Liberalism In Common Sense

Liberalism is a classic political ideology, which holds that protection, and assertion of individual freedoms is the primary purpose and problem of politics. Thomas Paine's work 'Common Sense' is perhaps the most well-known text to espouse liberal ideology. In it, he states:

Society in every state is a blessing, but government even in its best state is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one; for when we suffer, or are exposed to the same miseries by a government, which we might expect in a country without government, our calamity is heightened by reflecting that we furnish the means by which we suffer.

At an international level, Liberalism thus maintains that nations can and should work together in order to make net gains
as a group. Rather than focusing on relative gains over one another, the international system is – according to Liberals – merely a way to work together, to reach the states’ goals. Liberalism explains the proliferation of intergovernmental organizations, government interaction with non-governmental organizations, etc.

Realism is a political theory that holds that the geopolitical world and interactions are driven by the various states' self-interests. Realists believe that the international political sphere is inherently anarchistic, but that competition drives some degree of order. Accordingly, Realism additionally asserts that nations can only truly be trusted to take actions that directly benefit them and their causes.

A broad sphere of study, opinions differ on how and where Realism is seen in the actual interactions of governments versus its theoretical principles. However, the implication that states will ultimately seek personal successes is an obvious underlying truth. In the world political system, a state’s goal is to succeed relative to other nations. Whether that requires cooperation or individualism is a question that precedes the underlying self-centeredness.

Though I believe that Realist assertions of a state’s fundamental self-centered drive are accurate, I still feel the global system is best represented by Liberalism.
Yes, states seek to maintain their positions of power. No nation will choose actions which lower their relative international power positions, unless there are no alternative options. Yes, states seek to achieve their goals above all else. Governments are run by human beings, and self-preservation is fundamental to how we view the world. However, politics is operated in a world of mutually assured destruction – should any state ever seek to push themselves too far ahead or others too far behind – and cooperation is unavoidable.

To have any degree of power at the international scale, nations must become involved with IGOs. The power held by the United Nations, European Union, World Bank Group, European Organization for Nuclear Research, World Trade Organization, etc., are all testaments to the necessity of group membership in the 21st century. Perhaps the best example for the role of Liberalism is that to be recognized as a sovereign state, a nation must receive recognition from the international community. Indeed, in many instances, to exist is to
cooperate.