Traditional Liberal Order

As a common sense, there is paradigm interpreting model between the individualism and the holism all the time in the history of western political thoughts. And that is the question reflecting on the areas of political philosophy and political affairs that how to achieve the balance and harmony between the stable and regular development of the society orders and the guarantee and perfection of individual's freedom. From the modern times, the early constitutionalism that is based on the core of individualism and the right of freedom with the reversion of the value foundation from God to human pointed the legitimated direction which is from feudalism and autocracy to democracy and republic, from suppressing of powers to releasing of rights. In the same proceeding, the liberalism that respecting the spirit of conventional liberty meanwhile taking rules and orders as the indispensable elements constructed the main skeleton of modern western constitutionalism. Therefore, this paper discusses that conventions, liberty and orders are the three dimensions of the development of western constitutional spirit and is divided in the following three parts:Chapter One mainly focus on the background of the religion and the germination of constitutionalism in modern western civilization and also the generation of the British constitutionalism and the spirits of 'Anglo's liberty' with the belt of the tradition of common law. The individualism in the religion and the movement of Puritanism which were promoted by the religion reforms of Luther's and Calvin's that on the basis of constitutional principles which were born form the churches and canon law in the Middle Ages played an important role in the coming times of constitutionalism and in the shaping of the British constitutionalism. Furthermore, the unwritten and anti-system model of the British constitution is created from a series of the common law systems and is the intercourses of liberal conventions and constitutionalism, the history of thoughts and society. The evolvement and development of the spirit of liberty promoted the foundation of the British constitutionalism which is based on the conventions of common law; by the contrast, the practice of British constitution deeply catalyzed the gestation and growth of the spirit of liberty.Chapter Two demonstrates and illustrates that the development of liberty and liberal thoughts always acted the role of masterstroke in the reforms of western political structures in the stream of the evolvement of the modern western systems and the transformation of the ideas which it oriented. Firstly, this paper interprets the basic meaning of liberty and the substance of liberalism, which indicates that the liberty under the constitutionalism is a modality of freedom that unchaining the coercion. With the analyses of the liberalism, it emphasize on the differences and distinct approaches of empiricism in British tradition and rationalism in French tradition. Secondly, the thoughts of Hume as the representation of the soul of constructing the classic liberalism are the pointed issues that indicates Hume's ideas which including the epistemology of evolving reasons, the evilness of humanity in political analyses and the ideas of 'Free by law' and liberal government, are the footstone of constructing the constitutional system in western liberalism. And last, it returns to Mill's neo-liberalism with a summary discussion.Chapter Three indicates the first half of 20th century was the times that promoting the holism and focusing on the orders and the positive liberty. As the result of the state interference which was pushed by the movement of neo-liberalism, the market economic countries in the West trapped into the remarkable declines and messes and at the same time, it also stimulated the academia in the West to open the door of the thoughts about the relationships between individual and integrity, liberty and orders prudently. And Hayek, as the representation of Conventions of liberty which taking the Scotland conventions of classic liberty as their idealistic resources, whom built a modern liberal constitutional system that coherent the traditional values and matching the theme of the times through the retiring and distinguishing the ideas of authority and orders, autonomic and regulated orders, rules and laws, democracy and liberty.