Tribute Why Liberty .Lourished in the West

tribute Why Liberty (lourished in the West Jim Powell Almost all the ideas of liberty are Western, but why did liberty originate and develop furthest in the West? espite the claims of those who say one culture When researching The Triumph of Liberty, I tried to is as good as another, the West is clearly include people from as many different countries as Dsuperior in at least one crucial respect: it possible. The largest group is Americans, followed by brought liberty into the modern world, and liberty has English and French. There are three Austrians, two made possible many other good things. Dutchmen, two Italians, two Scots, a German, a In this politically correct era, some intellectuals have Hungarian, an Irishman, a Russian, a Spaniard, a Swede, been surprised to discover that the West is unique in and a Swiss. Women, blacks, and Jews are well this. For example, Harvard historical sociologist represented. I had a couple of good non-Western Orlando Patterson had started out to write a book candidates but wasn’t able to get enough biographical explaining the origins of slavery, but he quickly realised material on them, so the more than 60 people I ended that slavery was universal throughout the ancient world. up with were all Westerners, and I’ve often been The question to ask was why liberty emerged in the questioned about this. West and nowhere else, which became the subject of Well, aside from some fragmentary thoughts his National Book Award-winning Freedom in the attributed to the Chinese wise man Lab Tzu, almost all Making of Western Culture (1991). the ideas of liberty are Western: individual rights, secure Patterson talked about slavery in ancient Meso- private property, freedom of speech, freedom of the potamia and Egypt. Slavery was commonplace in Africa press, freedom of association, freedom of religion, before Europeans came on the scene, and in China slaves freedom of trade, separation of powers, equality before were buried alive. Patterson discussed Cherokee Indians the law, and so on. who enslaved the war prisoners they didn’t kill. He told Similarly, all the protections for liberty, such as a of the Tupinamba tribe that, living in South America written constitution, a bill of rights, an independent before the Europeans arrived, actually ate their slaves. judiciary, privatisation, and term limits, developed in Patterson wanted to know why, ‘after taking slavery the West. The West was the first civilisation to abolish for granted since the beginning of history, the West, in slavery. While there have been conquerors in the West, a remarkably short period of time during the late there has also been a distinguished anti-militarist eighteenth century, redefined slavery as the greatest of evils.’ He continued: ‘One of the major objectives . Jim Powell is Senior ?ellow at the Cato Institute and author is to show that freedom was a peculiarly Western value of The Triumph of Liberty: A 2000-Year History, Told Through the Lives of reedoms Greatest Champions, available from and ideal . freedom has been the core value of Western www.laissezfairebooks.com and other book services. A version culture throughout its history. It is the West that of this article first appeared in CATO Policy Report 22:5 must be scrutinised and explained for its peculiar (September/October, 2000) and is reprinted here with commitment to this value.’ permission from CATO. 48 Policy vol. 17, no. 3 WHY LIBERTY ?LOURISHED IN THE WEST tradition, with dissidents courageously speaking out Liberty depends on individuals against military conscription and for peace. When all is said and done, liberty flourished where Why, then, did liberty originate and develop furthest enough courageous independent thinkers risked their in the West? Patterson suggested that Greek female lives for it. We in the West are the fortunate beneficiaries slaves were the first to make liberty a value, and during of the courage of somebody who stuck his neck out the Persian Wars (492-449 B.C.) Greek men began to first and encouraged another and another until the fear that they, too, could become slaves if captured, so tradition of liberty became well established. liberty became a value for them. For example, Marcus Tullius Cicero dared to Geography probably played a role in the denounce the tyranny of Julius Caesar, the conqueror development of liberty. Greece has many harbours who had bragged that he slaughtered a quarter million that could shelter ships and many islands whose Germans. After Caesar’s assassination, Cicero denounced people were most likely to advance themselves the tyranny of his successor Mark Antony, for which through overseas commerce. Europe’s irregular Antony had him beheaded, but more than a thousand coastline, with thousands of harbours, some opening years later Cicero’s ideas and deeds continued to inspire to major rivers, likewise encouraged people in the West. commerce. Since commerce means Cicero was cherished by contact with all kinds of people, Erasmus, the Dutch-born