that this philosophy is divided into classical and contemporary eras. Although classical liberals tended to focus on the individual and on the property rights, contemporary liberals view people in collective terms and emphasize human rights; both share a belief in the equality, intelligence, and competence of people. Of course, although most of the religions or perhaps all of them advocate liberty and equality, we find that in most of the religions these concepts are a mere formality if we look at the practical aspects and not theoretical aspects.

Anyway, John Locke (1632 – 1704) is known as the principal spokesman for classical liberalism. He believed that all human beings were moral, competent, and intelligent. He believed in the individualism of people and viewed that government oppressed people when it had too much power, therefore, the less government the better. Similarly, Thomas Jefferson thought like that; his famous admonition was "That government governs best which governs least." This group of liberals believed that individual's rights were to be protected from government confiscation. In other words, in fact, as far as the case of individual liberty is concerned, liberalism in a way or other questions the two vital powers ---- state authority and divine authority. However, Liberals have since moved beyond Locke's views; this takes us into the other era of liberalism ---- contemporary liberalism.

Contemporary liberalism was fathered by Jeremy Bentham (1748 – 1832). Like the classical liberals, the contemporary liberals view people as intelligent and remain optimistic about our ability to improve life through reason. But, the basis for the assumption of equality has changed. Classical liberals believed in natural law. They believed that private property was inalienable. The contemporary liberal is more likely to argue that although there are a wide variety of differences among individuals, all people are equally human, and their equality with one another is a matter of great importance. They also believe that private property is a social right.

The contemporary liberals disagree with their counterparts about the nature of government. The classical liberals believed that government oppressed people. But, modern liberals note that the concentration of wealth has deposited vast power in the hands of those who control the means of production, distribution, and exchange. Thus, contemporary liberals are concerned that economic power can be as oppressive as political power. Therefore, they tend to be more egalitarian (those who wish power and wealth to be more equally shared by all people) than the classical liberals. Moreover, rather than believing that government tends to deny human liberty, contemporary liberals believe they can use government to expand liberty by limiting the oppression the wealthy impose on the poor. In the contemporary era, we can also find some sections of the liberals who may use religion itself to expand liberty by updating a number of religious codes.

This note is based on the writings of Professor Leon P Baradat, in his book Political Ideologies: their origins and impact, 9^th edition, Indian reprint, published by Asoke K. Gosh, pp. 19-21.