POLI 245 CH:3 Flashcards
What are the three varieties of liberalism and how did they emerge and what are their conceptions of liberty?
Classical liberalism, welfare liberalism, and libertarianism. Classical liberalism was born in the hopes of achieving religious freedom and believe in individual rights including the freedom of harm. Welfare liberals were created as a response to the success of liberalism and the harm caused by capitalism, welfare liberals believe in an expansion of right claims in order to address the loss that happened after the success of liberalism. Libertarianism came from the success of welfare liberalism and seek to return back to the more classical liberal ideology but more extreme through deregulation.
What are the three liberal accounts of human nature?
Humans rational, self-interested, and competitive.
What is the goal of a liberal agent and what different obstacles do different varieties of
liberalism see to an agent achieving his or her goal?
The goal of a liberal agent (individual) is to overcome obstacles and achieve our goal which to a liberal, to live as one as a society. A classical liberal may see the obstacles as a law that restricts religion. A welfare liberal may see an obstacle as the inequalities felt by those living under capitalism. A libertarian may see an obstacle as the government.
What’s the difference between liberal and Liberal?
Liberal is referring to an organization like the Liberal party in Canada, where as, liberal is referring to the ideology.
What is religious conformity and ascribed status in the Middle Ages and how do they relate to the rise of liberalism?
Religious conformity was a government policy in France that promoted ascribed status. The Catholic Church set distinct social rankings that favoured nobles and placed the king as the appointed ruler by God. Liberalism was created in response to this and sought to establish individual freedom.
What was the protestant reformation and how did Martin Luther play a part?
The Protestant Reformation was started by Martin Luther who sought to have a debate about “indulgences”. He nailed 99 theses to the door of the church at Wittenberg. The outcome was not intended by Luther but his actions led to people denouncing religious conformity and eventually to liberalism. Solo fides, solo scriptura. “One Faith, one text”
What is positive and negative freedom?
Positive and negative freedom is an idea proposed by T. H. Green that states that early liberals saw freedom as a negative thing due the absence of an obstacle. Green criticized that being left alone is not being free because a child born into poverty is not being actively held down by any physical obstacle but they’re not free due to them being stuck in poverty. They are not free to grow and develop themselves. According to Green, positive freedom is the ability to do something worth doing.
What makes liberal democracy liberal?
Liberal democracy is distinct due to the freedom and rights of the individual, freedom of religion, and ran by majority rule with protection of the rights and liberties of minorities.
What is the point of J. S. Mills Harm Principle?
The Harm Principle is the belief that people should be able to do whatever they please as long as it doesn’t bring any physical or mental harm to another. Meaning that government and society should not interfere with anyone unless they are hurting someone else.
What is the dual self doctrine and how does it inform welfare liberals and their understanding of freedom?
The dual self doctrine implys that we have a higher self, that encourages positive freedom and cooperation with other, and the lower self, that refers to selfish interests. This doctrine shapes welfare liberalism by serving as the understanding that the self isn’t single or divided but split into two that must be kept in check.
What separates welfare liberalism and socialism?
What separates them is their conflicting view of humans inherently competitive or co-operational and the fact that socialists seek to replace the system where as welfare liberals wish to reform the system.
Explain the origin of the first welfare state by Bismarck in Germany.
Bismarck believed that the welfare state was the best way to counter socialism by taxing employers and employees to support injured or ill workers. First Bismarck passed anti socialist policy then introduced the social insurance state.
Which liberal thinker is most credited with laissez-faire and what does it mean?
Adam Smith is the liberal thinker most credited with laissez-faire and there term means “let it be”. It means to accept a free unfettered market.
What are Hobbes and Lockes state of nature theories?
Hobbes state of nature put people into a state of absolute freedom where they are free to do what they please, do things to become happy. This leads to a desire for power and endless conflict, thus the necessity of government and the formation of a social contract. Lockes state of nature focuses on the notion of ascribed status and does away with it in his state of nature. There are natural rights however, those being “life, liberty, and property”. These rights may be forfeited but only at the cost of ones own, like by attacking someone unprovoked. Thus do people enter into social contract to protect each others rights.
Explain Keynesian economics and how it differs form laissez-faire
Keynesian economics basically states that more government spending is needed when there is recession in order to increase consumer spending and raise taxes in order to create grainy day fund for when the next recession hits. This differs from laissez-faire because of the inclusion of government interference in the economy.
