Liberal Democracies Flashcards
What is a liberal democracy?
A political system that fuses aspects of liberal values and democratic political processes
What is liberalism?
Political ideology centered on the idea that society is made up of individuals who should be free to pursue their own interests
What is democracy?
System on gov in which the people hold power either directly or through elected representatives
What are some key democratic features of a liberal democracy?
legal systems
universal suffrage
representative institutions
rule of law
separation of powers
What are some key liberal features of a liberal democracy?
free market
separation of powers
pluralistic society
What are liberal democracies committed to upholding?
Fundamental individual human rights and freedoms
How are freedoms and liberties respected in a liberal democracy?
In law or a constitutional bill of rights
How are legal and political systems designed?
To defend and promote the rights of individuals
Negative liberty
Absence of obstacles without constraints on one’s actions
Being able to do what you want without any external interference
What’s an example of negative liberty?
Freedom of religion
The ability to practice your religion without gov interference
Positive liberty
The capacity to take control of one’s life
The possession of power and resources to achieve one’s goals or become self sufficient
What’s an example of positive liberty?
Freedom to access a quality education, healthcare or social welfare payments
Do liberal democracies priorities positive or negative liberties?
negative
Are positive or negative liberties easier to protect and uphold?
negative
Do positive or negative liberties provide individuals with less choice?
positive
(negative provides greater choice)
How can positive liberties restrict other liberties?
Restrict some liberties for the favour of others because it requires the redistribution of resources, affirmative action laws or special considerations
How do limits in liberal democracies benefit society overall?
Ensures that one person exercising their freedom that they aren’t impinging on another person’s freedoms.
Eg freedom of speech is limited by anti-discrimination laws
Rule of Law
All citizens and institutions within a state should be held accountable to the same standard of law to ensure fairness
Laws are applied equally regardless of…
status, race, culture, religion
When implementing a rule of law, the society must follow what ideology/values?
Laws are known and accessible
Court systems resolve debates in open and partial manner
Innocent until proven guilty
Right to a fair trial
Punishment must be in accordance with the law
Is the freedom to own property a positive or negative liberty? Why?
Negative
No one can stop you if you have the funds
If you lack funds/money, that is an obstacle you have to overcome
No external body is preventing you from buying property
Is the freedom to receive welfare when employed a positive or negative liberty? Why?
Positive
Not everyone is entitled to it but some have capacity to receive it
Capacity
The freedom from constraint or limitation
Why is the separation of powers so important?
ensures that no single party has too much power
Why is it important that each branch of gov has different responsibilities to check/balance powers?
To prevent the abuse of power
Key features of the Legislative Branch (Parliament)
Responsible for making laws
design + debate legislation, pass laws
represent interests of local areas or interest groups (through elected representatives)
allocating funds and budgets
Key features of the Executive Branch (Gov)
Putting laws into action - administrating laws
daily tasks
implement gov policy and provide gov services
maintain public order + peace within states
Key features of Judicial Branch (Courts)
Applying the law in individual cases
make judgements about laws when disputes over its meaning
enforce law thru legal processes
determine whether a law is constitutional
What is a political compass?
A system used to clarify a person or party’s political beliefs
Left wing
gov should intervene to promote equality (equal outcomes)
wealth should be redistributed to those with less thru high taxes
laws that positively discriminate to allow disadvantaged groups more opportunity
Right wing
gov should not intervene in free markets to promote individual freedoms
free market forces, less gov regulation and lower tax
remove impediments to individual opportunity and prosperity
Left and right are beliefs about…
economics
Authoritarian and libertarian are beliefs about…
social attitudes
Authoritarian - social attitudes
favoring obedience to authority at the expense of personal freedom
respect order + tradition, conservative values in regards to social issues
promote group identities based on shared values/culture
Libertarian - social issues
favouring personal freedom in private and social life rather than enforcing social rules
seek to overturn social norms and traditions that reduce personal liberty
promote individual identities based on race, gender etc
What is a constitutional monarchy?
Monarch exercises authority in accordance with a written or unwritten constitution
How does a constitutional monarchy differ from an absolute monarchy?
in an absolute monarchy, the monarch’s powers are limited by law
What is the Aus constitution?
A set of rules by which Aus is governed
Key features of the Aus constitution
describes composition, power, roles etc of federal parliament
details roles of how federal and states share powers to make laws
details roles of parliament, executive gov and high courtW
What needs to occur to change the constitution?
Constitutional Referendum