4. History Rewritten: The Twentieth-Century Constructivist Interpretation of Classical Liberalism

Seeing liberalism as outmoded and inadequate for “modern” society, constructivism rewrote history. Russell’s A History of Western Philosophy provides an example. Constructivists abhor private property (they assume one man’s gain must come at another’s expense), laissez-faire (it encourages “unplanned” organization), freedom (it is outmoded, with sovereigns no longer absolute), and justice as freedom from coercion. Russell said it was necessary to supplant them with socialism (social organization for “equality”), utilitarianism (providing a goal for individuals), and distributive justice as fairness (to supplant “outmoded” freedom). This chapter examines Russell’s treatment of classic eighteenth-century liberals, showing these trends. One consequence was to substitute a pre-evolutionary view (based upon tribal dictatorial leadership and centralized control and ownership) for an evolutionary one (based upon competition and survival of the best adapted).