The Friedrich Naumann Foundation has a new name and logo. It reads:
Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung für die Freiheit or the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Liberty.
 For
liberals, as the name implies, the key value on which society is based
upon is freedom or liberty. However, in Germany as in many countries
around the world, the value of freedom is increasingly under attack.
Many people lay more stress on equality of outcomes, or on the
emotionally charged but ill-defined “social justice,” or “security,”
while being suspicious of individual freedom. It is noticeable in the
resistance to open markets and competition, but also in the zeal to
regulate and control what people can say in public, how they dress,
behave, what food they eat and who they associate with. The “War on
Terror” has produced a suspiciously eager response from governments
around the globe, among rich and poor nations alike, to expand police
powers and curb individual liberties.
This is a worrying trend, and one that seems to ignore the lessons of
history. Socialism collapsed less than 20 years ago. Not due to
external forces, but (to quote Marx with tongue firmly in cheek), due
to its own inherent contradictions.
There were good reasons for that. Dictatorships underperform.
Restrictions on economic freedoms end up impeding growth and
perpetuating poverty. Lack of political freedoms means no restraint on
rapacious governments.
By contrast, political freedoms reduce the potential abuse of power by
governments. It limits the time power can be exercised. Economic
freedom empowers the creative spirit. Competition directs resources and
energies towards their most efficient use and spurs innovation. The
rule of law safeguards individual freedom from infringements and
ensures that political and economic freedoms are exercised within clear
and enforced bounds. A truly free society thus needs all three
institutional elements. Leave one out, and the others are in danger.
The historical and philosophical case for individual freedom in all
areas of life is strong. But freedom often terrifies people because it
is inherently unpredictable. It will produce unexpected change and will
keep on changing society. For people and cultures that value stability
and certainty, this is a hard thing to accept. For people who value
sharing and community, the competitive spirit and the pursuit of wealth
feel somehow wrong.
Maybe freedom is ingrained in the human spirit, but it battles with
human instincts that have been conditioned over the millennia. Maybe we
have to keep fighting between our heart that values stability and
harmony, and our brain that tells us that no one has the right or the
ability to impose a master plan on society. Society is constructed anew
every day by individuals. The human spirit will make and remake it
forever. No one can know where it will lead. All we can do is channel
this creative energy so that no one is crushed in the process; No one
is excluded, and that all have access to its opportunities. The one
thing to avoid is stifling it. That way lies stagnation and decay.
This is why we want to remind ourselves and our partners that our work
is not just about liberal policies or democracy or human rights. It is,
ultimately, about what we believe the human condition to be on a very
fundamental level. It gives us a yardstick by which to measure all our
work.
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