Chapter 3

Question 1

Personal/Economic Freedoms [CL]

Answer 1

• Freedom is the absence of coercion and is present in the ability to be left alone to do as they please as long as it doesn’t cause harm

Question 2

Limited Government [CL]

Answer 2

• In the eyes of a classical liberal, those in power of the state are portrayed as negative. The role of the state is to prevent individuals from harming one another.
• Classical liberals believe in using force in order to protect the community from external threats or to punish those who have committed crimes
• Last of all, classical liberals believe that the state is seen as a “care-taker” for the peoples and should have little control over citizens allowing them to pursue acts of individualism

Question 3

Equality of Rights (Rule of Law) [CL]

Answer 3

• Believe that all must abide by the same rules regardless of status or abilities.
• However, factors involving wealth or power can play a role in the treatment or severity of punishments received.
• They accepted the fact that in order to have balance within society, there must be rich and there must be poor.
  In some circumstances, some could argue that they believed the equality of right gave the ability to become unequal.

Question 4

Consent of the Governed [CL]?

Answer 4

• To the classical liberals, democracy wasn’t largely involved in the process of voting
• In the 19th century, classical liberals favoured the idea of having a “property franchise,” in which citizens must own a certain amount of land before having the ability to vote
• This system lined up with their belief that the government was in charge of large sections of property. Therefore, if you owned a lot of land and had to pay a large portion of taxes for it, you had a say in who should be in power

Question 5

Personal/Economic Freedoms [ML]

Answer 5

• Modern liberals try to add to the concept of freedom as they believe it is the ability to achieve the goals and reach fulfillment within our lives.
• Modern liberals may argue that the idea of being free from coercion “means little,” unless it leads to obtaining a decent life.
• Modern liberals may even wish to use governmental power to reduce freedoms from certain people in order to grant more to others.

Question 6

Limited Government [ML]

Answer 6

• They accept that the state has the position of a caretaker and wishes them to fulfill this duty to their fullest extent.
• Modern liberalists support ideologies in which the government’s actions fully ensure that leisure, knowledge and security are accessible to citizens.

Question 7

Equality of Rights (Rule of Law) [ML]

Answer 7

• Although not entirely committed to the idea of the equalization of expectations for the law, they wanted to bridge the economic and social gaps present within society.
• They have adopted something called the “equality of opportunity”which promotes the ability that every individual should have access to the basic necessities in order to function in modern day society.

Question 8

Consent of the Governed [ML]

Answer 8

• In contrast, modern liberals strongly favour democracy and consistently incorporate it into political matters
• This aligns with their ideals as they encourage the government to provide for society and economy as a whole. Therefore, everyone within the society and economy should have a say in who has power over them

Question 9

What are the four key ideological principles of liberalism?

Answer 9

1. Personal/ Economic Freedoms
2. Limited Government
3. Economic Equality [RULE OF LAW]
4. Consent of the Governed