31. Passage 2: Read the passages given below and answer the questions No. 28-31
J S Mill's ideas have been described as the 'heart of liberalism'. This is because he provided a 'bridge 'between classical and modern liberalism.... Mill suggested that, over himself, over his own body and mind, the individual is sovereign', a conception of liberty that is essentially negative as it portrays freedom in terms of the absence of restrictions on an individualās self regarding' actions. Mill believed this to be a necessary condition for liberty, but not in itself a sufficient one. He thought that liberty was a positive and constructive force. It gave individuals the ability to take control of their own lives, to gain autonomy or achieve self-realization. .... Mill believed passionately in individuality. The value of liberty is that it enables individuals to develop, to gain talents, skills and knowledge and to refine their sensibilities. He was clearly not concerned with simple pleasure-seeking, but with personal self-development, declaring that he would rather be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied'.
....... Individuals, according to Green, have sympathy for one another; their egoism is therefore constrained by some degree of altruism. The individual possesses social responsibilities and not merely individual responsibilities, and is therefore linked to other individuals by ties of caring and empathy. Such a conception of human nature was clearly influenced by socialist ideas......
....... If the minimal state was typical of the 19m century, during the 20th century modern states became welfare states. .... Modern liberals defend welfarism on the basis of equality of opportunity. If particular individuals or groups are disadvantaged by their social circumstances, then the state possesses a social responsibility to reduce or remove these disadvantages to create equal, or at least more equal, life chances. ........ Welfare rights are positive rights because they can only be satisfied by the positive actions of government,. through the provision of state pensions, benefits and, perhaps, publicly funded health and education services. During the 20th century, liberel parties and liberal governments were therefore converted to the cause of social welfare......
..... In addition to providing social welfare, 20th century western governments also sought to deliver prosperity by 'managing' their economies. This once again involved rejecting classical liberal thinking, in particular its belief in a self-regulating free market and the doctrine of laissezfaire. ....... Classical economists had argued that there was a grarket solution to the problem of unemployment and, indeed, all other economic problems. Keynes argues, however that the level of economic activity, and therefore of employment, is determined by the total amount of demand - aggregate demand - in the economy. .... Government spending is, in this sense, an injection of demand into the economy. .... Keynesian demand management thus promised to give governments the ability to manipulate employment and growth levels, and hence to secure general prosperity and harmony in civil society.
....... How has liberalism been affected by the forces of globalisation? Has western liberalism been transformed into global liberalism? The first 'face' of global liberalism is neoliberalisrn, which is so closely linked to economic globalisation that many commentators treat neoliberalism and globalisation as if they are part of the same phenomenon: "neoliberal globalisation". The link occurs for a variety of reasons. In particular, intensified international competition encourages governments to de-regulate their economies and reduce tax levels in the hope of attracting inward investment and preventing transnational corporations from relocating elsewhere. ........The secondoface'of global liberalism is liberal democracy, which has now developed beyond its western heartland and become a worldwide force. ..... This was demonstrated, moreover, by the process of democratisation that was under way in Africa, Asian and Latin America, which involved the spread of competitive party systems and a growing enthusiasm for market reforms. By 2000, about two-thirds of the states in the world had political systems that exhibited significant liberal-democratic feature, with democratic movements springing about in more and more parts of the world. For liberals, this provided further optimism about the prospects of international pea@. In a tradition of republican liberalism that can be traced back to Woodrow Wilson, if not to Kant, liberals have argued that autocratic or authoritarian states are inherently militaristic and aggressive, while democratic states are naturally peaceful, especially in their dealings with other democratic states. .. The 'third face' of global liberalism arises from the fact that the advance of globalisation has had an important ethical dimension. This reflects the fact that widening global interconnectedness, especially as facilitated by the new media and the information and communications revolution, has strengthened that idea that justice now extends 'beyond borders'. ... Such cosmopolitan thinking often linked to the idea of global justice, has typically drawn on liberal principles and assumptions, the most important being the doctrine of human rights.
[Source: Andrew Heywood. 2014. Political ldeologies, Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 52-53.]
Q. What are the necessary and sufficient conditions of freedom according to J S Mill? (University of Hyderabad Ph.D 2021)