[Dec 2007, Volume 4 Quarterly Issue] Pdf File size - The IIPM Think ...

Christopher LINGLE,
Professor of Economic at
Universidad Francisco
Marroquin in Guatemala
Liberalism As The Basis Of
Human Rights And Dignity
"Of all the varieties of virtues,
liberalism is the most beloved."
-Aristotle
I
dealism and an abiding concern
for mankind tend to preoccupy
young intellectuals throughout
the world. Ironically, despite the successes
in promoting human development,
Liberalism remains relatively
underappreciated by the youth in
most countries.
This problem is compounded in India
by legal arrangements that make it
impossible to form political organizations
that identify with Liberal ideals.
As it is, modifications to the preamble
of the Constitution made during the
Emergency specify that: “India is a
sovereign, secular, socialist republic.”
At the same time, an amendment
was made to the relevant section in the
Representation of the People Act, 1950
to require all recognized and registered
parties to swear to uphold the
Constitution. The courts have ruled
variously on whether or not the Preamble
is to be deemed a part of the Constitution.
The current view on this is
that since all parties must stand for
Socialism, no party can legally register
to espouse Classical Liberalism as a
political platform. Attempts to challenge
this ban on political speech of
Liberals languish in the court system.
One might consider the level of outrage
that would lead to a rapid hearing
if socialist or communist parties were
banned. And the strongest voice to remove
such limits would almost certainly
be led by Liberals! Another
problem is that opponents of the Liberal
view effectively create a veil of
good intentions to obscure the obvious
flaws and failings of Socialism. Meanwhile,
critiques of Liberalism make the
unfounded assertion that it offers few
answers for solving social problems
within the larger community.
To counter this latter tactic, Liberals
must make clear representations of the
social benefits of Liberalism. One area
that might be fruitful is to articulate
the Liberal basis of the concept of socalled
human rights. It turns out that
Human rights did not formally appear
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