Liberalism

Definition: At the core of liberal philosophy is the idea that "All systems either of preference or of restraint, therefore, being thus completely taken away, the obvious and simple system of natural liberty establishes itself of its own accord. Every man, as long as he does not violate the laws of justice, is left perfectly free to pursue his own interest his own way, and to bring both his industry and capital into competition with those of any other man, or order of men." Source: Klein, D. (2014, February 13). The Origin of 'Liberalism.' The Atlantic. Retrieved from http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/02/the-origin-of-liberalism/283780/


Application: In community development work, it is important to identify the degree to which the community you are working with operates under liberal theory. Because our history is entrenched in liberal theory, many Americans adhere to the notion of individualism, rather than a collectivist approach that is more conducive to community building. This could be an important component of a community assessment as far as determining what types of strategies or projects would be most feasible in the community based on how strongly they adhere to liberal ideals.

Adaptation: Outside of community development work, I think that liberal theory is important to understand within the context of education. Because our education system is similarly influenced by liberal individualism, many of our classrooms foster individual competition rather than co-learning. Educators should be aware of how this theory can impact students in the classroom and take care to create classroom environments that encourage students to work together rather than against each other.