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uk politics > liberalism > Flashcards

liberalism Flashcards

1
Q

collectivism

A

people bound together by common bonds

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2
Q

atomic individualism

A

a collective of rational and autonomous individuals

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3
Q

classical liberalism

A

a tradition within liberalism that seeks to maximise the realm of unconstrained individual action, typically by establishing a minimal state and a reliance on market economics

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4
Q

modern liberalism

A

a tradition within liberalism that provides a qualified endorsement for social and economic intervention as a means of promoting personal development

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5
Q

egotistical individualism

A

individuals aim to satisfy their own wants and needs

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6
Q

features of egotistical individualism

A
  • you should not rely on the state to help you out
  • society has to be organised to benefit autonomous individuals, and their needs must be prioritised over any collective body
  • pull yourself up by your own bootstraps
  • the most important thing is that individuals have the capability to achieve their potential
  • there is no such thing as a society - we are all atomised
  • the most important thing is that individuals are left to their own devices and don’t depend on anyone else

both egotistical and developmental
- society is best understood as a collection of individuals
- individuals are self seeking and largely self reliant
- humans share the same status in that they are all individuals

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7
Q

developmental individualism

A

assumes that we may choose to make social progress and express a degree of altruism, a desire to live in harmony

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8
Q

features of developmental individualism

A
  • the state has some responsibility towards those less fortunate
  • helping others to make the most of their abilities is to be encouraged
  • a belief in personal growth and self realisation

both egotistical and developmental
- society is best understood as a collection of individuals
- individuals are self seeking and largely self reliant
- humans share the same status in that they are all individuals

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9
Q

individualism and the state

A
  • limited power and involvement
  • should only interfere in other-regarding actions
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10
Q

individualism and society

A
  • a group of atomised individuals
  • self regarding individuals work for themselves but developmental individualism suggests we can all work towards a shared, common goal
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11
Q

individualism and human nature

A
  • humans are rational beings
  • humans are self regarding and keen to improve, but have the capacity to be other regarding
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12
Q

individualism and the economy

A
  • little to no state intervention, incentives and meritocracy
  • self reliance is a virtue
  • avoid state dependency
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13
Q

classic liberal ideals

A
  • government by consent
  • guarantee of individual freedom
  • representative democracy
  • representative democracy
  • a limited role for the state within society and the economy
  • individuals are born with natural rights

are commonly associated with the ideals of the enlightenment

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14
Q

modern liberalism ideals

A
  • argued for an enhanced role of the state within society and the economy
  • for some, it enhanced individual freedom and was a logical continuation of the ideas of classical liberalism
  • for others, such as neo liberalism, this was a betrayal of classic liberalism’s core ideals
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15
Q

foundational equality

A
  • a fundamental liberal belief that all individuals are born with natural rights which entitle them to liberty, the pursuit of happiness and avoidance of pain
  • in a liberal state, this translates into the rule of law, where all individuals are treated equality under the law
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16
Q

formal equality

A
  • similar to foundational quality, formal equality is a wider concept, supported by all liberals
  • it includes equality under the law, but also the principle that every individual is entitled to equal treatment in society
  • it also includes the idea of equality of opportunity and the abolition of artificial social distinctions, such as gender inequality
17
Q

classical liberalism’s attitude to individualism

A
  • an individual’s primary motivation is for egotistical individualism which individualism, egotistical for
    utility own their maximising with concerned with maximising their own utility, so that they can thrive to the best of their ability
  • the freedom of the individual is sacrosanct: a collection of atomistic individuals
  • the state should be small, limited to maintaining law and order and protecting society from invasion, so that it does not infringe on individual freedom and respects formal equality
  • classical liberalism influenced the american revolutionaries who refer specifically to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness in the american declaration of independence
18
Q

modern liberalism’s attitude to individualism

A
  • T.H. Green was an early advocate of modern liberalism, who argued for positive freedom, whereby the state practices a form of developmental individualism to help make society a fairer place
  • modern liberals can broadly agree with classical liberals on the concept of self reliance, but argue that the state must offer a hand up if every individual is to achieve this goal
  • the influence of modern liberalism’s idea of development individualism can be seen in the expansion of state involvement and welfare provision after WW2
  • modern liberals would agree that ‘life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness’ are human rights, however, whereas classical liberals argue for a minimal state to ensure these values, modern liberals believe that only an interventionist state can guarantee such freedoms
19
Q

social contract

A
  • the state is based on a contract between the government and the people
  • government agrees to make itself accountable to the people and to operate within the law, while the people should agree to obey the laws and uphold the security of the state
20
Q

limited government

A
  • the principle that governments should be constrained by strong laws and constitutions
  • classical and neo liberals believe strongly in limited government
  • all branches of liberalism support entrenched constitutions and the separation of powers to reinforce limited government
21
Q

laissez-faire capitalism

A

a principle mostly associated with the role of the state within a capitalist economy, which proposes that capitalism and wealth creation are enhanced if the state does not interfere with the markets for goods, services and labour

