Democracy
& Nature, Vol. 3, No. 2
Liberalism
as Democracy: Authority over Freedom
William
R. McKercher
Abstract
This article is an attempt to look at the
libertarian commitment to freedom, initially within a conceptual context, but
more broadly in relation to liberal democracy. But first it is fundamental to
clarify and distinguish between those who call themselves libertarians. One
group attaches freedom to individualism; the other attaches freedom to equality.
The former group is very much attached to the liberal sentiments of John Stuart
Mill, the latter to anarcho—socialists of the mid—nineteenth century. In
examining the views of J S Mill, especially in regards to freedom, equality, and
democracy, I intend to show that Mill is the main propagator of intellectual
elitism, bourgeois values, and the cult of modern—day individualism. In short,
he is a good liberal, whose values have become the most invidious part of what
most people now accept as democracy.
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