Understanding Society - Classical Liberalism

Understanding Society - Classical Liberalism

Introduction

The individualism that Durkheim sees and defends as the ethic of our time is an ethic not just of the individual hut of the individual as man . This is an absolutely fundamental point , and not as obvious and straightforward as , at first sight , it might seem . It involves a dualism , in which an ideal of individuality is part of the ideal of humanity (Miller , 1996 96 . The dualism 's Durkheimian explanation concerns the development of the division of labor , such that there are increasingly only two

fundamental identities we can have , the identity of the distinct individual ' and the identity in common of man (Hamilton , 1995 136 . However , it also concerns the development of modern society such that it demands a Universalist ethic of the person . This means , amongst other things , insistence on every individual 's same basic moral status and rights to respect and regard Indeed , an ethic of the person is the only way to extend this status to every individual , and to oppose reactionary individualisms that withhold it . The modern individualist ideal is and has to be , for Durkheim humanist and republican , its aspirations find expression in 1789 's liberty , equality , fraternity (Miller , 1996 97 . Liberalism is neither a vague Zeitgeist nor the outlook of modern man , but clearly identifiable set of principles and institutional choices endorsed by specific politicians , publicists , and popular movements . The early history of liberalism cannot be detached from the political history , in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries , of England and Scotland , the Netherlands , the United States , and France (Berkowitz , 1999 256 . As for the main character of the discussion , liberalism for Durkheim remains part of the egoistic nature of man towards his environment

Discussion

Durkheim published a response entitled , Individualism and the Intellectuals , wherein he discussed the argument , always refuted and always renewed ' that Intellectual and moral anarchy would be the inevitable result of liberalism ' Some varieties of liberalism Durkheim conceded , are egoistic and threaten the common good of societies by encouraging the individual to become excessively preoccupied with self-interest . However , there is a strand of liberalism , Durkheim argued , that is moral and social . This form Durkheim called moral Individualism ' and he claimed that not only is moral individualism not anarchical , but it henceforth is the only system of beliefs that can ensure the moral unity of the country ' In industrial , democratic nations such as France , moral virtue and unity are promoted by the liberal practices and ideals of moral individualism France 's modern moral traditions are largely constituted by liberal institutions and values (Hamilton , 1995 124

Durkheim asserted chat all communal life is impossible without the existence of interests superior to those of the individual ' From the outset of his career , Durkheim insisted that in modern Industrial society 's happiness and freedom are achieved in the context of moral beliefs and practice , embedded in vital traditions and institutions Durkheim sees in the modern ideal all the values to which he adheres most : equality , liberty , justice , fraternity...