4 ms·

It is a western liberal idea because it is clearly laid out in the founding philosophical texts which were written in the west (thus western) and which provide

It is a western liberal idea because it is clearly laid out in the founding philosophical texts which were written in the west (thus western) and which provide the theoretical definition for the term 'liberal society'. Examples include Hobbes, Locke ( all persons are endowed with natural rights to life, liberty, and property), the US' founding fathers writings and debates, the French national motto of Liberté, égalité, fraternité, ... You are correct that many/all western liberal governments are adopting very harsh laws contrary to these principles. This does indeed call into question if these are still liberal democracies/republics. It is the sad state of man that very few social structures are able to adhere to the principles on which they are founded.

medo-bear 5y ago
> It is a western liberal idea because it is clearly laid out in the founding philosophical texts which were written in the west i completely agree with this. however i think that today the phrase 'western liberal' is taken to mean as policies coming from brussels/washington, instead of ideas coming from the enlightenment period it is also hard to divide judicial adoption of 'right to privacy' according to geography and political systems. for example, australia does not legally recognize the 'right to privacy' while russia does [0]. also curiously, as somewhat of an aside point, i just tried to find data retention laws in russia and this is best i could come up with: "The Law on Personal Data simply provides that personal data should not be kept/processed for a longer period than is necessary for the purpose for which it is processed (unless longer processing and, in particular, retention periods are mandated by Russian law or by agreement of the data subject)."[1] Of course this opens up the possibility for government mandated retenition, but do these laws exist? i would find it very surprising if they do not. does anyone here know? i am talking about written laws, not corruption or rule-of-law factors [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right_to_privacy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right_to_privacy [1] https://www.dataguidance.com/notes/russia-data-protection-overview https://www.dataguidance.com/notes/russia-data-protection-ov...

medo-bear 5y ago

> It is a western liberal idea because it is clearly laid out in the founding philosophical texts which were written in the west i completely agree with this. however i think that today the phrase 'western liberal' is taken to mean as policies coming from brussels/washington, instead of ideas coming from the enlightenment period it is also hard to divide judicial adoption of 'right to privacy' according to geography and political systems. for example, australia does not legally recognize the 'right to privacy' while russia does [0]. also curiously, as somewhat of an aside point, i just tried to find data retention laws in russia and this is best i could come up with: "The Law on Personal Data simply provides that personal data should not be kept/processed for a longer period than is necessary for the purpose for which it is processed (unless longer processing and, in particular, retention periods are mandated by Russian law or by agreement of the data subject)."[1] Of course this opens up the possibility for government mandated retenition, but do these laws exist? i would find it very surprising if they do not. does anyone here know? i am talking about written laws, not corruption or rule-of-law factors [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right_to_privacy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right_to_privacy [1] https://www.dataguidance.com/notes/russia-data-protection-overview https://www.dataguidance.com/notes/russia-data-protection-ov...