How has the concept of individual liberty changed throughout the Essay

How has the concept of individual liberty changed throughout the history of political thought Discuss and develop an argument based on the works of authors discussed throughout the course - Essay Example It also includes the state of indifference towards others’ political, social, economic, cultural, personal and religious activities. International politics, international law, state organisations, social justice, equality, liberty and social movements also come into the fold of liberalism. By critically examining the philosophies of all the great personalities, it becomes evident that all these personalities support individual liberty provided it is observed out of sound reasoning on the one hand, and is exercised with a good intention on the other. Individual liberty has always been the subject of great interest for the philosophers and political thinkers, and they strived for winning freedom of thought and action for all citizens on the foundation of equality and without any discrimination of caste, class, creed, community, race, region, religion, ethnicity and gender. Since thinkers and philosophers serve as the brain of a society, they do not accept inequalities and injustices committed by the rulers and powerful stratum of society on the suppressed masses. Consequently, they rebel against the man-made bonds and shackles and present the intellectual framework which offers a complete and just system to lead a happy and peaceful life. Since the foundations of their philosophy rests on human welfare, they awake the society from the sleep of ignorance and encourage them struggle to win their rights. Before the mighty French Revolution it were philosophers like Voltaire, Rousseau and others who awoke the sleeping nation and foug ht for the noble cause of equality and justice by their wonderful writings. The philosophical theme behind the literature of that time paved the way towards equal distribution of power, pelf, possession and prestige for all strata of French Society. Thus unjust measures enforced by the French laws came to an end. The philosophers belonging to ancient Greece played the most formidable role in respect of obtaining individual