Classical Liberalism Flashcards
What are the 5 key things that classical liberalism is influenced by?
Natural Rights Utilitarianism Economic Liberalism Social Darwinism Neo-Liberalism
What is a right?
A right, most simply, is an entitlement to be treated in a particular way. Such entitlements may be moral or legal in character.
For Locke and Jefferson, how are rights ‘natural’?
They are invested in human beings by god
What are natural rights now commonly called?
Human rights
According to Jefferson, why are rights ‘inalienable’?
Because human beings are entitled to them by the virtue of being humans.
What are the three natural rights according to Locke?
“Life , liberty and property”
How did Jefferson disagree with Locke regarding the three natural rights?
Jefferson did not accept that property was a natural or god-given right, but rather one that had been developed for human convenience.
What are the three natural rights according to Jefferson?
“Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”
What did Hobbes argue that would be able to establish order and security in society?
A strong government, preferably a monarchy.
Why did Hobbes argue that citizens should accept ANY form of government?
Because even repressive government is better than no government at all.
Why did Locke approve of the English Revolution of the seventeenth century and applauded the establishment of a constitutional monarchy in 1688?
He believes that if government violates the rights of its citizens, they in turn have the right of rebellion.
According to Locke, why is government established?
To protect natural rights.
According to Locke, the realm of government should not extend beyond what three ‘minimal’ functions?
Maintaining public order and protecting property.
Providing defence against external attack.
Ensuring that contract are enforced.
What is Jefferson’s quote about the best government/
“That government is best which governs least”
Who are the most notable utilitarians?
Jeremy Bentham and James Mill
How did Bentham describe natural rights?
‘nonsense on stilts’
What is utility?
Use-value; in economics, utility describes the satisfaction that is gained from the consumption of material goods and services.
How is the principle of utility a moral principle?
It suggests that the ‘rightness’ of an action, policy or institution can be established by its tendency to promote happiness.
Why might utilitarian ideas have illiberal implications?
Bentham held that the principle of utility could be applied to society at large and not merely to individual human behavior.
Institutions and legislation can be judged by the yardstick of ‘the greatest happiness’. However, this formula has majoritarian implications because it uses the happiness of ‘the greatest number’ as a standard of what is morally correct, and therefore allows that the interests of the majority outweigh those of the minority or the rights of the individual.
The late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries witnessed the development of classical economic theory in the work of which political economists?
Adam Smith and David Ricardo