The necessity to become better, to be adaptable in the face of change or to maximize utility whether by adopting better tools as practiced by early man or fighting for freedom by modern man, highlights humanity’s drive towards betterment. Relatedly, various ideologies, philosophies or worldviews such as feminism and liberalism have been advanced as explanatory frameworks or guides in the assessment of social, political and economic lives of individuals and their relation to society and the state, among other elements. Fundamentally, McBride’s definition of feminism published in the Encyclopedia of Political Theory highlights it as a political and/or social movement that generally advocates for the rights of women in relation to prevailing political, economic and socio-cultural conditions, with major works discussing equality and distribution of power as well as the role of various institutions. On the other hand, liberalism, as defined by David Johnston in the Encyclopedia of Political Theory, highlights a philosophy centered on liberty and equality as opposed to status and privilege with major works discussing matters of state, societal organization and nature of a good life for human beings. Like the various divisions that define feminism, Johnston highlights the conflict between the two major schools of thought in liberalism which, despite various differences with feminism, are compatible with liberalism, to a certain degree.
The compatibility of feminism and liberalism can be identified by their philosophical orientation towards individual autonomy where liberalism, especially classical liberalism stresses the importance of personal liberty, as does liberal feminism. Guided by a belief that gender differences should not affect the rights and opportunities of women, who are capable of making individual choices and hence equal to men, liberal feminists can be inferred as borrowing liberalist foundational principles to advance their agenda. It is clear that the advocacy and support for equality, individual liberty and private property for all people founded on the declaration of the rights of man and of the citizen, provides a strong foundational support in advocating and fighting for the rights of women. Additionally, recognition of inequality in the social sphere which led to a shift in liberal thought to accommodate minimal government intervention can be identified as a positive step towards acknowledgement of inequalities between men and women; another meeting point with feminism. The implications for both worldviews is that men and women have equal rights which should and have been translated to equal access to education, better working conditions as well as equality in the workplace including pay and elimination of negative work practices like sexual harassment.
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"Feminism and Liberalism".
However, even though recognizing the primacy of equality and reciprocity as the basis of human relations with minimal state intervention, feminists argue that liberals turn a blind eye to how equality is subject to cultural and contextual constraints which perpetuate gender inequality. This is especially advanced by radical feminists who view gender divisions as highly significant in social and political lives, with criticism that formal equality between the sexes has not succeeded in ending patriarchy where gender inequality in society reflects the domestic situation. In relation to the liberal stance, the distinction between the private and the public sphere seemingly limits state intervention as representative of an original tenet instituted to limit state interference into private matters, which radical feminists see as an indication that liberals do not support women’s rights. In this case, other spheres of life including the political and economic are influenced by the social through conditioning of boys and girls in relation to socially constructed roles of mother and father which are transplanted from the domestic situation to political and economic life. As such, the incompatibility of feminism and liberalism becomes highly evident especially where the liberalist point of view seems to disregard the existence and conflicts between genders founded on a necessity to maintain a distinction between the public and the private.
Nevertheless, expounding on the (dis)connection between liberalism and feminism, Carla Saenz indicates that internal and external critiques by feminists on liberalism are founded on misinterpretation of key liberal concepts while other can be adapted through revision. Essentially, the private/public divide is one of the major areas of critique highlighted for potential incompatibility between the two philosophical traditions, with feminists accused of special pleading as feminists seek to exploit the liberalist perspective selectively. For instance, Saenz shows that the public-private distinction is dispensable to the feminist movement as prohibition of state intervention in private affairs can be inferred as quite pivotal in asserting the individual right of women in individual decision-making as well as within the family which have allowed victories in matters of abortion and reproductive rights. On the other hand, feminist arguments are faulted for their seeking increased government intervention in private affairs as exemplified by domestic division of labor and policy proposals on pornography, among other instances that highlight feminist contradictions. Further, the explanations provided on the possibility of a feminist political liberalism by Hartley and Watson identifies crucial compatibilities between feminism and liberalism through assessment of political liberal principles, specifically justice and reciprocity. The compatibility is further strengthened by the foundational principle in liberalism concerning natural liberty which in itself is incompatible with domination and submission as representatives of what feminists perceive to be servitude and systemic subjugation of women.
In summary, the incompatibility between the feminist and liberalist viewpoints seems to be defined by errors in interpretation and application of underlying theoretical frameworks and assumptions. The feminist philosophical tradition is provided with a strong platform on which to launch and support greater rights for women even though contradiction as to the role of state in people’s private life has to be re-assessed. Nonetheless, despite slight but fundamental differences between feminism and liberalism, it is evident that liberalism supports feminism to a certain point (liberal feminism, classical and social liberalism), where some subtypes like radical feminism seem opposed to liberalism entirely. As indicated by Johnston, liberalism continues to grow into new territory with its compatibility with feminism indicated by its role and support in the win for women’s suffrage.
