Differing views

Question 1

What did classical liberalism stem from?

Answer 1

The rise of industrial capitalism in the 18th and 19th centuries

Question 2

What did modern liberalism stem from

Answer 2

Reaction to the growth of free-market capitalism

Question 3

What are classical liberals view on freedom?

Answer 3

Negative freedom and Egotistical individualism

Question 4

What is egotistical individualism?

Answer 4

The idea that individual freedom is associated with self-interest and self-reliance

Question 5

What are modern liberals view on freedom?

Answer 5

Positive freedom and Developmental individualism

Question 6

What is developmental individualism?

Answer 6

Enabling individuals to enjoy personal growth and empowerment

Question 7

What is the mechanistic theory?

Answer 7

The theory that people created the state to serve them and act in their interests

Question 8

What is an enabling state?

Answer 8

A larger state that helps individuals to achieve their potential to be free

Question 9

What do classical and modern liberals agree on about the state?

Answer 9

They both believe in the decentralisation of govt and protection of civil liberties
CL: Gladstone tried to grant Home Rule or self-govt to Ireland 19th century
ML: Devolution, HRA and Freedom of Information Act

Question 10

What are classical liberals view on the state?

Answer 10

A minimal or ‘night watchman’ state whose role is to maintain social order, enforce contracts and provide defence against external attack.
Create an environment where laissez-faire capitalism can thrive

Question 11

What is Social Darwinism?

Answer 11

Charles Darwin’s concept of natural selection applied to human society
Individuals differ in their abilities, it is unavoidable that some will succeed and others will fail

Question 12

Who was Herbert Spencer?

Answer 12

Author of the classic text The Man versus the State (1884) who coined the phrase ‘survival of the fittest’
He maintained that those who do well are those who adapt most successfully to their economic environment

Question 13

What were modern liberals view on the state?

Answer 13

They believed in an enabling state

Question 14

What is an enabling state?

Answer 14

A larger state that helps individuals achieve their potential and be free

Question 15

What were the New Liberals?

Answer 15

They supported policies of welfare as the way they bring about equality of opportunity
They argued if individuals and groups are held back by their social circumstances, the state has a social responsibility to reduce or remove these disadvantages

Question 16

Who was H.H. Asquith

Answer 16

Labour Prime Minister, Pre WW1 ; expressed reforms to contribute to the social state: first old age pensions, National Insurance and labour exchanges

Question 17

Who was Sir William Beveridge?

Answer 17

An expert on unemployment and social security as an adviser to the Liberal govt before WW1. 
Director of LSE 1919-1937
Master of University College, Oxford 
Liberal MP 1944-145
Appointed to the House of Lords

Question 18

What was the Beveridge Report?

Answer 18

The foundation of the post-war British welfare

Question 19

When was the Beveridge Report written?

Answer 19

1942

Question 20

What did Keynes believe in?

Answer 20

The image of a self-regulating free market is a myth and that govt intervention is necessary to ensure that market economies deliver sustainable growth and keep unemployment low

Question 21

What is Keynesianism?

Answer 21

An economic system that requires govt involvement to stimulate the economy to achieve full employment and price stability

Question 22

What was stated in the Beveridge Report?

Answer 22

Liberty should be available equally to all and this was impossible if part of the population was held back by the ‘five giants’: poverty, lack of education, ill health, poor living conditions and unemployment

Question 23

Who was Keynes?

Answer 23

An economist who represented the British govt in talks to the USA, which led to the creation of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund