1 Liberalism: Core ideas and principles Flashcards
individualism
modern liberalism
Rawls, TH Green, JSM
- argues classic liberalism underplays inequalities in society
- Rawls argued an individual’s societal position was vital in determining if they thrived or underachieved
- T.H. Green argued for positive freedom, where the state practises developmental individualism to make society fairer (JSM agreed)
- state must offer a ‘hand up’ if every individual is to thrive
- developmental individualism can be seen in the expansion of state involvemnent and welfare provision after WWII
- Modern libs would agree ‘life liberty and the pursuit of happiness’ are human rights, but classic libs believe minimal intervention is the right way to ensure these are protected, but modern libs argue only an interventionist state can guarantee these freedoms
individualism
classic liberalism
- an individuals primary motivation is egotistical individualism or maximising one’s own unitility so they can thrive
- Individual freedom is sacrosanct (too important to be interefered with)
- atomistic society
- state should be LIMITED to law and order so it doesn’t infringe on individual freedom
- influenced American revolutionaries ‘life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness’ (dec of independence) these are human rights and should be upheld by the state
individualism
individual tolerance in liberalism
- Locke (class) focused on respecting alternative religious and political views
- Mary Wollestonecraft and Betty Friedan (mod) argued for an end to sexual discrimination
Freedom/liberty
early liberals
- resented authoritarian government and the monarchy, at the expense of their subjects freedoms
Freedom/liberty
beliefs about freedom and liberty
- freedom is intertwined with law (Locke, ‘where there is no law, there is no liberty’)
- Freedom is a natural right.
- state must mediate between competing interests to ensure law and order
- absolute monarchies were illegitimate. Locke argued for a social contract state.
- limited government, so individuals could enoy the maximum amount of freedom within a legal framework. Laissez faire-capitalism as advocated by Adam Smith in The Wealth of Nations 1776
the social contract
Hobbes opinion on sovereignty and state governing
Leviathan Hobbes argued individuals would surrender their sovereignty to an all powerful monarch to protect them from the chaotic ‘state of nature’
- society could not exist before the creation of the state
the social contract
classic liberal Locke Two Treatsies of Government 1689: what was the social contract? what was Locke’s state of nature guided by? what should government be limited to?
- Locke’s state of nature was guided by rational reason and had ‘natural laws’
- Locke argued individuals would rationally conclude that they would best serve their own interests by contracting into a ‘state of law’
- Government should be limited to protecting the interests of the governed
the social contract
What did Locke believe about the state? what did he believe about the social contract and natural rights? what do individuals have the right to do?
- the state was a necessary evil
- individuals would exchange some of their natural rights to form a social contract with other individuals + create a state w separate branches of government
- individuals have the right to dissolve their governemnt if it doesn’t fulfil their individual needs
the social contract
Hobbes v. Locke state sovereignty
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- Hobbes argued the state is sovereign
- Locke argued the state has no soveriengty and only exists to serve the people
JSM and freedom
JSM and freedom
2 main ideas
hint: what type of freedom
- freedom of speech, thought and religion unless posing a direct threat to others (negative freedom)
- individuals should be free from interference even if this means they are harming themselves
JSM and freedom
what is atomostic freedom? (classic libs)
society is made up of…? there is no…? state should not..? etc.
- society is made up of individuals with individual interests
- there is no broader ‘public interest’ or ‘common good’ for individuals to serve.
- state should not provide welfare as it creates dependancy
- rugged individualism wil make society more dynamic as individuals have to succeed on their own efforts
JSM and freedom
JSM later ideas on state
- state has a moral right to educate its citizens
JSM and freedom
TH green disagreement with atomistic society
- society was organic, not atomistic
- there was a common good
- public interest coexisted with individual interests
- limited state intervention was necessary to facilitate developmental individualism
positive freedom
JSM and freedom
TH green counter to negative freedom
what did it not recognise
- green argued this didnt recognise freedom could be threatened by social/economic inequality
- positive freedom allowed individuals to achieve their aspirations
positive freedom
JSM and freedom
Rawls argued for an [] state? What would it ensure? levels of interevention would involve what?
- an enabling state
- it would ensure an individuals live chances werent determined by their status at birth
- levels of intervention would involve taxation/state spending to ensure equality of opportunity by developmental individualism
positive freedom
negative fredom
what does negative freedom involve?
- absence of constaint
- ‘freedom from’ rather than ‘freedom to’ (Isiah Berlin 1909-1997)
- little gov interference where possible
positive freedom
what does positive freedom involve?
- state must assist individuals to achieve their aspirations
- state funded education
- enabling state
Carole Pateman 1940-
criticism of liberalism
female liberalism
- having male-centric view of freedom
- although many male writers have fallen foul of this
- liberalism has also acknowledged female rights
JSM
The Subjection of Women 1869 argued for what?? what was the contemporary opinion? what was the reaction to Mills ideas?
- argued for votes for women decades before enfranchisement
- 19th century opinon was it was absurd for women to vote
- mill was regularly ridiculed in the press for this idea
Wollestonecraft and Friedan
what did Wollestonecraft advocate for? what did she argue? How did Friedan add to this?
- formal equality
- for women to be able to pusue a career, playing a role in the economy
- she argued women were equally as rational as men
- Friedan championed equality of opportunity far more explicitly than Wollstonecraft in the mid 20th century
the state as a necessary evil
classic libs vs modern libs
- classic liberals: MINIMAL
- modern liberals: ENABLING
the state as a necessary evil: classic liberalism
what type of individualism? what type of attitude towards the economy? what must the state protect? when must it intervene?
- egotistical individualism
- laissez-faire attitude towards the economy
- the state must protect ‘life, liberty, and estate’
- it must intervene to protect law and order (police forces, armies, laws, and a judiciary)
the state as a necessary evil: classic liberalism
At Locke’s time of writing, what were the ops on the monarchy?
divine right of kings.
- direct contrast to absolute monarchies that dominated EUrope at Locke’s time of writing
- monarchs recieved legitimacy from the ‘divine right of kings’
- Locke disagreed with this, arguing for governemnt by consent.
the state as a necessary evil: classic liberalism
How should the government be organised? what type of ideas? what type of governemnt?
- rational rather than traditional ideas
- constitutional governemnt rather than traditional monarchy
- limited government