Rousseau's Social Contract and John Stuart Mill's On Liberty Essay - 1

Rousseau's Social Contract and John Stuart Mill's On Liberty - Essay Example Mills differs with Rousseau regarding the fundamental basis of freedom, by arguing that individual rights grant man freedom, and by extension makes the society free. On his part, Rousseau argues that individual rights make an individual a slave of oneself, by making him obey his self-desire (Rousseau, 56). This way, there is no accumulation of private property, which ends up creating insecurity, considering that an individual holds more at the expense of others, who are in turn compelled to take away what the individual is not using (Rousseau, 22). Rousseau also argues that it is through the submission of individual rights, that order is created in the society since the submission of individual interest for the sake of upholding general interests of all ends-up creating a legitimate society. Rousseau, therefore, concludes that an individual’s duty to the society supersedes all the other interests, including the interests of oneself. Therefore, liberty is beneficial when it is operating in the realm of the whole society, as opposed to when it is operating within the zoning of an individual right since it ends-up making the individual a slave of himself (Rousseau, 36). On his side, Mill observes that liberty is beneficial, since it enables the creation of a healthy society, with good citizenship and absolute freedom for mankind (Mill, 16). Even though he agrees with Rousseau that the liberty of man need to be regulated, he differs with him, in arguing that individuality should not be suppressed and exchanged with the duty to community, since individuality is the basis of retaining the basic rights of individuals, which in turn prevents an individual from being dominated over by the tyranny of the majority (Mill, 22). Therefore, individuals should be allowed to pursue their desired ends without any interference, barriers or obstacles from either the society or the government, since it is this pursuit of individual’s desired ends that creates happines s to the individuals, and thus leads to a productive and civilized society.     

Ideological Development of the Conservative Party Coursework

Ideological Development of the Conservative Party - Coursework Example It is through these policies that the party has managed to achieve many of it successes. However, the policies are amended on several occasions. These have come because of defeats and successes in the political journey. With each new leadership of the party, new ideologies, strategies and policies arise. The modern conservative party under the leadership of David Cameron describes what the party has become in recent times. Before 1975, the conservative party held on to traditional pragmatism and strongly believed in the one state conservatism. Conservatism originated from Edmund Burke. He expressed his beliefs and ideas, which were philosophical but applied them politically. He formed the new principle of conservatism based on his understanding of nature, and definition of society. According to him, civil institutions had a religious origin. He believed societal progress was purely divine and that the state was an institution meant to help man govern himself better. Therefore, indivi duals holding public office had the obligation to govern from a divine origin. He urged them to hold office with honesty. The one state conservatism had two aspects: social and political. The social aspect of the one state conservatism sought to ensure that there existed an inclusion system. Inclusion involved ensuring that economically and socially, all had access to advances. The party sought to end the alienation suffered by some groups in society. The alienations affected the groups that immediate actions had to be taken. Politically, the one state conservatism sought to introduce a coalition in terms of support. The one state conservatism believed in the existence of a state and elaborated the responsibilities of the state. This conservatism concentrated on social aspects of the people. In 1975, Margaret Thatcher became the party leader and sought to redefine the ideologies established by her predecessors. In efforts to redefine her ideologies, Thatcher started by first establi shing a new definition for conservatism. According to her, conservatism was supposed to start from an individualistic point of view. She narrowed down society to individuals who had their unique needs. It was logical then to address the individual needs of each person before going to families and later to the community. Being an enthusiastic woman, she challenged the traditional pragmatism that change needed to be m taken slowly. In her idealism, change could be as well as be radical. Due to her enthusiasm for change, the ideologies of her time received the name ‘thatcherian agenda’. She did not support the gradual approach to change. She had the determination to put her ideologies into practice. During her period, Thatcher believed in practical politics. Her agenda was touched on classical liberalism, neo-liberalism, and free market (Ingle, 2008:34). Just like any other leader, Hatcher faced criticism on her agenda because some analysts thought that her ideas countered each other at some point. In fact, some people seem fully opposed to her ideas. However, her long reign gave her enough time to establish some of her ideologies and thus she gained popularity. Due to her liberal ideas, she was a vessel for the establishment of free markets. Further, she advocated for privatization of industries. Throughout her period, she achieved much. Her greatest achievement was the reduction of strikes by enforcing strong policies on unions.