Plato was among the first to stand liberalism in contrast to democracy:
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Hayek said "If I have to chose between a democratic society and a liberal society, then I must choose a liberal society." That idea has been at the heart of Western political theory since Plato, who also suggested that it was better to live in a liberal society than a democratic society, but Plato was reacting, specifically, to the democratic murder of Socrates. Socrates had advocated for a style of probing philosophy that would wake people up by forcing them to "Question everything" and this made the people of Athens uncomfortable, so they accused him of "corrupting the youth of Athens" and they sentenced him to death. And Plato's analysis of the democratic murder of Socrates set up the conflict between democracy and liberalism that the West has spent the last 2,500 years discussing. The criticism of the "tyranny of the majority" usually starts with a discussion of the democratic murder of Socrates.
Nothing to pardon! Liberalism is the philosophy in which individual equality before the law and inalienable liberties are the top priority.
This can fit in well with democracy (e.g. Bill of Rights), but can also be absent in democracies (e.g. the majority being able to vote to kill you). Similarly, liberalism can influence governments of all types, codifying individual rights and laws which can limit the power (or at least the rights) of the government.
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Hayek said "If I have to chose between a democratic society and a liberal society, then I must choose a liberal society." That idea has been at the heart of Western political theory since Plato, who also suggested that it was better to live in a liberal society than a democratic society, but Plato was reacting, specifically, to the democratic murder of Socrates. Socrates had advocated for a style of probing philosophy that would wake people up by forcing them to "Question everything" and this made the people of Athens uncomfortable, so they accused him of "corrupting the youth of Athens" and they sentenced him to death. And Plato's analysis of the democratic murder of Socrates set up the conflict between democracy and liberalism that the West has spent the last 2,500 years discussing. The criticism of the "tyranny of the majority" usually starts with a discussion of the democratic murder of Socrates.
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