Why Liberals Support Constitutionalism
Why and how have liberals supported the fragmentation of political power? (15)
Why
Liberals are concerned about power, most basically, because power constitutes a threat to liberty. Their concern about concentrations of power is rooted in their emphasis upon individualism and its implication that human beings are rationally self- interested creatures. Egoism determines that those who have the ability to influence behaviour of others are inevitably inclined to use that ability for their own benefit and therefore at the expense of others. The greater the concentration of power, the greater will be the scope of rulers to pursue self-interest and, thus, the greater corruption. Lord Acton stated "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men." behind Acton’s famous quote about power and corruption, he points out the liberal belief that, since human beings are individuals and therefore egoistical, they are bound to use power - the ability to influence the behaviour of others to benefit themselves and they will use, or abuse, others in the furtherance of that goal. In essence, the greater the power the greater the scope for using and abusing others in the pursuit of self-seeking ends. Such thinking has shaped liberalism in a number of ways. …show more content…
This assumption is rooted in the liberal view of human nature: as individualism implies self- interest, those with power over others are apt to abuse it for their benefit and at the expense of others. Constitutionalism is the theory or practice of restricting government power through the establishment of a framework of constitutional regulations, usually involving the fragmentation of power to create a network of checks and
Why
Liberals are concerned about power, most basically, because power constitutes a threat to liberty. Their concern about concentrations of power is rooted in their emphasis upon individualism and its implication that human beings are rationally self- interested creatures. Egoism determines that those who have the ability to influence behaviour of others are inevitably inclined to use that ability for their own benefit and therefore at the expense of others. The greater the concentration of power, the greater will be the scope of rulers to pursue self-interest and, thus, the greater corruption. Lord Acton stated "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men." behind Acton’s famous quote about power and corruption, he points out the liberal belief that, since human beings are individuals and therefore egoistical, they are bound to use power - the ability to influence the behaviour of others to benefit themselves and they will use, or abuse, others in the furtherance of that goal. In essence, the greater the power the greater the scope for using and abusing others in the pursuit of self-seeking ends. Such thinking has shaped liberalism in a number of ways. …show more content…
This assumption is rooted in the liberal view of human nature: as individualism implies self- interest, those with power over others are apt to abuse it for their benefit and at the expense of others. Constitutionalism is the theory or practice of restricting government power through the establishment of a framework of constitutional regulations, usually involving the fragmentation of power to create a network of checks and