The Foundation for Economic Freedom (FEF) held its webinar, “Philippine Liberalism: History, Relevance, and Moving Forward” on 31 May 2024 via Zoom. The event was attended by over 170 participants.
FEF invited two distinguished scholars on liberalism. Dr. Alexandre Lefebvre, a professor of politics and philosophy at the University of Sydney, briefly discussed the history and future of global liberalism. Articulated in the 19th century as a political philosophy, liberalism originally sought to answer how individuals remain liberal—“free and generous”—in the face of capitalism and democracy’s emergence.
Dr. Alexandre Lefebvre, a professor of politics and philosophy at the University of Sydney, discussed the history and future of global liberalism.
He expounded on five “versions” of liberalism that developed in the past two centuries: 1) as restrained government power; 2) as free markets and economic interactions; 3) as human progress; 4) as equality and state-regulated welfare; 5) and as pluralism and tolerance.
Dr. Lisandro Claudio, an associate professor of Southeast Asian Studies at the University of California, Berkeley, explained the historical development of liberalism in the Philippine context.
The second speaker was Dr. Lisandro Claudio, an associate professor of Southeast Asian Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. Taking off from Lefebvre’s presentation, Claudio zeroed in on Philippine liberalism from a historical perspective.
He explained how Filipino liberalism flourished under Spanish colonial persecution, at a time when authorities equated liberalism with rebellion. Akin to “a plant that never dies”, liberal ideals fueled the Philippine Revolution. During the American occupation of the country, liberalism merged with American civics and led to the formation of the Filipino secular state.
Contrary to popular belief that liberalism is a foreign ideology incompatible with Filipino culture, post-war Filipino statemen were instrumental in forming international liberal institutions, citing the late Salvador P. Lopez who formerly chaired the United Nations Commission on Human Rights.
“S.P. Lopez was the chair of the commission who proposed a system whereby anybody in the world could petition the United Nations to look into human rights violations in other countries,” said Claudio.
Both speakers shared their insights on the internal and external threats that liberal democracy faces today.
“Today, liberalism suffers from two threats that interact in very complex ways. On the one hand, you have rival ideologies from non- and illiberal countries. On the other hand, you have dissatisfaction from within liberal democracies today,” said Lefebvre.
The said webinar is under the project, ‘Faces of Liberalism’, and was conducted in partnership with the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA). The IEA is a UK-based educational charity and free market think tank that supports liberal economic think tanks worldwide.
By: Cesar Ilao III
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