ABSTRACT
The word ‘Liberal’ was first adopted as a political label in Spain, in the Cortes at Cadiz in 1810, to denote the opposite of ‘servile’. A Liberal is ‘unservile’, insubordinate. The ‘new’ freedoms (economic) are contrasted with the ‘old’, and in some quarters which make much of the former there is a disposition to devalue the latter. Liberalism true Liberalism repudiates this antithesis. It regards Liberty and Welfare as complementary, and both as means to the same end the creation of opportunity for men and women to become self-directing, responsible persons. Liberals are in no doubt on which side they stand. The unique significance of the person is an ethical concept. Christians would say that it is based on the theological ground that men are children of God and immortal souls. Humanists accept the conclusions without accepting the premise. The individual human being cannot live to himself alone.
