key thinkers

Question 1

key thinkers with strands

Answer 1

John Locke - Classical
John Stuart Mill - can be used for both
Mary Wollstonecraft - lib fem
John Rawls - modern liberal
Betty Friedan - lib fem

Question 2

john locke key publication

Answer 2

A letter concerning toleration
Second treatise of government
Two treatise of government

Question 3

john locke key ideas

Answer 3

1. Government should be limited and based on the consent from the people (directly opposing Hobbes)
2. People should have equal rights, and government should be tolerant of people’s private beliefs
3. The state is there to serve individuals, not the other way around. It should protect people’s freedoms.
4. Believe in rational individuals who do not need a government to guide their decisions. Humans are capable of making personal progress, our abilities are not fixed at birth

Question 4

john stuart mill key publication

Answer 4

On Liberty

Question 5

JSM key ideas

Answer 5

1. ‘harm principle’: strict view of individual freedom and limited government; government can only restrict freedoms to protect people from harming each other
2. Defended equal rights (campaigned for right to vote for women)
3. Promoted tolerance for minority views
4. Supported democracy, but concerned about ‘mob rule’, the tyranny of the majority 🡪 in favour of giving more votes to educated citizens

Question 6

mary wollstonecraft key publication

Answer 6

A vindication of the rights of woman

Question 7

mary wollstonecraft key ideas

Answer 7

1. Women are entitled to the same rights as men
2. All individuals, including women are rational thinkers
3. Supported foundational equality (all humans born equal) → All individuals should have equal rights (including voting
   rights), and that should include women
4. Women should be able to choose to educate themselves and have a career, but may opt to be housewife

Question 8

john rawls key publication

Answer 8

A theory of Justice

Question 9

john rawls key ideas

Answer 9

1. Society must be just (fair) and guarantee all people a life worth living 🡪 government should provide a decent standard of living. Used the analogy of the ‘veil of ignorance’ to make this argument for fairness.
2. A fair society is one with genuinely equal opportunities, provided by an ‘enabling state’.
3. Accepts some inequality, but aims for minimal inequality between rich and poor

Question 10

veil of ignorance

Answer 10

John Rawls also developed a thought experiment referred to as the veil of ignorance, which asks individuals to imagine themselves in an original position of not knowing their own social status or situations in life, this hypothetical scenario allowed individuals to make fair decisions.

Question 11

friedan key publication

Answer 11

The feminine mystique

Question 12

friedan key ideas

Answer 12

1. All individuals are of equal worth, and should therefore have equal rights
2. Women should be able to choose to educate themselves and have a career, but may opt to be housewives
3. Not biological characteristics, but social ideas of what is acceptable (e.g. having a career) restrict women