Liberalism, from the Latin ‘Liberalis’, is the belief in importance of liberty, freedom of speech and equal rights. Liberalism is a political orientation that favours social progress by reform and by changing laws rather than by revolution. It derives its meaning from the Latin word ‘liber’ which means ‘free’. First used in 1815, liberalism advocates free competition and a self-regulatory economic market. As the 19th century approached “liberal” began to be used for politics.
Liberalism can only flourish when socio-politics become free of top-down constraints and corruption. Let the society breathe naturally and both politics and culture will become more normal. Pakistan was a British colony which had introduced in Indo-Pak parliamentary democracy. However, since Pakistan had gotten independence, Pakistanis were very keen as self-respecting in the advanced chunk of world population. The national assembly of Pakistan had the dual function of running the state as well as the working of the government and formation of the country’s constitution. The country’s first constitution was debated, framed and enforced on 23 March 1956.
The cherished goal of achieving a liberal democratic government failed to take proper roots in the country mainly due to the failure of the feudal lords of the land to understand and appreciate the new liberal democratic setup. They tried to control the government through secret mechanism and instead of delivering good governance to the country, they engaged themselves in achieving their invidious objectives through the state machinery. Since they had no clear vision to the good governance, they spread corruption for achieving their goals.
AADIL AAMIR
Lahore