ideas, and goods, merchants must be During some periods, champion of toleration during the tolerant and rational if they are to such as the mid-20th 16th century. Then in 17th-century be successful. ‘Coastal peoples’, century, Europe was England, according to one observer, Thomas Sowell observed in Migrations it was ‘the common fashion at and Cultures (1996), ‘have tended ruled by murderous schools’ to use Cicero’s De Officiis to be culturally distinctive. In touch dictators. Whatever (On Duties) as a text on ethics. with the outside world, they have gave birth to liberty Philosopher John Locke usually been more knowledgeable recommended Cicero’s works. and more technologically and socially wasn’t always enough Cicero’s vision of natural law advanced than interior peoples.’ to preserve it. influenced thinkers like Locke, That there was much political Samuel Pufendort, and Cato’s Letters’ competition in Europe, fragmented authors John Trenchard and into many states, surely helped make Thomas Gordon, who had the most it easier for liberty to arise there. Moreover, the direct intellectual impact on the American Revolution. 16th century brought religious competition. Not, In Germany, Cicero was admired by dramatist Friedrich it’s true, within particular regions where Catholicism Schiller. The French Baron de Montesquieu, who urged (southern and western Europe) or Protestantism the importance of a separation of powers, considered (northern Europe) had a monopoly. But there was Cicero ‘one of the greatest spirits.’ Voltaire wrote that serious religious rivalry, something not seen in many Cicero ‘taught us how to think.’ Inspired by Cicero other parts of the world. Furthermore, Protestantism during the French Revolution, journalist Jean-Baptiste itself involved competing sects. This meant tragic Louvet de Couvray boldly attacked Maximilien de wars, but it also meant there was no centralised religious Robespierre for promoting the Reign of Terror. state. As Voltaire wrote, ‘If there were only one religion Many of the due process protections we take for in England, there would be danger of tyrrany [sic]; granted in criminal justice proceedings go back to the if there were two, they would cut each other’s throats; English ‘Leveller’ John Lilburne, who stuck his neck but there are thirty, and they live happily together out for liberty. He wrote pamphlets challenging the in peace.’ brutal religious monopoly of the Church of England. Although these factors explain why conditions were The standard legal practice of the time was to interrogate favourable for liberty in the West, that outcome witnesses until they incriminated themselves, at which certainly wasn’t inevitable. During some periods, such point they were off to prison. Lilburne refused to testify as the mid-2Oth century, Europe was ruled by against himself. Imprisoned without being formally murderous dictators. Whatever gave birth to liberty charged, he demanded that charges be filed so that he wasn’t always enough to preserve it. would have an opportunity to prove his innocence in a Spring 2001 49 WHY LIBERTY ?LOURISHED IN THE WEST jury trial; these habeas corpus rights had often been during wars, yet it was during this time that some disregarded. Lilburne demanded the right to be courageous independent thinkers vastly strengthened represented by a lawyer. He demanded enough time to the case for a free society. Every one of these thinkers prepare a defence. He demanded the right to cross- lived in the West, and some were exiles from tyranny. examine his accusers. For making these demands, he There was the Austrian Ludwig von Mises, who, as spent most of his adult life in prison, and he faced the a young economist, identified fatal flaws of socialism death penalty four times. even before Vladimir Lenin consolidated his power in After Lilburne’s death in 1657, others followed the Soviet Union. In 1940, after the fall of France, Mises his example and made similar demands, but they weren’t fled Hitler’s Europe for the United States where his hit as hard, and gradually there was a remarkable books Bureaucracy (1944), Omnipotent Government change. Historian G. M. Trevelyan observed: ‘The (1944), and Human Action (1949) explained, with Puritan Revolution had enlarged the liberty of the great sophistication, why free market economies accused subject against the outperform government-run prosecuting Government, as the economies. He wrote these books trials of John Lilburne had shown while dozens of countries were . Questions of law as well as of Hayek, like Mises, adopting Soviet-style five year plans, fact were now left to the jury, who has been vindicated and prestigious economists ignored were free to acquit without fear of by unfolding events, in or ridiculed his work. Mises was consequences; the witnesses for the dramatically vindicated by the prosecution were now always particular his insistence humiliating collapse of the Soviet brought into court and made to that political liberty is Union.

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