Chapter 3- Lecture Flashcards
What is a political ideology?
A package of ideas and beliefs about government, society, the economy, and human nature that inspire and affect political action. Each ideology provides a different perspective that is used to understand and evaluate how the world actually works. Most ideologies also provide a vision of what the world should be like and propose a means of political action to achieve their objectives.
What is each ideology premised on?
A certain account of human nature
-assume that humans have fixed, static nature
What does each ideology allow us to assess?
whether society is in need of a change
-ideologies give us a measuring stick to determine good or bad
Why can we think of an ideology as a ledge–convex or concave.
Makes some things clear, others distorted.
-doesn’t give you an objective reality, only a narrow view.
What three ideologies are a product of the same thing that have changed over time?
liberalism, conservatism, socialism
What are the three types of liberalism?
1) Classical liberalism
2) Welfare (reform) liberalism
3) Neo liberalism
What is the significant of the Benjamin Franklin quote to liberalism?
“Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety”
-liberty and freedom are interchangeable
Essential because: liberalism is part of being human –> natural freedom. Freedom is inseparable from us. Maintains the integrity of our person. Exercising our autonomy.
What is liberalism a product of?
The Enlightenment
What is the good society according to the liberal? What is the role of gov’t?
Enables natural freedom, maintains the integrity of our person, allows us to exercise our autonomy.
- Gov’t plays a small role
- Gov’t will secure your person, protect citizens and liberty, protect private property rights.
Is it okay in times of terror for some members of society to have their liberties infringed up (liberalism)?
Liberty they are giving up is akin to the liberty you have –> your rights could be next. Citizen rights are not something that is partial. Once you say it’s okay for one group’s rights to be restricted, you are opening the door for yours to be restricted.
-If this is the case, then rights are not universal.
What is limited government formed from?
Mistrust of government
Why is classical liberalism important? It moves us from the___centred period to the___period.
- god
- modern
What did Locke believe the building block of the good society was?
the individual
Liberals believe that any kind of political power must be___.
constrained
What are the 4 things liberalism believes about human nature?
1) Rational individual reason (reason is something that prevails in use because we make self-interested choices)
2) Self interest (you should be left to your own devices)
3) Competitive (naturally we are in competition for resources)
4) Acquisitive (we want private property, role of gov’t is to secure private property).
What is the key value of liberalism (the goal)?
The goal is freedom or liberty
-The “key” is to make choices
What does the liberal plan or program focus on?
how to achieve autonomy
What is the best way to guarantee freedom within society according to liberalism?
- Limited gov’t
- Minimalist state
- Essentially, the role of government is to promote your freedom
Why does liberalism offer us a very “thin” concept of society?
It’s not thick because most of what happens in the good life rests on the shoulder of the individual.
What are the three types of liberalism? (the evolution)
- Classical liberalism
- Reform liberalism
- Neo liberalism
What is the difference between the three types of liberalism? What stays the same?
- What is different is the positioning of the state, role of government
- The end goal stays the same, all that changes is the means to get there.
What has changed over time between the three types of liberalism?
The program. Specifically, the central question revolves around the appropriate role of the tate in the lives of its citizens
What is the key difference between Classical liberalism and reform liberalism?
the role of the state
What does reform liberalism believe about the state?
that it needs to do more.
Reform pushes for___state.
interventionist state
Why does reform liberalism push for an interventionist state?
In order for some citizens to be free, they need more intervention from the government.
It levels the playing field for citizens.
When did reform liberalism develop and why?
Happened as a product of the environment of the times in the 20th century –> socialism –> labour movement –> recession –> fascism in Europe –> western government saw move to reform liberalism as strategic –> social safety net programs.
What does neo liberalism come from? When?
the welfare state
late 1970s
Who are the major neo liberalists?
Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Regan
What does the neo liberals believe and address?
- addresses the welfare state and its deficit spending
- government should not be the agent of administering the public goods, the market place should
What is the set of politics of the neo liberal?
- reduce public spending
- open border to trade
- deregulate
- privatization
- place burden on individual to seek out resources
Where does a neo liberal believe you can best secure autonomy?
In the market place
What is the definition of classical liberalism?
A form of liberalism that emphasizes the desirability of limited government and the free marketplace.
What id the definition of reform liberalism?
A version of liberalism that combines support for individual freedom with a belief that government action may be needed to help remove obstacles to individual development.
What is the definition of neo liberalism?
A perspective based on a strong belief in the free marketplace and opposition to government intervention in the economy.
Given that a free market economy is integral to the liberal ideology, does a liberal state legitimize conditions of inequality (as a result of the economic classes that arise through capitalism)?
Problem: the free market does not deliver things equitably. You end up with a class-based society.
- Welfare state was a way to prevent this
- free market creates wealth for some and hardship for others
What are the two types of conservatism?
1) Classical conservatism
2) Neo conservatism
What does classical conservatism arise from?
Liberalism and Enlightenment thinking
What is the good society acc. to conservatism
orderly and stable
IT is fair to gauge Conservatism as first a reaction to___ideas and a call for a return to___thinking.
- liberal
- traditional
What are the 4 things Conservatives believe about human nature?
1) humans are fallible (we are weak)
2) flawed
3) reason does not necessarily prevail
4) drawn to misguided ways
What is the primary end goal in society for the conservative?
to maintain order and stability
What is there a logic to the conservatism platform that rests at addressing what condition?
the perpetual
What is the “fabric of society”?
