2.1 Core ideas and principles

Question 1

How did liberalism emerge?

Answer 1

In reaction to the rule of monarchists and aristocratic privilege in the early modern world.

Reflected the views of the educated middle classes; sought wider civil liberties and opportunities to better themselves.

Part of the Enlightenment; stressed importance of tolerance and freedom from tyranny.

Question 2

What did thinkers influenced by liberalism believe?

Answer 2

The traditional restrictions on the freedom of the individual should be abolished; imposed by govt or church.

That people are born with different potential, but all are equal in rights.

That people should be free to take their own decisions and make the most of their talents and opportunities.

Question 3

What was the classic statement with a liberal outlook?

Answer 3

The US Declaration of Independence (1776), primarily written by Thomas Jefferson.

‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights (natural rights), that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.’

Question 4

What are the core liberal principles?

Answer 4

• Individualism
• Freedom/liberty
• The state: a ‘necessary evil’
• Rationalism
• Equality and social justice
• Liberal democracy

Question 5

What is individualism?

Answer 5

Importance of the individual over the claims of any social group or collective body.

Immanuel Kant argued that all individuals are unique and have equal worth; should be used as ‘ends’ and never merely as ‘means’ - shouldn’t be treated as instruments to achieve a goal - categorical imperative.

Question 6

What type of individualism do classical liberals believe in?

Answer 6

‘Egotistical individualism’ - view that people are essentially self-seeking and self-reliant.

Minimises importance of society - little more than a collection of independent individuals.

Question 7

What type of individualism is the view more widely held in the modern world?

Answer 7

Developmental individualism.

Question 8

Define developmental individualism.

Answer 8

The view that individual freedom is linked to the desire to create a society in which each person can grow and flourish.

Question 9

Define tolerance.

Answer 9

A willingness to accept values, customs and beliefs with which one disagrees.

Question 10

What did early liberals object to?

Answer 10

Early liberals objected to the way in which authoritarian governments claimed a right to take decisions on behalf of people and attempted to regulate their behaviour.

Question 11

What do liberals, classical and modern, recognise about freedom, and why?

Answer 11

That it can never be absolute but must be exercised under the law, in order to protect people from interfering with each other’s rights.

Locke argued that ‘the end of law is not to abolish or restrain, but to preserve and enlarge freedom… where there is no law, there is no freedom.’

Question 12

What was the concept of liberty central to in the early 19th century?

Answer 12

The work of the the school of thought known as utilitarianism.

Jeremy Bentham (leading thinker) - each individual can decide what is in his or her own interests.

• Argued that human actions are motivated mainly by a desire to pursue pleasure and avoid pain
• Therefore, government shouldn’t prevent people from doing what they choose unless their actions threaten others’ ability to do that for themselves

Question 13

What is utilitarianism when applied to society at large?

Answer 13

‘The greatest happiness for the greatest number’ - interests of minorities perhaps overridden by those of the majority.

Question 14

What did John Stuart Mill eventually disagree on with Jeremy Bentham? What did he put forward as a result?

Answer 14

He came to see the pursuit of pleasure and avoidance pain as too simplistic - so he put forward the idea of negative freedom.

Question 15

Define negative freedom.

Answer 15

Freedom from interference by other people .

Individuals should only be subject to external restraint when their actions potentially affect others, not when their actions affect only themselves.

Question 16

Why, from the late 19th century onwards, did many liberals find Mill’s concept of liberty too limited?

Which thinker argued against Mill?

Answer 16

Because it viewed society as little more than a collection of independent atoms.

The Oxford thinker T.H. Green argued that society was an organic whole, in which people pursue the common good as well as their own interests.

They are both individual and social in nature.

This led to the concept of positive freedom.

Question 17

Define positive freedom.

Answer 17

Having the capacity to act on one’s free will and to realise personal potential.

Individuals controlling their own destiny - develop personal talents and achieve self-fulfilment.

Some limited state intervention to make this possible.

Question 18

Why is there are complex relationship between liberalism and the state?

Answer 18

Liberals accept that the state is needed to avert disorder and to protect the vulnerable from exploitation.

But they mistrust power because they believe that humans are self-seeking, so may use any position of power to pursue their own interests, probably at the expense of others.

Question 19

Why do liberals oppose the concentration of political power?

Answer 19

They fear that it gives people a greater incentive to benefit themselves and to use other people for their own ends.

Victorian liberal historian, Lord Acton - ‘Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.’

Question 20

Define limited government.

Answer 20

Where the role of government is limited by checks and balances, and a separation of powers, because of the corrupting nature of power.

Question 21

How do liberals argue for limited government?

Answer 21

They support the idea of constitutionalism to prevent a concentration of power.

Typical features of a liberal constitution include the separation of powers; linked to this are checks and balances - the branches are given some influence over each other and they act to check abuses of power.

Favour a bill of rights, which provides a clear statement of citizens’ rights and defines the relationship between citizens and the state.

