Core Values of Liberalism Discussed by Theorist Andrew Vincent
On April 24, Prof. Andrew Vincent of Cardiff University took part in the Bilkent University Seminar Series on Polity, Society and the World. His talk, entitled, "Liberalism in Comparative Perspective," highlighted the question of whether liberalism constitutes a disposition to a certain form of mind.
The answer might seem straightforward to anyone interested in politics, but as a political theorist, Prof. Vincent approached the subject by pointing out some pitfalls. First of all, as he underlined at the beginning of his speech, there have always been multiple understandings of liberalism in academia, varying to a great extent across diverse geographies. Secondly, as he traced the history of the development of the concept, he depicted how definitions of what the word “liberal” meant throughout history changed.
Nonetheless, according to Prof. Vincent, liberalism possesses certain fundamental features that might be regarded as "core values." He listed them as "a sense of the importance of the individual," "the practice of liberty" and "the belief that power has to be constrained" and "the state has to be limited." He also pointed out that the "liberal," despite the varying attributes connected with the term, has a strong sense of the public and private spheres.
Conversely, he noted, liberalism does not really connote certain attributes that are commonly associated with it. For example, concepts of "tolerance," "democracy" and "progress" are not necessarily core values subscribed to by all liberals, nor are they ideas that are reserved strictly for liberal political domains. In that respect, Prof. Vincent's talk was highly illuminating, illustrating how stereotypes limit our understanding of commonly used political concepts.
Prof. Vincent is honorary professor in the Department of Politics and professorial fellow at the Collingwood and British Idealism Centre of Cardiff University. By Sezin Öney (POLS/PhD)