Speech of Philippine Senate President Franklin M. Drilon
“Liberalism in the 21st Century” - Dinner Reception for members of the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats (CALD)
Organized by the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats (CALD) and Liberal International (LI)
Friday, 27 March 2015, JW Marriot Hotel, Hanoi, Vietnam

 Liberalism in the 21st Century

 Mr. Hans-Georg Jonek, Country Director, Friedrich Naumann Foundation Vietnam; fellow parliamentarians; distinguished guests; friends; ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon.

It gives me great pleasure to welcome all of you. We are gathered here today, not primarily as representatives of our respective parliaments to the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), but as liberals. It is not often that we are invited to events on the basis of our ideological leanings, so we thought that we might as well use this occasion to reflect on the challenges to liberalism in the 21st century.

One of the strengths of liberalism is its capacity for self-correction. This flows from our ideology’s openness to diverse – even hostile – views and opinions. This also explains our more positive stance towards change. Liberalism’s openness to change, while oftentimes interpreted as a sign of ideological malleability, is actually what makes it persists amidst changing circumstances.

So where does liberalism stand amidst the challenges of the 21st century? From the rise of extremist groups like ISIS/ISIL, the persecution of journalists in Latin America, the threats to members of LGBT community in Russia and Africa, the growing strength of ultranationalist, anti-immigrant parties and groups in Europe, to the persistence of authoritarian regimes and wealth inequality in Asia –there is no doubt that the world would benefit from the application of more liberal ideas and principles.

Liberalism is said to be the ideology of the 21st century, but why does it appear to be in retreat? Why do liberal politicians and political parties lose popular support in many parts of the world?

If liberals can offer the best solutions to the problems confronting the world today, why are we losing elections to conservatives, populists and ultranationalists? What are we doing wrong, and how can we address this?

My fellow liberals, let me offer one possible explanation for this unfortunate state of affairs. I surmise that liberalism’s current crisis flows from our inability to correct the misconceptions about liberalism, particularly in relation to the economy. To this day, liberalism is still perceived as the ideology of the elites / of the privileged class / and that it works solely for their interests alone / to the detriment of the rest of the population. It continues to be seen as impervious to the needs of the poor and the marginalized. Liberalism, in essence, is (wrongly) blamed for the widening wealth inequality in the world today.

And the gap between the rich and the poor is indeed increasing. The report published by Oxfam International in January 2014 reveals this worrisome trend:

• Almost half of the world’s wealth is now owned by just one percent of the population.

• The wealth of the one percent richest people in the world amounts to $110 trillion. That’s 65 times the total wealth of the bottom half of the world’s population.

• The bottom half of the world’s population owns the same as the richest 85 people in the world.

• Seven out of ten people live in countries where economic inequality has increased in the last 30 years.

• That inequality is increasing, despite the global economic expansion since the post-World War II era, and raises questions on whether the rising “neoliberal” tide indeed lifts all boats, or does it only lift the yachts of the wealthy. Does the “invisible hand of the market” promote the general interest of all, or does it only cater to the whims of the elites?

How we respond to this question is crucial to our goal of regaining the people’s trust and popular support. The problem is that we liberals have not been very aggressive in answering the accusations against us, despite our knowledge of empirical evidence to the contrary. For example, numerous multi-country studies in the past arrived at the following conclusions:

• The group of the poorest / and least growing countries / is almost totally identical with those who have not opened their economies / and constantly interfere with the freedom of the people.

• The per capita income in the economically freest countries is almost 10 times as high as in the least free.

• Gross domestic product is highest in countries with the best ranking for protection of rights to property.

• Long-term prosperity is positively correlated with stable, constitutional conditions (rule of law).

Ladies and gentlemen, these findings show that liberal policies have been more successful in addressing wealth inequality than various policies which forward state intervention. It is time that we liberals become more vocal about this, and face the criticisms against us, head-on. More importantly, we must practice what we preach, so we do not experience a crisis of credibility. That some of the countries which advance the liberal economy, are economic protectionists themselves, certainly do not help in this regard.

Dear Friends, Let me conclude by asserting that the contributions of liberalism to modern society are enormous. Its core principles are embodied in the most important documents of modern times – from the Declaration of Independence of the United States, to the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen by the French National Assembly, to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations. The principles that we hold dear today – freedom, equality, human rights, democracy, rule of law, good governance, fair competition – can be traced directly to the liberal ideology.

Then as now, the main criticisms of liberalism come from the marginalized class, developing countries, and their supporters. The critics view liberalism as a status quo ideology that ignores widespread inequalities and marginalization in both domestic and international contexts. Critical theorist Robert Cox once said, “Theory is always for someone and for some purpose”, and this applies to the liberal theory as well.

Liberalism, it is said, is protective of the interests of the wealthy, of developed countries, of Western nations that exploit the poor and the powerless. While this is an unfair accusation, considering modern liberalism’s emphasis on redistribution, but it cannot be denied that other ideologies have more powerful explanations and prescriptions as regards the persistence of poverty and inequality in the world.

Let me end with a quote from noted international relations scholars John Baylis and Steve Smith, who captured the key challenge of liberalism in our times. They said and I quote, “The key question for Liberalism at the dawn of the new century is whether it can reinvent itself as a non-universalizing, non-Westernizing political idea, which preserves the traditional liberal value of human solidarity without undermining cultural diversity.”

Provided liberalism does not abandon its fundamental principle – the principle of freedom – I have no doubt that liberalism can surmount this challenge.

Thank you very much.

Long live liberalism! Mabuhay!