Ideologies Flashcards
Liberals views on human nature
Hold human nature in a positive light and believe that human beings are inherently good and capable of self-governance. Liberals believe in the capacity of humans as they place their faith in the individual to make their own decisions and consent to governments to govern on their behalf.
Socialist’s view on human nature
Socialism is also positive as it believes that human nature can be modified and individuals are “corrupted” by the historical conditions which they are born in due to capitalism. It believes that human nature can be improved and they reject the view of humans being simply self-interested similar to liberalism. Socialists argue that people become selfish because of the capitalist market which is geared towards the pursuit of power.
TWE are their views on human nature similar/different
Moderate extent. Both Liberalism and Socialism agree on the strong capacity of human nature to achieve good things, however they disagree on whether individuals can be concerned about themselves.
Liberals views on equality
Supports the idea of equality as it believes that all people are treated equally before the law as they are all of equal “moral worth”. However, they do concede that not everyone can contribute the same as people have different skills and talents but there still must be an equal level of opportunity to allow a level playing field for all. e.g. free education provides equality for opportunity because everyone has access to it and those that embrace it will progress.
Socialists’ views on equality
Believes in pure equality or the equality of outcome rather than the equality of opportunity promoted by Liberalism. For socialism equality is meaningless unless it involves equal access to resources and other primary good regardless of individual ability or social privilege. Socialism rejects the acceptance of ‘natural’ inequality between individuals and therefore believes a truly equal society is achieveable.
TWE are their views on equality similar/different
Moderate extent. Both do agree with the concept of equality and the idea that it could be achieved but disagree on the type of equality and how equality can be achieved with Liberals valuing equality of opportunity and socialists valuing equality of outcome.
Liberals views on ownership/property
Believes in the concept of private property as they believe it allows people to create a sense of identity and pride in what belongs to them and this will lead to them contributing more to society due to increased sense of worth. It allows the people of a state to develop a sense of self-sufficiency. John Locke regarded the right to property as the most important natural right and the main purpose of government was to promote the individual’s right to property.
Socialists’ views on ownership/property
Believes in the concept of common ownership as they critique what they believe is the injustice of private property. Believes that private ownership creates the conditions for human inequality and that private ownership of the means of production leads to the disempowerment of workers. Believes that private ownership makes equality impossible and promotes social division and selfishness.
TWE are their views on ownership similar/different
Different to a large extent. Liberalism argues that private property is essential as it can benefit all in society whereas socialism argues that private property creates inequality and therefore should be abolished and all property should be commonly owned.
Liberals views on individualism
Liberalism expresses dear emphasis on the individual and support the concept of a meritocracy as previously mentioned. Liberals believe that every individual can contribute to society in their own way and each of equal moral worth. However, they understand that some people reach places of power at the expense of others and therefore competition is likely to be promoted within Liberalism.
Socialists views on collectivism
Socialists place importance on the idea that human beings are social creature and have a common humanity therefore are stronger working together rather than competing individually. They are in favour of collectivist solutions to social and economic problems and believes that this promotes cooperation rather than the wastefulness of competitiveness for the sake of profit. They promote cooperation as it’s believed to enable people to harness their collective energies and avoid resentment and conflict.
TWE are their views similar/different
Both disagree to a large extent on whether individualism or collective approaches are best within society with Liberals arguing individuals should have lots of freedom and socialists argue that freedom should be limited.
