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Liberalism Flashcards

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1
Q

Origins of liberalism

A
  • Enlightenment
  • A response to absolute monarchy
  • Associated with revolutions such as the French Revolution and American Independence
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2
Q

What was the enlightenment?

A

An intellectual movement which opposed the medieval philosophy of religion and superstition, instead seeking answers in reason

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3
Q

What is an absolute monarchy?

A

When the monarch rules a country with few restrictions on their power

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4
Q

Features of classical liberalism

A
  • Radical (at the time)
  • Small state
  • Free-market capitalism
  • Egotistical individualism
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5
Q

What is egotistical individualism?

A

Humans naturally seek to advance their own happiness and interests

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6
Q

What is negative freedom?

A

The ‘freedom from’ instead of the ‘freedom to’; the absence of constraint

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7
Q

What is the harm principle?

A

Argued by John Stuart Mill
The government should only use its power to prevent actions that bring harm to others. This power should not extend to self-regarding actions.

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8
Q

What is a night-watchman state?

A

Argued by John Locke
The state must only act to protect the ‘peace, safety and public good of the people’

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9
Q

Key work of John Locke

A

Two Treatises of Government (1690)

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10
Q

What did Locke argue about human nature?

A
  • Humans are naturally free
  • Humans are all equal
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11
Q

What is Locke’s ‘state of nature’?

A

Locke imagined a time before the existence of the state. He argued humans had peace in this state of nature where they are protected by natural laws (e.g. that nobody can harm another person)

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12
Q

Why did Locke argue that conflicts occur in the ‘state of nature’?

A

There would be clashes in the interests of free individuals, therefore a small state was necessary to manage these clashes

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13
Q

What did Locke argue about society?

A

A functional society would exist in a state of nature, where people have rights such as the right to property

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14
Q

What is Locke’s social contract?

A

The contract between individuals and the government where the individual agrees to obey the law of the state in return for protections on their individual freedoms

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15
Q

What did Locke argue about the state?

A
  • Social contract between people and government, where people can withdraw their consent
  • Constitutionalism/separation of powers
  • Should represent the wishes of property-owning individuals
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16
Q

What is constitutionalism?

A

The government must be limited by a constitution to protect individual freedoms

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17
Q

What is fiduciary power?

A

The belief that the power of the state comes from the people and must therefore act in their best interests

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18
Q

Key work of Mary Wollstonecraft

A

A Vindication on the Rights of Women (1792)

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19
Q

What is formal equality?

A

Equality under the law; everyone is entitled to equal treatment in society

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20
Q

What did Wollstonecraft argue about human nature?

A
  • Optimistic, seeing humans as rational
  • Believed women were as rational as men
  • Individualism
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21
Q

What is individualism?

A

A belief that the individual is more important than the collective; people should follow their own best interests

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22
Q

What did Wollstonecraft argue about the state?

A
  • The state should provide education to allow the individual to prosper
  • Opposed the divine right of Kings, instead arguing for republicanism and constitutionalism
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23
Q

What is republicanism?

A

A political system without a monarch, instead encouraging citizens to take an active role in politics

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24
Q

What did Wollstonecraft argue about society?

A
  • Women and men should be equal in society with the same rights
  • Women should be allowed to be employed and own property as this would allow them to avoid marriage out of financial necessity
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25
Q

What did Wollstonecraft argue about the economy?

A

The economy could grow by allowing women to work as it would double the workforce

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26
Q

Why did Wollstonecraft suggest that women were like “slaves” in society?

A

As women were not seen as rational and had no formal equality they were not able to maximise their individual potential

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27
Q

Key work of John Stuart Mill

A

On Liberty (1859)

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28
Q

What did Mill argue about human nature?

A
  • Liberty allows humans to become more developed, allowing them to achieve their individuality
  • Humans should seek for ‘higher pleasures’ of the mind
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29
Q

What is individuality?

A

Each individual is unique and freedom allows them to develop their own talents and interests

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30
Q

What did Mill argue about society?

A
  • A society should have debate and discussion which allows it to develop
  • There should be a diverse ‘character and culture’ to society
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31
Q

What did Mill argue about the state?

A
  • The state should follow the harm principle
  • The state’s role is to, through education, enable people to constantly improve themselves
  • Representative democracy
32
Q

Why did Mill criticise representative government?

A

He believed it could lead to tyranny of the majority as the majority would infringe on the freedoms of the minority by only voting in their own interests

33
Q

What was Mill’s preferred form of government?

A
  • Representative democracy
  • Educated electorate
  • Representatives aggregate the demands of all groups in society when making their decisions
34
Q

Is democracy compatible with liberalism? - YES

A
  • Democracy enhances individualism
  • Rational voters will vote sensibly at the ballot box
  • Creates government by consent
  • Democracy restricts the concentration of power
35
Q

Is democracy compatible with liberalism? - NO

A
  • May lead to tyranny of the majority
  • Only an educated population can make the best decisions
  • Classical liberals only wanted to give the vote to those with property
36
Q

Key aspects of modern liberalism

A
  • Positive freedom
  • Enabling state
  • Social liberalism
37
Q

What is developmental individualism?

A

Focus on pursuing personal growth instead of just self-satisfaction; emphasis on what the individual can become instead of just what they are

38
Q

What is positive freedom?

A

The freedom for individuals to be able to develop and pursue their own version of a good life

39
Q

What is a welfare state?

A

The state providing benefits and securities to people at a higher tax burden

40
Q

What is equality of opportunity?

A

The concept that all individuals have equal life chances, yet are born unequal. By removing these inequalities, equality of opportunity improves.

