Sam Feldman
Liberalism
In The
Nation- State and Global Order, Opello and Rosow analyze and critique the
many facets of Liberalism. In their
detailed analysis, they argue many key points of the theory, some of which I
strongly agree, and some, firmly oppose.
While discussing liberalism, Opello and
Rosow draw a very interesting connection between politics and morality through
examples in history. According to the
philosopher John Locke, “morals are a matter of individual conscience and that
they should be determined by reason and not by custom, nature, or political
power.” I strongly agree with this
belief, and that when dealing with moral issues, states should not act in their
own interest or to benefit their political power, but instead act rationally
and do what is morally right. Although
it is made clear that morality is a very subjective matter and how one person’s
view of rationality may be different than the next, nations should know what is
acceptable and what is not. “This can be
done only when they are able to make decisions that affect their own lives”,
James Mill argued in his Essay on
Government.
It is also stated that from the sixteenth
century, states in Europe came to believe that their survival depended on
absolute gains and control over bounded, territorial space. I actually tend to disagree with this point,
in the fact that absolute gains in any context are not particularly
important. Obviously having absolute
control over anything, in this case territory, is significant, however it is
not necessary for survival. In
concurrence with many realists, I believe that relative gains are crucial in
the fact that if you are always ahead of your competition, then you are seen as
the best and most powerful. Not only is
this easier to accomplish than absolute power, but it seems to be accomplishing
the same goal, being the most powerful and ultimately surviving.
According to Opello and Rosow, by
proposing universal laws as the basis of truth, liberalism solved many problems
of the early modern territorial state. I
firmly believe that these structured set laws helped states effectively
exercise power and grow entirely. In
fact, having set regulations in any society help make rational decisions,
maximize productivity, and thrive to its fullest as a community. “Liberalism, by promoting an ideology based on
universal principles, made room within the sovereign state for capitalism and
civil society.” As stated, the universal
laws supported the fundamental ideas of human rights, natural rights, and
democracy, which led them to a “civil society”. I credit these universal laws for not only setting
the groundwork for society in these early modern states, but also helping them
grow powerful and prosper entirely as nations.
Throughout chapter 5 in The Nation- State and Global Order, it
is made clear that Liberalism helped many early states develop and become more
powerful. Opello and Rosow explained
this by breaking down the key components of the theory, such as rationality,
power gains, and the universal laws. In
doing so, they showed how liberalism grew throughout the early states and
helped nations through their primary stages.
