Liberalism Vs Republicanism

Examining the historical background of the United States, liberalism, with its belief in negative liberty, and republicanism, with its belief in positive liberty, have always been the dominant political ideologies in the United States. That said I am of the inclination that even as modern American government may appear to be republican, liberalism remains inherent within the nature of the people of the United States itself. I would first examine the characteristics of the two streams of political thought, before using those differences to prove that the United States is steeped more in liberalism than republicanism by looking at the unique nature of the New World, the nature of American republicanism as well as the careful machinations of …show more content…
But American republicanism was not republicanism in its classical Greek form but rather an adaptation of it to suit the liberal values of the early Puritan society. The Puritans were extremely communitarian due to their common middle class roots, and their extreme insecurity about their place as part of God’s elect saw them constantly striving to be as virtuous and as hardworking as possible, they were still liberal in their pursuit of a new life and private property in the New World. However, the Puritans were able to align their own private values with public virtues while maintaining a private-public divide in their lives, as the liberal Puritan has, on his own accord, brought in republican virtue into his own private sphere due to the moral teachings of religion. This Puritanical tradition would therefore allow American society to take on a republican structure without compromising on its liberal traditions. Quoting Vetterli and Bryner, “whether (the Americans’ acceptance of public virtue) was a result of fear of God’s wrath and judgement or a pure love of others did not particularly matter to the polity as a whole” . With religion to act as a bridge between the two, there is no need for any individual to consciously elevate to his higher self and sacrifice his personal interests, for the system has been tweaked to allow self-interest, but carefully moderated by the individual himself due to values inculcated by religious beliefs. Hence, while American society may seem republican in structure, it still remains steeped in liberalism in its