Jenaro Abasolo and social liberalism: from the principle of liberty to the principle of association

Abstract

This article intends to determine the reasons that lead the Chilean philosopher Jenaro Abasolo (1833-1884) to try to morigrate, from his social liberal approach, the empire of the principle of freedom by means of the incorporation of the principle of association. He begins by recognizing the benefits of the priority given to the principle of freedom for the emergence of individuality, and goes on to determine the reasons for the need to incorporate other principles to save the social order from the anomie and disintegration that are the negative counterpart of its hegemony. Thus, the transition of the social and political order from the Ancien Régime to the modern regime, as seen, for example, in various socialist critics (Babeuf, Saint-Simon, Marx), requires a radicalization by means of equality and socialization of individuality. In other words, the way that is considered adequate to solve, above all, the iniquity derived to a large extent from selfishness and the spirit of monopoly, is to promote a high level of sociability in civil society by combining individual freedom with association. Part of the article is aimed at recognizing that liberalism, as is visible in Abasolo himself, does not betray its principles by incorporating association, but rather that this is in line with its own doctrinal foundations, especially if it is put in consonance with the realization of the moral end of human life (expansion of the personality). Therefore, integrating association, as Constant, Tocqueville and Laboulaye, among others, argue, although it may be in part a reactive measure to the criticisms of socialism, corresponds perfectly with the social note that liberty must have in liberalism if it is to serve progress in accordance with human perfectibility. Ultimately, the article shows that Abasolo remains faithful to the Krausist foundations that gave basis to Lastarria's public law, although, unlike the latter, giving priority importance to the unity of the social and political principles of the State insofar as they make it possible to harmonize association with the highest social goals and with the very Future of mankind.