An Outline of Modern Liberalism
1933-2001
by
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The Theme and Thesis of Outline of Modern Liberalism
I
The Two Periods of Liberalism
The transformation in 1932 of a skeleton government into a redistributive and regulatory state not only broke with a century and half of tradition, it was also profoundly incompatible with the American Constitution.
The welfare state may or may not have violated a specific provision of the Constitution, but it cannot be seriously argued that it did not result in the development of the federal government into a machine of enormous power. This was not what the Framers had in mind when they wrote the Constitution.
The second theme is that the modern day American liberal places a higher premium on equality than on freedom.
Modern liberalism is divided into two periods. The inception of which created the Welfare State in 1933, the purpose for which created - was a complete failure, and the second period, (1965-?) in which the utilization of the coercive powers of government for the advancement of political, social, and economic justice on the local, national, and international levels had mixed results.
II
Chapter Outline and Discussion
Chapter I
The Liberal Legacy
- The Golden Age
- Causes of the Deterioration
- Congress
- Liberalism and Socialism
Chapter II
Influences on the Founders of he American Republic
- The British Model
- Reflections of the Founders
- Political Philosophers
- Thomas Hobbes
- John Locke (1632-1704)
- David Hume (1711-1776)
- Universality of Political Principles
- Jean Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778)
Chapter III
Liberalism and Neo-Liberalism
- De Tocqueville (1805-1859)
- John Stuart Mill (1806-1873)
- Mill's Liberal Principles
- Self-regarding and Other-regarding Actions Further Analyzed
- Mill's Theory of Ethics
- Freedom of Thought and Expression
- Education
- The Inequality of Women
Chapter IV
The Constitution
- Introductory Remarks
- Usurpation of the Powers of Congress by the Court
- Roe v. Wade
- The Civil Rights Acts
- The Desegregation of Public Schools
- The Courts and the First Amendment
Chapter V
The Balkanization of America
- Group Rights, Affirmative Action, Quotas, and the EEOC
- The California Initiative
- Individual Rights vs. Group Rights.
Chapter VI
Multiculturalism and the Assault on Western Civilization
- Sexism and Racism
- History Revised
- Western Civilization as the Result of an Historical Accident
- Afro-American Studies
- Another History
- Black Africa Today
- Accommodation of Multiculturalism
- Patriarchy and the Assault on the Family
- Sexual Harassment
- Women Are Paid Less Than Men for the Same Job
Chapter VII
Torts
- Tort Laws as Originally Conceived
- Enterprising Trial Lawyers
- Not in the Public Interest
CHAPTER VIII
The Department of Housing and Urban Development
- Section 235
- HUD's Investigation of Neighborhood Resistance
Chapter IX
The Shifting of Individual Responsibility
- The Cultural Crisis
- Causes of Crime Dismissed by Elimination
- The Multiple Causes of Criminal Behavior
Chapter X
The Justification of Big Government and Modern Liberal Thought
- Galbraith
- Harrington
- Barbara Ehrenreich
- Cloward and Piven
Chapter XI
Poverty
- The Origin of Welfare Programs
- Cost and Effect
- Black Poverty
- Aid to Families with Dependent Children
- Definitions of Poverty
- British Poor Laws
Chapter XII
The Welfare State
- The Liberal Era Divided into Two Phases
- A Survey of Economic Progress Between 1870 and 1929
- Historicism
- The Market Failure as an Explanation for the Great Depression
- A More Plausible Explanation
- New Deal Policies
- Social Security as the Cornerstone of the Welfare State
- What Went Wrong and What Do We Do Now?
Chapter XIII
Keynesian Economics
- Classical vs. Keynesian Economics
- Keynesian Theory
- The Breach in Economic Theory
- Keynes and his Disciples
- The British Experience in the Application
- The American Experience in the Application
- Stagflation
- Keynesianism in Theory and Practice.
Chapter XIV
The Reagan Administration and the Supply-Side Revolution
- Introductory Remarks
- Supply Side Economics
- A False Prosperity
- Other Accusations
- The Charges Further Analyzed
- Budget Deficits
- Do Budget Deficits Matter?
- The Optimum Tax Rate
- The Economic Significance of Budget Deficits
Chapter XV
The US Federal Income Tax System
- General Considerations
- Arbitrary Tax Rates
- The Need for a Simple Tax Code Based on Principle
- The Cost of Collecting Taxes
- The Fairness Issue
- A Fool's Game
- Tax Cuts
- The Effect of Tax Rates on the Share of Taxes Paid by the Rich
- Adam Smith's Tax Maxim
- The Postcard Tax Return or Flat Tax
- The Business Tax
- The Tax on Individuals
- The Value Added Tax
Chapter XVI
Clintonomics
The Persistence of the Welfare State and Big Government
- Clinton, the New Democrat
- Same Tune, Different Lyrics
- The Two-Tiered Society
- Investments in People
- The Need for More College Graduates
- The Minimum Wage and Job Training
- The European Experience
- The Great Surprise
- Low Productivity
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About the Book
There is a world of difference between modern liberalism and classical liberalism and very little difference between European socialism and modern American liberalism.
However, I have reached the conclusion that liberals are better identified by their mindset than by their ideology.
I do not deny, however, the connection between mindset and ideology. In American textbooks, Rousseau, identified as a classical liberal, has the mindset of a liberal or socialist.
To get a clear idea of classical liberalism's principles one has only to consult John Stuart Mill's On Liberty. To get a classical liberal's perspective, one cannot do better than to consult Alexis de Tocqueville's Democracy in America. In Chapters II and IX, the differences in modern liberalism and classical liberalism are discussed.
About the Author
An Outline of Modern Liberalism
The author is a World War II veteran who met and married his wife in France. They have three grown children and six grandchildren. By the year 2000, liberalism was on the wane, but it was not so weak as to be incapable of wreaking mischief.
After retiring in 1983, Cowart turned his attention to his true love: philosophy and economics. Only then did he begin to take an active interest in contemporary politics. An Outline of Modern Liberalism is the product of five years of study and five years of writing.