Lectures 7-10 Flashcards
‘Life, liberty and property’
Locke’s three natural rights.
Nonsense Upon Stilts
Written by Jeremy Bentham in 1987 and critisizes the concept of natural rights, arguing that they are constructed by rhetoric and that the only rights that matter are positive rights created within the law.
Citizenship and Social Class
TH Marshall’s essay that argued that full citizenship required civil, political, and social rights within a state, and that for the citizen to fully participate the state had to provide a “modicum” of economic welfare.
Two Concepts of Liberty
Written by Isaiah Berlin in 1969, it explores the concepts of positive and negative freedoms.
Deliberative Democracy
A form of democracy in contemporary democratic theory that argues that true democracy must allow
for choices to be developed through discussion and reflection.
Cosmopolitan Democracy
The political theory that since the world is becoming more globalized and based on supranational institutions and processes, we should ensure that those systems are also democratic.
Joseph Schumpeter
Wrote Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy (1942), which argued for political elitism or “protective theory”. He believed that classical democracy model of citizen participation and involvement in political decision-making was unrealistic and undesirable
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
A UN document that outlines the rights and freedoms of all human beings, adopted by the General Assembly.
Involves negative rights: life, liberty, and security, such as political/civil/non-discrimination rights
Positive rights: social and economic rights.
UN Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
A multilateral treaty that outlines the civil and political rights of individuals
Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
Canadian version of a bill of rights: Outlines mainly civil/political rights and includes freedoms and democratic, mobility, legal, equality, and linguistic rights.
Limitations on the Charter of Rights and the Notwithstanding Clause
The charter recognizes some group rights (such as treaty rights and multiculturalism) in a way that some argue limit individual freedom.
The charter can be overridden by the Notwithstanding Clause (Sec. 33) and is also limited by Sec. 1, the “reasonable limits” clause.
Negative and Positive Freedom
Negative freedom is the “freedom from” or the rights that protect you from external constriants (such as the state)
Positive freedom is ‘freedom to” or the conditions provided that make you more free to make decisions
Area of control (negative) vs. source of control (positive)
(From Isaiah Berlin’s Two Concepts of Liberty)
Theory of Justice
John Rawl’s hypothetical situation where each person has to come together to create a system with the best outcome for everyone (utilitarian) but they don’t know how they will be born into that system (race, class, gender, ability, etc.). His theory is that the most just world would be the world created during that meeting.
He theorized that the system created would:
- Have each person be provided an equal right to the most extensive basic liberties
- Social and economic equalities are to be arranged to that they are to the greatest benefit of the least advantaged & attached to offices and positions open to all under conditions of fair equality of opportunity
Single Member Plurality System
Also called first past the post. A voting system where seats are won by a single candidate who has the most votes (not necessarily a majority). Used in many states including the UK, US, and Canada.
Benefits: It is simple and transparent.
Drawbacks: Votes that don’t go towards the top 2 candidates are ‘wasted’. Vote count often doesn’t reflect popular vote. Small parties are under-represented. Leads to voter apathy.
Democracy in America
Written by Alexis de Tocqueville, a French author, in 1835. It argues that democracy requires active, engaged civil society and that America, as a “nation of joiners” (in clubs, groups, and other associations) was a perfect example of engaged democracy.
