Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM

Browse over 1 million classes created by top students, professors, publishers, and experts.


See full index

Politics Paper 1 > Liberalism > Flashcards

Liberalism Flashcards

1
Q

What is Liberalism?

A

a philosophy that emphasises freedom of individual

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

Principles of Liberalism

A
  • individualism
  • freedom and liberty
  • the state as a ‘necessary evil’
  • rationalism
  • equality and social justice
  • liberal democracy
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

Who is associated with ‘individualism’ and what does he say?

A

Immanuel Kant
all individuals are unique and have equal worth

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

What is categorical imperative?

A

people should not be treated as instruments to achieve a particular goal
people should be regarded for their own value

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

What is egoistical liberalism?

A

society is a collection of self seeking individuals that should be self reliant
self reliance over dependency

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

What is the most important liberal value?

A

freedom and liberty

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

What is the liberal view on freedom?

A

freedom must be exercised under the law
we still need the law to uphold freedom

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

Locke on Freedom

A

freedom is upheld by the law
the aim of the law is to protect and uphold freedom

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

John Stuart Mill on Freedom

A

negative and positive freedom

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

‘Negative Freedom’

A

individuals should only be constrained when their actions harm others

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

‘Positive Freedom’

A

individuals should be able to control their own destiny and achieve self-fulfilment

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

Jeremy Bentham on Freedom

A

governments sole purpose is to protect individual freedom and property to any threats

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

Jeremy Bentham on the state

A

government should be as minimal as possible
its sole purpose is to protect individual freedom and property to any threats

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

Liberalism on the state

A

negative view of the state
suspicious of the power of the state

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

What is the state needed to do according to Liberals?

A

necessary to avert disorder and protect the vulnerable

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

What type of government do liberals favour?

A

limited government
separation of powers so there is no concentration of power in one institution

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

What systems that exist in western democracies do liberals support?

A
  • devolution in UK
  • US ‘bill of rights’
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

Give some examples of limitation on the state that Liberals would agree with

A
  • free and fair elections
  • magna carta
  • human rights act
  • habeas corpus
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

Liberals on Human Nature

A

human reason - humans should be free to make their own decisions without needing to be guided by external authorities

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

What is the liberal view on rationalism?

A
  • faith in reason and science rather than religion, authority or tradition
  • we should all take responsibility for the choices we make
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

What do liberals believe should always come before conflict?

A

reasoned debate
liberals are wary of conflict

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

Liberals on Social Justice

A

Meritocracy - people should be rewarded for their efforts and abilities rather than their status at birth

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

Two types of equality that Liberals are interested in

A
  1. equality of opportunity
  2. foundational equality
24
Q

What do liberals believe about equality?

A

people should be awarded based on their different abilities and potential

25
Q

How does the views on equality differ between Modern and Classic Liberals?

A

Modern Liberals - there should be some state intervention to narrow inequalities
Classic Liberals - inequality can act as an incentive for people to try and better themselves by working harder

26
Q

What do Liberals say about Democracy?

A

regular and free elections allows the power of the state to be limited

27
Q

Social Contract meaning

A

people must agree to be governed in order for society to run smoothly, there must be an agreement to give up some freedom in the interest of security

28
Q

Modern Liberals on Liberal Democracy

A

excessive democracy may lead to ‘tyranny of the majority’
therefore argue for the protection of minority rights

29
Q

What is Locke’s main principle?

A

the idea of social contract
society, state and government are based on a voluntary agreement or contract

30
Q

Locke on the state

A

government should be limited by consent from below
role is to uphold our basic liberties and protect us from the threat of foreign invasion and social disorder

31
Q

Locke on equality

A

natural rights and natural laws - people are equal in rights and must respect each others rights
rulers and citizens are all subject to the law

32
Q

Locke on human nature

A

individuals are rational entities

33
Q

What do humans acknowledge about our liberties according to Locke?

A

due to the power of reason and rationality we fully acknowledge that our liberties are best protected via governance by the state

34
Q

What idea does Locke reject?

A

anarchism
“where laws do not exist, man has no freedom”
a stateless society is one which we would be devoid of freedom

35
Q

What is John Stuart Mill’s main proposal?

A

harm principle

36
Q

What does John Stuart Mill mean by ‘harm principle’?

A

humans should be free to do whatever they want as long as it doesn’t affect other people

37
Q

John Stuart Mill on human nature

A

humans are sovereign entities capable of exercising free will

38
Q

What does John Stuart Mill believe threatens the liberal goal of freedom?

A

disposition of custom - warns against the mediocrity of public opinion
he believes there is a tendency to tell everyone to act in the same manner which crushes self expression

39
Q

What does John Stuart Mill propose in order to guard against the disposition of custom?

A

we must avoid forcing our opinion on others unless we are certain of their truth
same way Locke is suspicious of religious tolerance - using force to change someones beliefs is irrational

40
Q

John Stuart Mill on the state

A

state intervention needed to prevent the poor from enduring injustice e.g. tolerance, flat tax on income, inheritance tax

41
Q

What is John Rawls’ main proposal?

A

‘veil of ignorance’

42
Q

Veil of Ignorance

A

promotes impartial decision making
denies decision makers access to potentially biassing information e.g. class gender race talents etc

43
Q

What is the benefit of the ‘Veil of Ignorance’?

A
  • people would not be certain about how successful they would be
  • therefore people would agree on the importance of equal rights including freedom of speech and right of assembly
44
Q

Rawls on Society

A

under the veil of ignorance people would want a fairer society with adequate housing, safe neighbourhoods, a good education system and an unbiased criminal justice system

45
Q

Rawls on Equality

A

everyone has an equal entitlement to certain basic rights
acceptance that there would always be degree of inequality but a just society should aim to minimise the difference between outcomes for the best off and the poorest

46
Q

What are Mary Wollstonecraft’s main proposals?

A
  • women are no more or less rational than men
  • both should be treated equally as rational human beings
47
Q

Wollstonecraft on human nature

A

women are rational, independent beings capable of reason

48
Q

Wollstonecraft on equality

A

formal equality - women are entitled to the same civil liberties as men
equality of opportunity - valid for both sexes

49
Q

What does formal equality achieve according to Wollstonecraft?

A

women would be able to experience a life of genuine liberty, free from the constraints of patriarchy, legal and political rights

50
Q

What is the key to achieving formal equality according to Wollstonecraft?

A

education - it would enable a woman to gain self respect and to realise her potential

51
Q

Wollstonecraft on Freedom

A

female liberty comes from formal equality

52
Q

Wollstonecraft on equality of opportunity

A

recognises that as a result of biology women were more likely to opt for marriage and motherhood
she wanted women to have the opportunity to choose between the two routes

53
Q

Friedan on equality

A

she wishes to reform society so that women could easily choose between a career or domestic role depending on what they wanted
this would result in true equal rights

54
Q

Friedan on the state

A

any laws which prevented equality of opportunity for women should be repealed

55
Q

Friedan on society

A

society is responsible for conditioning women to take on domestic roles rather than innate biological tendencies

56
Q

Friedan on human nature

A

women should be seen just as capable as men of having successful careers in a number of different fields

57
Q

Friedan on Freedom

A

the lack of freedom women have leads to unhappiness and unfulfillment

Politics Paper 1 (8 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2024 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions