The Message of “Liberal Constitutionalism” in Yoon’s Aug. 15 Liberation Day Address

What Is the Difference Between Liberalism and Totalitarianism?

Tolerance toward others is the essence of liberalism

A concept that controls state power through law

“The independence movement was a nation-building movement to create a country where the people are sovereign—a liberal democratic state that respects freedom, human rights, and the rule of law.” — President Yoon Suk Yeol, Liberation Day address on August 15

President Yoon Suk Yeol emphasized freedom no fewer than 27 times in this year’s Liberation Day address. At the same time, he mentioned totalitarianism, which stands in opposition to freedom, 9 times, heightening the dramatic effect. But what exactly is freedom? It is not an easy question.

Everyone clearly wants freedom, but understanding what freedom truly is requires study. Hayek’s The Constitution of Liberty, by the “master of neoliberalism,” is precisely that introductory text.

First, let us look at the historical background of Hayek’s time. The period in which he wrote The Constitution of Liberty was the era of the Great Depression, when the struggle between freedom and anti-freedom continued without pause. In Italy, totalitarian fascism was on the rise, and under the Cold War system, socialism was widespread.

The history of ideological struggle to defend freedom is the story of Hayek’s life. As a scholar of the Austrian School, he waged an intellectual battle while also building a global network through organizing the Mont Pelerin Society. If The Constitution of Liberty approached the issue from a legal and institutional perspective, The Road to Serfdom was a book that directly criticized totalitarianism.

In particular, in The Constitution of Liberty, he says we must always be wary of moments when we place excessive trust in human reason. Anyone can make mistakes, and for that reason human beings are always imperfect. In other words, no one should dare arbitrarily restrict an individual’s freedom. The ability to be generous toward the mistakes of others is the basic philosophy of liberalism.

In The Constitution of Liberty, Hayek emphasized the rule of law, established on the foundation of freedom, as the system that supports this. He meant a state system governed not by people but by law. At first glance, rule by powerful laws may sound like the suppression of freedom, as in totalitarianism, but there is a clear difference. Rather than the suppression of freedom by law, as in totalitarianism, the rule of law instead controls state power through law and rejects arbitrary rule.

In other words, if the rule-of-law system functions properly, anyone can fully experience freedom. That is, the significance of the rule of law lies not in reason but in protecting “individual freedom,” humanity’s inherent condition. “The rule of law means that government should never exercise coercion upon the individual except in the enforcement of known rules. It serves to limit the powers of all government, including the legislature. It is a principle concerning what the law ought to be, and a principle concerning the general attributes that individual laws should possess.” — Main text, p. 323

Because of the global economic crisis that began in the United States and Europe’s fiscal crisis, governments around the world have been steadily growing larger. This phenomenon became even more pronounced after the COVID-19 crisis. Freedom of movement, one of the most basic human rights, was restricted, and masks were supplied almost as if they were rationed. Authorities even disclosed the full travel routes of confirmed patients. Before people realized it, individual freedom had been suppressed.

Freedom is often taken for granted, like air and water, and for that reason many people fail to properly grasp how precious it is. But freedom was never easily won. From the slave societies of antiquity to England’s Glorious Revolution, the French Revolution, and the American Revolution, humanity had to shed immense blood to obtain freedom.

President Yoon Suk Yeol also explained that the freedom we enjoy today came at the price of the sweat and tears of our forebears. He stressed, “Totalitarian forces make full use of the legal rights guaranteed by a free society to disrupt and attack it, and we must never be deceived by them or yield to them,” adding, “Properly remembering our forebears, who gave everything for the freedom and independence of the motherland and for universal values, is the very essence and core of national identity and national continuity.”

Dongyong Choi, Researcher, Center for Free Enterprise (CFE)

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Original title: 尹 8·15 광복절 연설문에 담긴 '자유헌정론'의 메시지

Author: Dong-yong Choi

Date: 2023-08-19

Source: https://www.cfe.org/bbs/bbsDetail.php?cid=press&idx=25954