Impositions and

Challenges
TO WHAT EXTENT SHOULD SOCIETIES BE ORGANIZED ON THE BASIS OF LIBERAL
PRINCIPLES?
Definition

 When a nation or group pushes/forces their ideals on

another group or nation.

Therefore…..

 An Imposition of Liberalism is when values associated

with Free Markets and/or Democracy are
pushed/forced on a group or nation.
Is This An Example?
What Is Being Imposed?
Challenges to Liberalism

 Factors that make the implementation and use of

liberal principles (Free Markets or Democracy) difficult
to establish or continue.

OR

 Something that occurs though the USE of liberal

principles (Free Markets or Democracy) that might
make the continued use of other liberal principles
challenging in the future.
 "Suppose the election was declared free and fair," he said, and those
elected are "racists, fascists, separatists, who are publicly opposed to
[peace and reintegration]. That is the dilemma." Indeed it is, not just in the
former Yugoslavia, but increasingly around the world. Democratically
elected regimes, often ones that have been reelected or reaffirmed
through referenda, are routinely ignoring constitutional limits on their
power and depriving their citizens of basic rights and freedoms. From Peru
to the Palestinian Authority, from Sierra Leone to Slovakia, from Pakistan to
the Philippines, we see the rise of a disturbing phenomenon in international
life -- illiberal democracy.
Discussion 1

 In a modern liberal society, is the government ever

justified in violating its principles?

 What are the rights, roles and responsibilities of citizens

in times of crisis?

 What dynamic exists between individualism and the

common good in contemporary societies?
Crisis and Emergency Legislation

 Modern liberal societies accept the notion that a suspension of civil

liberties to promote the collective welfare may be necessary in times of
crisis.

 What is a crisis?
 Who decides when it is a crisis?
Quebec Winter Driving

 Starting Dec.
15, 2008
drivers caught
driving without
winter tires will
face fines
between $200
and $300.
Distracted Driving
 Ted Adams -- the publisher of
IDW comics -- named his little
son "Sam Adams," a good,
solid patriotic name. It's also
a name on the TSA's no-fly
list, and the five-year-old has
spent his young life being
harassed by airport security
goons who think he's a
terrorist.
Miniority Rights (Collective Rights)

Equality as individuals? Special

accommodation?
Post-Modern Context
• No Objective Truth

• No Global Cultural
Narrative
• (cultural relevance)

• No Sharp Classification
(male/female, black/white,
good/evil)

• a Rejection of the
modernist thought
produced by the
enlightenment (Liberalism?)
Discussion 2

Are Liberal Principles Viable in the context of

contemporary issues?