VELHOS NOVOS DESAFIOS PARA O PENSAMENTO LIBERAL

Abstract

The traditional liberal thought is based on the prevalence of individual rights and projects over collective ones, and on capitalist economy of free enterprise over state models. Historically, liberalism reformed the Ancien Régime, rivaling with conservatism and later collaborating with social democracy. The fall of the Berlin Wall was seen as the definitive victory of liberalism and capitalism, but this trajectory did not remain linear. Today, capitalism is widely accepted as the best wealth production system, but it faces new challenges stemming from globalization and exponential technologies. The unlimited diffusion of scientific knowledge, essential for modernization, now also presents threats, such as the use of weapons of mass destruction. Examples include Kim Jong-un's North Korea and the potential proliferation of such knowledge through artificial intelligence, questioning how to control these advances without limiting science. Additionally, corporate giants like Google and Amazon possess power comparable to states, threatening privacy and individual freedoms. Liberal thought must then revisit its foundations to face new challenges, including the concentration of economic power and the need for global anti-trust regulations. This requires deep reflection on how to preserve entrepreneurial freedom while avoiding corporate tyranny, akin to the state control described by Orwell in "1984". Liberalism needs a new global vision, possibly inspired by the idea of a Constitution of the Earth based on the division of powers and federalism, to remain relevant and innovative in the 21st century.