Fabric is composed of different weaves of thread. You are a thread and are woven together with others.
-prevent a tear in the social society
What is the evolution of conservatism?
- Classical
- The New Right (neo con)
What kind of position did neo cons take against the welfare state? Why?
-ideological position
-first of all, gov’t plays a role in guiding and enabling us, the welfare state doesn’t enable us
Ex. unemployment insurance: gov’t is paying us not to work. Enables slackers.
What do neo cons address?
the problem of the social safety net
What 6 things do classical conservatives believe in?
- tradition
- values of institutions
- importance of elites
- role of church
- family
- hierarchical conception of society
What did Burke believe and favour? (conservatism)
- believed that there were other things besides laws that were needed
- favoured the church (life in a human society would only get us so far) and the aristocracy (institution instrumental to good society).
How did Burke view the church?
- traditional notion
- pillar of the community
- basis of fabric of society
- duties to others in society
- means of being integrated with others
What does the New Right reduce and embrace?
the role of the welfare state and embraces the mechanisms of the market place
What does the new right ensure that is being addressed directly by the state?
social and moral issues
What is the textbook definition of conservatism?
“A perspective or ideology that emphasizes the values of order, stability, respect for authority, and tradition, based on a view that humans are inherently imperfect with limited capacity to reason.”
What is the difference between neoconservatism (the new right) and conservatism?
In neo conservatism the gov’t should not enable slackers
What is the definition of the new right?
A perspective that combines in various ways, the promotion of free-market capitalism and limited gov’t and traditional cultural and moral values.
Are there clear limits to the rights of the individual given the concern and focus on the greater public good of the community including the principle of order and stability? (conservatism Q).
- sure there are
- issues of laws in the name of security that restrict cultural clothing, for example.
- from conservative point of view, we have freedom but it is controlled–ordered liberty
- certain groups face harshness in the name of order and security
Looking at this quote from Tommy Douglas, “We believe that no nation can survive politically free but economically enslaved” what will a socialist argue?
that the economic foundations of any society matter most and that class has political, social, and cultural implications.
What does socialism recognize the problem with?
the free market
-unless one deals with the market place there will be no equality
What does a socialist advocate?
intervention in the marketplace
Socialists believe___is only an agent to distribute wealth, intervene in market, and handle equality.
government
Socialists bring strong___state.
interventionist
What is socialism a response to?
liberalisms especially in the context of the socio-economic impact of the free market (and capitalism_
What are social democratic states after?
reform of th market place–not doing away with it.
What does socialism believe about human nature (3 things)?
- cooperative beings
- social and communal
- creative (for Marx as it applied to labour)
What does Marx believe about work?
that we need to enjoy work, it’s a part of who you are. What he’s getting at is the quality of life that is tied toward. Labour is tied to who you are.
What is the end goal of socialism?
collective freedom
What is the key value of socialism?
equality
How do socialists view private property?
As a source of inequality
What is the evolution of socialism?
- socialism
- marxism
- leninism
- social democracy
While both Marx and Lenin suggest that change would only come about through revolution, social democrats advocate that change can come about through what?
Carefully managed policy
What is carefully managed policy?
- ownership and control of public resources
- redistribution of wealth
- social programs that are universal
Socialists would much rather have a ___market. Socialist advocate___ownership of certain public good.
- managed
- collective
What is the rational for crown corporations?
services to citizens at an equal price; repatriate profit to gov’t coffers and they put it back to the social services for society.
If we open things up in the market place, will some citizens have unequal access?
- the market can deliver anything, but at what price
- historically, crown corporations would deliver everything equally
- In ideal terms, equal delivery of service would create general equality
- free actors interests are clear–not public interests
Socialists counter what ideology?
liberalism
With socialism, how is freedom based?
collective based, not individual based
Socialists are___in terms of labour.
creative
What is the socialist program?
initially address private property, so we can all benefit (collective ownership). Wealth redistribution, political equality.
What is the difference between socialism and welfare liberalism?
Is means of intervention–they do not respond to managing the market as much a socialists.
What is social democracy as opposed to Marx?
Social democracy is reform, not revolution (Marx).
“Market economies have ‘generated the wealth needed to provide effective social rights,’ but its unequal distribution income and power runs counter to the democratic goal of equal citizens”
-Ed Broadbent
What does this mean?
Not doing away with it, but attending to it.
What is the textbook definition of socialism?
An ideological perspective based on the view that human beings are basically social in nature and that the capitalist system undermines the co-operative and community oriented nature of humanity. Socialism advocates the establishment of an egalitarian society.
What is the textbook definition of communism?
A system in which private property has been replaced by collective or communal ownership and everyone is free to take from society what they need.
What is the textbook definition of democratic socialism?
The perspective that socialism should be a achieved by democratic rather than revolutionary means, and that a socialist society should be democratic in nature with political rights and freedoms respected.
What kinds of goods and resources should be owned and controlled by the state in the so-called “public interest”? (socialism).
- tendency for socialist to say government (liberals run counter to that)
- healthcare
- water?
- natural resources
- telephones, phone lines
What are the apparent problems that have come about through attempts to create equality through violence and revolution in the 20th century?
- death in the name of an idea or ideology
- famine
