CLASSIC LIBERALISM AND NEOLIBERALISM. THE CROSSROADS OF MARTIN DIEGO FARRELL

Abstract

This article focuses on the critique that Martín Diego Farrell, a leading Argentinean legal philosopher, makes of utilitarianism, and on his fundamental argument, the restriction of freedom is sacrificed on the altars of a greater utility. The author considers it necessary to assess this critique of utilitarianism because many contemporary liberal philosophers take it as the starting point for the abandonment of utilitarianism. In the author’s opinion, it is the beginning of a dangerous pathway towards an extreme relativism. She has chosen Martin Diego Farrell as a paradigm to raise the current problems of liberalisms. She asserts that the philosophy of this Argentinean philosopher and jurist is a clear symptom of the evolution that has taken place within liberalism, especially since the early 20th century, for two differentiated, and even opposite ways that have to be emphasized and clarified. This analysis leads to the conclusion that certain theories behind some neo-liberalisms leave on one side the genuine roots of liberalism.