41
Q

Which economist promoted the idea of an enabling state?

A

John Maynard Keynes

42
Q

What is positive discrimination?

A

Another term for affirmative action; giving preferential treatment to minority groups to counterbalance their historical inequalities

43
Q

Key work of Thomas Hill Green

A

Lectures on the Principles of Political Obligation (1895)

44
Q

What did Green argue about human nature?

A

Positive freedom allows individuals to rise above self-interest and to contribute to the common good of society

45
Q

What did Green argue about society?

A

Hereditary privilege should be removed from society to tackle poverty

46
Q

What did Green argue about the state?

A

The state should take a more positive role (enabling state) including freeing the poor from disease, squalor and poor working conditions

47
Q

Context of Green’s liberalism

A

At the end of the 19th century, the flaws with free-market capitalism became more obvious as the Industrial Revolution created huge social issues

48
Q

2 key works of Betty Friedan

A
  • The Feminine Mystique (1963) = more classical liberal
  • The Second Stage (1981) = more radical
49
Q

What did Friedan argue about human nature?

A
  • The idea that women could find fulfilment from being wives and mothers left them feeling empty
  • A woman who is a mother and a wife has no time for personal development through her career
50
Q

What did Friedan argue about society?

A

Formal equality should be present in society to allow women to develop

51
Q

What did Friedan argue about the state?

A
  • The state should tackle formal gender equality
  • The state should also play an active role in improving equality of opportunity
52
Q

What did Friedan argue about the economy?

A

The state should give benefits to single, divorced or widowed women to ensure they had equal opportunities in the job market

53
Q

Key work of John Rawls

A

A Theory of Justice (1971)

54
Q

What is foundational equality?

A

The idea that all humans are born morally equal and so deserve equal rights

55
Q

What was Rawl’s veil of ignorance?

A

When an individual imagines a just society, they do not know their position in it (e.g. race, gender, disability)

56
Q

What is distributive justice?

A

Social inequality is acceptable if there is equality of opportunity

57
Q

What did Rawls argue about society?

A
  • Everyone should have equal rights and basic liberties
  • If people construct a society under the veil of ignorance, they are more likely to choose a more equal one
58
Q

How does Rawls argue an enabling state is compatible with government by consent?

A

As people under the veil of ignorance would choose a society which is more equal to live in

59
Q

What does Rawls argue about the state?

A

Enabling state

60
Q

Why does Rawls believe in capitalism?

A

Some inequality is acceptable as they incentivise people to work harder

61
Q

Key ideas of neo-liberalism

A
  • Free-market capitalism
  • Night-watchman state
  • Welfare state = dependency culture
  • Negative freedom
62
Q

Who is the most prominent neo-liberal thinker and what is their key work?

A

F. A. Hayek
The Road to Serfdom (1944)

63
Q

Where do most liberals agree in regards to human nature?

A
  • Optimistic view
  • Individualism
  • See individuals as rational
64
Q

Where is there tension amongst liberals in regards to human nature?

A
  • Classical liberals see maximising freedom as the key to individual development
  • JSM and modern liberals believe that individualism can be developed through education
65
Q

Where do most liberals agree in regards to the state?

A
  • Constitutionalism
  • Power should be dispersed
  • Formal equality an rights for all citizens
66
Q

Where is there tension amongst liberals in regards to the state?

A
  • Classical liberals argue for a night-watchman state and promote negative freedom
  • Modern liberals argue for an enabling state, in line with positive freedom
  • Classical liberals argue for representative government while later liberals prefer representative democracy
67
Q

Where do most liberals agree in regards to society?

A

Society should be arranged to allow individuals to flourish

68
Q

Where is there tension amongst liberals in regards to society?

A
  • Classical liberals suggest that in a natural society people are constrained by their rational nature to respect the rights of others
  • Modern liberals see that free-market capitalism restricts individuals from being free
  • Neo liberals believe that an enabling state does not allow individuals in society from being truly free
69
Q

Where do most liberals agree in regards to the economy?

A
  • All want to protect property rights as these give individuals freedom
  • All support capitalism to an extent
70
Q

Where is there tension amongst liberals in regards to the economy?

A
  • Classical/neo liberals believe the economy is guided by an ‘invisible hand’ of rational individuals
  • Modern liberals argue that state taxation and regulation is justified as it allows full employment for all increasing equality of opportunity
71
Q

3 liberal views on freedom

A
  1. JSM - negative freedom and harm principle
  2. Green - positive freedom, equality of opportunity
  3. Locke - humans are naturally free with natural rights such as property
72
Q

3 liberal views on human nature

A
  1. Locke - humans are rational and naturally free so should be granted the greatest possible freedom
  2. Friedan - human nature has created gender inequality so the state should intervene to allow women to truly be free
  3. JSM - humans develop their individuality through personal development (i.e. education)
73
Q

3 liberal views on the state

A
  1. Locke - the state must be limited to stop tyrannical governments
  2. JSM - government only intervene when actions violate harm principle
  3. Rawls - increased taxation and spending to increase equality of opportunity
74
Q

3 liberal views on society

A
  1. Locke - natural society in a state of nature with natural rights and natural laws
  2. Wollstonecraft - society does not recognise women but if women were given formal equality society would benefit from their skills
  3. Friedan - women are discriminated against in society so the state must intervene
75
Q

3 liberal views on the economy

A
  1. Locke - right to property protects people from a tyrannical state
  2. Green - free market capitalism created social and economic problems which discouraged people from reaching their full potential
  3. Neoliberal (Hayek) - the free market allows rational individuals to make decisions for themselves

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