Question 22

Why do liberals often support devolution?

Answer 22

Suspicions of the concentration of power.

Question 23

How does liberal emphasis on a limited role for the state have an economic dimension?

Answer 23

Liberals of the 18th and 19th centuries believed in laissez-faire capitalism.

Adam Smith - ‘The Wealth of Nations’ (1776) - emphasis the part played by self-interest in driving economic growth - ‘it is not from the benevolence of the the butcher, the brewer or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard for their own interest’

Question 24

Define laissez-faire capitalism.

Answer 24

An economic system organised by the market, where goods are produced for exchange and profit, and wealth is privately owned.

Question 25

What is rationalism?

Answer 25

A liberal value that holds that individuals should be free to exercise their judgment about their own interest without needing to be guided by external authorities, such as the state or church leaders.

People won’t always make correct decisions, but it is better for them to take responsibility for themselves than to take instruction from above.

Question 26

What is the link between scientific development and rationalism?

Answer 26

Liberals were encouraged by the development of scientific learning in the 18th and 19th centuries, which pushed back the boundaries of human understanding and liberated people from a blind faith in established authority, tradition superstition.

Question 27

How is faith in reason linked to a progressive society?

Answer 27

In which the personal development of the individual promotes wider social advancement.

Question 28

Give examples of rationalism in action.

Answer 28

Late 19th century liberals in the forefront of moves to develop methods of industrial arbitration - a neutral third party would mediate between employers and trade unions, to avert costly legal action or strikes.

In international relations, liberals view war as a last resort.

In the early 20th century liberals were in the forefront of campaigns supporting the League of Nations, the forerunner of the UN.

Many liberals today support the EU on the grounds that member states derive benefits through association, by surrendering some national sovereignty.

Question 29

How do liberals place emphasis on equality of opportunity?

Answer 29

Accept differing outcomes because people have different abilities and potential - they should be free to reach that potential.

Liberalism, traditionally, is based on a belief in foundational equality.

Question 30

Define foundational equality.

Answer 30

Rights that all humans have by virtue of being born, which cannot be taken away.

Question 31

Why do socialists criticise liberalism when it comes to equality?

Answer 31

They argue it doesn’t tackle inequality because it’s closely linked to the capitalist idea of competition.

They aim to achieve equality of outcome by using the power of the state to redistribute wealth.

Question 32

Define meritocracy.

Answer 32

A society organised on the basis that success is based on ability and hard work.

Question 33

What is an example of meritocracy in action?

Answer 33

Gladstone introduced competitive examinations for entry to the civil service in the 1870s, bringing an end to the practice of making appointments on the basis of aristocratic connections.

Question 34

What did Mary Wollstonecraft argue?

Answer 34

That women were no less rational beings than men, and were entitled to the same rights to pursue a career and to own their own property when married.

Modern liberals support full civil rights for women and minority groups.

Question 35

How do modern liberals differ on equality, compared to classical liberals?

Answer 35

Most modern liberals favour some degree of state intervention to narrow social inequalities - believe that true equality is not possible without social justice.

But they don’t believe in equality of outcome - don’t believe its even possible.

John Rawls - ‘A Theory of Justice’ (1971) - attempted to reconcile the concepts of liberal individualism with prevention of excessive inequality.

Question 36

What does the concept of liberal democracy involve?

Answer 36

• Free elections to give expression to the will of the people
• Limitations on the power of the state, which should act as a neutral arbiter between different interests in society
• Respect for civil liberties and toleration of different viewpoints

Question 37

Why is liberal democracy a core value of liberalism?

Answer 37

The idea that govt should be based on consent of the people - central to liberalism and long pre-dates modern notions of democracy.

Liberals argue that, without this foundation, government lacks legitimacy.

Hobbes in ‘Leviathan’ argued that people should come together to erect a greater power over them to guarantee peace and security.

Question 38

Define social contract

Answer 38

An unofficial agreement shared by everyone in a society in which they give up some freedom in return for security.

Explained by Locke in ‘Two Treatises of Government’ - argued that people must freely give, and renew, consent to be governed.

People have the right of rebellion if the govt breaks the contract.

Question 39

Why do liberals support democracy?

Answer 39

On the grounds that it enables citizens to hold govt to account.

Extends popular participation and performs an educational function in society.

Promoting personal development of individuals.

Question 40

What does democracy promote and underpin to liberals?

Answer 40

Promotes consensus and underpins political stability giving equilibrium or balance to the political system.

Gives a political voice to different groups and interests.

Question 41

Why have liberals feared excessive democracy?

Answer 41

On the grounds that it may lead to the ‘tyranny of the majority’ - suppressing minority rights or individual freedom.

May create a culture of dull conformism.

Question 42

What did John Stuart Mill propose as an alternative to prevent elective dictatorship?

Answer 42

To allocate more votes to the educated (plural voting) as a way of curbing influence of uneducated masses.

Modern liberals wouldn’t support this as it gives undue weight to views of an elite.