liberal key thinkers Flashcards
Who is John Locke and what is his type of liberalism?
- John Locke is a classical liberal who is known as the farther of liberalism who’s main works were too too treaties of government.
Locke believed in Social contract and limited government
What is John Locks key works?
Too treatises of government
What concepts did John Locke support?
- idea of natural rights - rights that humans are born into
- Social contract- the idea that people accept the law and rules of the government because this is the bets protection for their rights and
interests - Authority based on consent - Limited government - the idea that government intervention should be kept minimal unless it involves the protection of rights.
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Who is John Stuart mill and what type of liberal is he?
John Stuart mill is a modern liberal but helped the transition from classical liberalism to modern liberalism , who dominated the 19th century with ideas such as the harm principle his main work was ON liberty that reinforced his ideas of the harm principle
What are some ideas and concepts of John Stuart mill ?
- Harm principle - the idea that individuals should be free to everything but harm others developed in his work of ON liberty.
- Limited state intervention to prevent the poor from receiving injustice, for example taxation believes that tax should be the same rate for all (Taxation)
- Supported toleration and the right to hold minority views
- Rejects populism and the idea of forcing opinions on others ,
- In favour of electoral reform
Who is Marywoolstonecraft , what type of liberal is she? what are some of her main arguments?
Key works- A vindication of women’s rights
Mary is one of the figures of first wave feminism and a liberal feminist,
- She is a modern liberal who argues for women’s Legal rights
- classical liberal
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What are the Locke’s views on human nature?
- Human nature guided by rationalism
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What are some of Locks views on the state ?
- He argued that the “true state was one created by mankind”, to serve man’s interest and would only arise from consent
- Prior to states existence there was a natural society which served the interests of man tolerably
- “state of nature” underpinned by natural rights and natural liberties
- Supports natural rights and liberties eg the right to property
- Supports the idea of state of law- this means that the modern state was created to improve intolerable situations that the state of nature may not be able to do
- Limited state/ gov
- Supports social contact theory
- In favour of legislation such as the separation of powers
Which thinkers would support the notion of negative liberty?
Classical liberals such as , Locke, Mill , Wollstonecraft - freedom without restraints that allows individuals to peruse their identity
What is Mary Wollstonecraft’s ideas on human nature?
Agrees with Locke when taking an enlightenment optimistic view on human nature .
- Takes a liberal feminist approach on the nature of humans
- ## Rationality applies to all including women-
What are some of Mary Wollstonecraft’s ideas on the state?
- Formal equality ( individuals have the same legal and political rights )
- ## Individual freedom - state denied this by implying that women were not rational or capable
How does Mary Wollstonecraft ideas link to liberal core values?
Wollstonecraft’s ideas link to liberal core values because she recognises human rationality, limited government and formal equality but criticises the denial of women’s rights which threatens the whole idea of enlightenment
What are some of John Stuart Mills views on the state ?
- In favour of a representative democracy rather than a direct. This would allow electorate to y decisions themselves but elect liberally minded
representatives to make decisions for them - Harm principle
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What are the main ideas of locke?
- Social contract theory- state and society are based on a contract where the state guarantees liberty and citizens conform to state laws
- Limited gov- governments should be limited by a constitutional rule and procedure based on the idea of divine rights
What are the key ideas of Mary Woolstonecraft?
- Reason- Introduced the idea that women are rational and independent beings capable of reason
- Formal equality- In order for women to be free women should enjoy full civil liberties
What are some of Marywoolstonecrafts ideas on the state?
- Women were not allowed to vote which contradicted the concept of governed by consent
- Women were not legally independent
What are some of Mary Woolstonecrafts ideas on society?
- Supported the idea of formal education especially for women to help them grow in to there potential
- Supported marriage- wanted marriage to be an equal partnership
What are some of Mary Woolstonecrafts ideas on society?
- Supported the idea of formal education especially for women to help them grow in to there potential
- Supported marriage- wanted marriage to be an equal partnership
What are the key ideas of John Stuart mill ?
- The Harm principle- people should be free to do everything except harm others
- Tolerance- accept the different opinions , values of others
What is the Harm principle linked to
- John stuart mills concept of the harm principle is closely linked with negative freedom and limited government( classical lib views)
What are some of John Stuart Mills ideas on human nature?
- He sees human actions as self regarding which means affecting only the person undertaking the action or other regarding affecting other people
- example of self regarding include talking about personal views.
- ## examples of Other regarding , actions include violence or disruptive behaviour
What are some of mills ideas on society ?
- Mill supported tolerance and the right to hold a minority view, rejected populism sometimes a widely held opinion is not always correct
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What are some of mills ideas on the state?
- supports the view of limited state
- ## state should not intervene with self regarding actions even if they are harmful
Who is John Rawles and what are some of his key ideas/ works
- Modern liberal who supported individual freedom and limited inequality
- main works theory of justice
What are John Rawles key idea ?
- Theory of justice - society must be just and guarantee each citizen a life worth living
- The veil of ignorance- a scenario where individuals could decided on the type of state they wanted without knowing the consequences
What are some of Rawles ideas on the state?
- Supports an enabling state that redistributes wealth and public spending and adopts progressive taxation
- State should improve condition of the poor
What are some of Rawles ideas on society?
- society should be just ,
- supports formal equality
- Supports economic and social equality
Who is Betty Fridan and what are her main works
- Main work the feminine mystique
- Betty fridan is a liberal modern feminists
What are Betty Fridans key ideas
- Legal equailty - women and men should be equal and oppressive laws and societal views should be rejected
- Equal opportunity- Women are restricted to their choices and opportunities by social conditioning
- Cultural conditioning
When is the best time to use betty fridan and her views?
- when discussing society and the state
What are some of Betty fridans views on the state?
- legislation and regualtions should criminalise discrimination. this will prevent women from having their freedoms harmed by others
- Legal change is the only way to make progress
- Legal equality - represents a modern form of liberalism as it links to tolerance
What are some of Betty Fridans views on society
- supports the idea of cultural conditioning this is the emphasises of women fulfilling domestic roles rather than a career
Who argues that concept of a veil of ignorance /
Rawles - this is a senario that indiviudals agree on what type of state/ society they have without seeing/ knowing the consequences