22
Q

harm principle

A

the idea that the state is justified in interfering with individual freedom when it is to prevent some citizens doing harm to others

23
Q

negative freedom

A
  • a conception of freedom that defines itself as an absence of constraint
  • liberal philosopher, Isaiah Berlin, described it as ‘freedom from’ rather than ‘freedom to’
  • advocates of negative freedom want freedom from government interference wherever possible
  • classical liberals and neo liberals prefer negative freedom and a minimal state
24
Q

positive freedom

A
  • a conception of freedom which sees the state playing a positive role to assist individuals to achieve their dreams and aspirations and develop as individuals
  • a state funded educational system would be an example of positive freedom
  • modern liberals prefer positive freedom and an enabling state
25
Q

John Locke

A
  • the central figure in classical liberalism
  • denied the traditional, medieval principle that the state was part of god’s creation, didn’t believe that monarchs had a divine right to govern
  • asserted that prior to the state’s existence, there was a natural society which served mankind’s interests tolerably well - believed that human nature was guided by rationalism
  • believed that the state of nature was underpinned by natural laws, natural liberties and natural rights
  • the state of law would be legitimate only if it respected natural rights and natural laws, thus ensuring that individuals living under formal laws were never consistently worse off than they had been in the state of nature, the state’s structures must therefore embody the natural rights and liberties that preceded it
  • Locke’s ideal state would reflect the principle that its ‘citizens’ had voluntarily consented to accept the state’s rulings in return for the state improving their situation (social contract theory)
  • because of its contractual nature, the state would have to embody the principle of limited government - limited to representing the interests of the governed and requiring their ongoing consent
  • the executive and legislative branches of the state, for example, would be separate, while its lawmakers would be separated from its law enforcers
26
Q

freedom

A
  • freedom is that ability to think or act as one wishes
  • early liberals resented how authoritarian government and absolute monarchies retained full legitimacy, often at the expense of their subjects’ freedom
  • freedom is therefore intimately connected with the law as Locke argued ‘where there is now law, there is no liberty’
27
Q

liberalism and freedom

A
  • freedom is a natural right; Locke asserted that the role of government was the protection of man’s right to ‘life, liberty and estate’
  • the state is needed to mediate between competing individuals to enforce order, to protect property rights and to prevent breach to contracts and fraud
  • this idea has based one the rationalistic proposition that individuals would enter into a social contract to allow the state to act as a neutral umpire to resolve clashes
  • if the state were within their rights to withdraw their consent and replace the government; for many classical liberals, the american revolution was a perfect example of a broken contract between the ruled and the rulers
  • the state would practice limited government so that the individual might enjoy the maximum amount of freedom within a legal framework, this freedom gave emphasis to the economic sphere of society and the doctrine of lassiez faire capitalism
28
Q

John Stuart Mill and freedom

A
  • the freedom of thought and emotion -
    this includes the freedom to act on such thought, i.e. freedom of speech
  • the freedom to pursue tastes (provided they do no harm to others), even if they are deemed ‘immoral’ (harm principle)
  • the freedom to unite - so long as the involved members are of age, not forced and no harm is done to each other
29
Q

Mill was described as a libertarian

A
  • libertarianism gives priority to individual liberty over all other values such as tradition, authority and equality
  • this means that libertarians try to maximise individual freedom and minimise public authority
  • they usually see the state as the main threat to liberty
30
Q

Mill’s self regarding/other regarding distinction

A
  • self regarding: individuals exercise absolute freedom over these
  • other regarding: these can restrict the freedom of others or do them harm and therefore individuals should no have absolute freedom to carry out such actions
31
Q

freedom/liberty and the state

A
  • the state should protect freedom, either negative (Locke gave this as the only reason for the state) or positive
32
Q

freedom/liberty and society

A
  • natural rights should not be sacrificed to society without good reason
  • there should be minimal or enabling state
33
Q

freedom/liberty and human nature

A

need freedom to be self regarding

34
Q

freedom/liberty and the economy

A
  • ownership of property is a natural right
  • taxation = theft of property

uk politics (14 decks)

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