In this post, I will explain in a brief, general way what Zionism is, what Liberalism is (on one understanding of this rather ambiguous term), articulate some general Leftist principles that often accompany Liberalism, and explain how all of these things fit together.
A few updates, in light of Horazio's excellent comments. Further refinements to follow...
ZIONISM Historical Background:
Traditional religious Zionism is Jews' love for the Holy Land and yearning to return to it. Since ancient times, the Jews have had a sense of themselves as a people. However, the impulse for self-governance in a modern nation-state in the Holy Land is relatively new. Historically, the traditional view of the Jewish religion was that Jews were exiled from the Holy Land as a punishment for sinning against God. Eventually, in the time of the Messiah, God would redeem them, gathering them back to their ancestral homeland. In the meantime, their job was to live in the Diaspora and bring about the coming of the Messiah by praying, studying Torah, and doing good deeds. Modern Political Zionism, as a political view, is the claim that the Jews are a people with the right to determine their own fate (self-determination) in a state of their own. As a movement, it comprises those who support the creation and preservation of such a state.
LIBERALISM As I will understand it, liberalism is defined by three fundamental principles:
Some important upshots: Protection for political minorities - By itself, the word 'democracy' just means that the people elect the leaders. Within this, many different arrangements are possible.
Capitalism - On one reasonable definition of capitalism, it is the "private ownership of the means of production and their operation for profit". But this follows almost inevitably from the principle of liberty, which asserts the right to private property and the right to trade freely with whom one wants. It's reasonable to expect that if the means of production are privately owned, then those who own them will tend to operate them for profit. It's worth noting that Liberalism in the sense defined above need not entail completely unrestrained capitalism. Industries can be regulated to a reasonable degree without infringing on private ownership. Moreover, it is even possible to balance private ownership of the means of production with social democracy and the welfare state. Germany and the U.K. as currently constituted are great examples of this. LIBERAL ZIONISM Zionism says that the Jews are a people who have the right to determine their own fate in a state of their own. Liberalism adds to this a few things:
LEFTIST NATIONALISM: I mentioned in my post on the two-state solution that a lot of people on the progressive left envision a world in which there is greater cooperation, exchange, and mingling between different peoples, even to the point where borders eventually become unnecessary. I also argued that the latter part of this vision (namely, a peaceful world without nation-states and borders) is unrealistic. Nation-states, with all their flaws, are the most effective means we have of curbing and preventing humanitarian disasters, and advancing people's interests on a large scale. So, one who strongly advocates human rights should embrace the international nation-state system. Once we admit states, the question arises of who has a right to their own state. And here I think that people on the left cannot be neutral. They have to say that all peoples have, other things being equal[1], the same rights. (This looks like simply a version of Liberalism's principle of equality before the law that applies to collectives (peoples) rather than individuals.) It follows that if some peoples have the right to have states of their own, then so do all other peoples, other things being equal. In other words:
The principle of self-determination of peoples has some important upshots for Zionism. Zionism claims that the Jewish people have the right to self-determination. But then it follows that all other peoples also have this right. In particular:
Coming soon... What do Liberalism and Leftist principles say about Israel's actions relating to the Gaza Strip? Liberalism, Leftism, and Israel's Law of Return (חוק השובה) [1] To be clear, in practice other things tend not to be equal. There could be peoples whose exercise of self-determination (at least in the form of statehood) under current circumstances would result in such suffering that it's morally better for them not to exercise it until those circumstances change. The world is full of separatist movements; it'd be absurd to give them all a blanket endorsement. The point is just that all peoples have the same pro tanto rights. [2] Many critics of Israel want to blame a lot of this behavior on Israel. I don't agree, but it's anyway a separate question from the point I'm making now. I'm happy to get into it in the comments.
5 Comments
Horazio
6/23/2019 02:22:00 pm
I just realized that you finished this post, as earlier promised. I have two brief comments.
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LiberalZionist
6/23/2019 05:30:41 pm
Thanks for this, Horazio! Here's how I'm thinking about these things.
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Horazio
6/23/2019 11:25:31 pm
Thanks for your responses Liberal Zionist! I don't disagree with anything you say, and I agree that showing the compatibility of Zionism with a general left-wing world view is a worthwhile project. (Though I still wonder, why not then just call the view "left-wing zionism"?).
Horazio
6/23/2019 02:35:28 pm
Also, a very small remark: I think there are very few self-described Zionists, in Israel and elsewhere, who reject your second criterion (about equal civil and minority rights). I'll grant that many on the political right often seem to call for the curbing of these rights in practice, but very few other than the most extreme ones (Kahanists etc.) reject them in principle.
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LiberalZionist
7/4/2019 01:58:49 am
Re: your last point
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