Liberal Reformist Party of

Moldova

Liberalism is a political philosophy or worldview founded on ideas of

liberty and equality. The former principle is stressed in classical
liberalism while the latter is more evident in social liberalism. Liberals
espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these
principles, but generally they support ideas and programs such as
freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of religion, free
markets, civil rights, democratic societies, secular governments, and
international cooperation

HUMAN RIGHTS
Firstly, there is a commitment to fundamental human
rights. Fundamental human rights, for example, are the
right to human dignity, life, freedom from slavery,
freedom of religion, freedom of belief, freedom of
expression, freedom of association and so forth. Each of
these human rights is debated to decide what its
precise meaning is: the right to freedom from slavery is
an absolute right that cannot be limited. But what
about freedom of expression? A famous example of a
limitation here is that one cannot allow people to shout
fire in a crowded theatre when there is no fire. Doing
so would cause a panic and people would get hurt
trying to get out. However, liberals are usually very
much against limiting freedom of expression, or
censorship, because it is often used by governments to
suppress people and views that differ from what the
government wants people to believe or say.

Equality
Of particular importance among the
fundamental human rights is the right
to equality. As with other fundamental
rights, there is debate about what
exactly equality means. All liberals
will agree that equality means there
can be no discrimination. In a court of
law, for example, there can be no
discrimination on the grounds of race
(black or white) or gender (male or
female) or religion (Christian or
Muslim). There are still places where,
for example, what a woman has to
say in a court counts only half as
much as what a man has to say. This
is clearly unequal treatment. But does
equality also mean that everyone
must get the same salary or live in
the same kind of house? Liberals will
say no, but will demand that all
people must have the same
opportunities to improve their lives
therefore the emphasis on improving

Rule of law
This commitment to fundamental human rights goes together
with liberals commitment to the rule of law. The rule of law is a
set of safeguards against arbitrary and tyrannical treatment by
the authorities. In a court, for example, the judge must be
impartial and cannot be the same person as the prosecutor (in
other words, he or she cannot be a player and the referee at
the same time). Everyone, including government, must be
equal before the law no matter who they are. Anyone
accused of a crime must be told exactly what they are accused
of so that they can defend themselves. Everyone is innocent
until proven guilty. Judges must be independent, that is the
government or anyone else must not try and tell them what to
do, or threaten them.
The decisions of the courts must be consistent, that is similar
cases must have similar outcomes. In short, there must be
fairness in the way and manner people are treated by the
authorities. All this goes hand in hand with liberals belief that
the government and the state must function according to the
law and that certain fundamental principles cannot be changed
even if the government wants to (for example the right to
human dignity). Such fundamental principles are often, but not
always, written down in a countrys constitution.

Individual freedom
The basis for these liberal beliefs is
the importance liberals attach to the
individual and his/her rights and
responsibilities. Every single person is
important. Liberals believe that
people must decide for themselves
and not be told what to do all the
time. They must be free to lead the
life they want to lead, provided that
in doing so they do not limit someone
elses freedom. In other words, your
right to swing your arms freely stops
where you start hitting someone.
This belief in individual liberty
underlies all the other principles
listed already. In addition, liberalism
demands tolerance of various
opinions and, most difficult of all, of
opinions that are different from our
own. A famous writer once said, I
disagree with what you say, but I will