abtw777

Imagine a group of people. The group might be about anything – a committee, a charity, a workplace, a church. One of these folk will be the group’s natural leader, I suggest. I say ‘natural’ because the group might believe themselves to have no official leader or chairperson. But, even so, someone will take the lead. And, for the most part, the others will defer to him or her. Another of the group is there because they need the company. They don’t especially care about the group’s aims or whether it is successful or not. Just so long as there’s some interaction with others then they will find the group a comfort – just by being there. Another of the group is similar, in a way, but wants to turn the group’s attention around to their own personal issues rather than the work of the group. Another is a rival to the leader and wants to steal power for themselves. They will frequently challenge decisions of the group, because those decisions really stem from its leader. Another o...

The meaning of the term ‘liberal’ is notoriously hard to pin down. In this essay I just want to offer a simple explanation – not in order to define liberalism itself, but rather to try to draw out some of the pernicious issues that circle around the term in politics today. So, here are some things traditionally associated with liberalism: Freedom of speech. Freedom of assembly. Freedom of the press. Free and fair elections. Freedom of religion. The assumption of innocence until proven guilty (habeas corpus). The right to a fair trial. The right to peaceful protest. The right of reasonable dissent, in political terms, The right to form a political party. And here are some things associated with more modern ideas of liberalism, sometimes known as ’progressive’ liberalism. Internationalism/Globalisation (and therefore racial tolerance and the tolerance and even celebration of immigration). Protection of the rights of minorities. Freedom from prejudice, intimidation and har...