Liberalism Flashcards
The state
+
[rights, democracy, the economy]
CL + ML = ‘necessary evil’ – to guarentee rights and freedoms are upheld
Formal rights
= Locke — nightwatch state with specific emphasis on the protection of property rights
= Mills — negative freedom
The state —
[rights, democracy, the economy]
Democracy
Locke = voting rights for those with property - no women vote
Mills = those with superior eductaion can have more than one vote, whilst those that lack one and do not pay tax do not vote
vs. ML = universial suffrage = Friedan and Wollstonecraft want womentohave the right to vote
Human nature
+
[rights/freedom, state, society]
By virtue of beinng humans we all have individual rights = naturally according to Locke so Mill argues that the state should entrench them in the form of negative rights
Individualism + Tolerance = don’t judge other’s lifestyle and religious parctises if you want yours to be respecteed
CL = egotistical individualism — Mill = harm principle - freedom with self-regarding actions even if they harm the individual
Human nature —
[rights/freedom, state, society]
CL = egotistical individualism — Mill = harm principle - freedom with self-regarding actions even if they harm the individual
ML = developmental individualism — individuals have the ability to achieve their potential with the state’s help — Thomas Hill Green based on Mill’s higher and lower pleasures philosophy states that individuals need help in identifying their real interests to pursue their higher pleasures
Society
+
[rights/freedoms, state, human nature]
Individuals are more important than society and collective interests
Equality of opportunity rather than equality of outcome
Locke = before society in the state of nature, humans had natural rights
Mill = agrees with negative freedoms and rights to guarentee this
Society —
[rights/freedoms, state, human nature]
ML view the nature of the realtionship between society and the individual as being based more on common good
ML = self-interest in the common good of society
Positive rights = Friedan — women have had more formal equality but society does not encourage them to develop individually so this should change through the state’s involvement
Equality
+
[rights/freedoms, state’s role, human nature]
CL + ML
Foundational sense = humans have the same moral worth
Formal sense = same legal and political rights
For men and women — Wollstonecraft + Friedan both agree that women should be equal to men through having equal rights = negative freedoms
Equality —
[rights/freedoms, state’s role, human nature]
CL = Wollstonecraft — women have been blocked from the public sphere of politis - change by negative rights
vs. ML = Friedan — education and mass media supress women so negative rights will not go far enough for gender equality = equality of opportunity
+ Rawls = society is not free if the poor live in squalor so people should want to participate in society for the common good
Freedoms
+
[rights, economy, state’s role]
Negative freedoms
= formal rights
limited state but they should guarantee rights and uphold freedoms
– Locke = social contract theory = citizen’s obey laws on the understanding that the state will protect their rights
– Rawls = theory of justice = society must guarentee each citizen a life worth living + veil ignorance = individuals consent from a position where they lack knowledege of thier own position in society
Freedoms —
[rights, economy, state’s role]
CL = minimal state — Locke’s emphasis on property rights
ML = enabling state — positive freedoms for equality of opportunity — Rawls = the state should improve the conditions of the poor
The economy
+
[capitalism, state’s role, rights/freedoms]
Private property is key + low taxes as not to limit rewards
The economy —
[capitalism, state’s role, rights/freedoms]
Different forms of capitalism = CL — laissez-faire [Adam Smith - guided ‘invisible hand’ most effective] vs. ML — Keynesian economics = the governmnet should manage demand to keep unemployment low, and promote freedom
CL = negative rights vs. ML = positive rightswith more state interference
Taxation = CL —- minimal as it punishes those who work hard vs. ML = society contributes to the creation of wealth so taxation is society taking its fair share for its contribution — Rawl’s Second Principle of Justice = paying higher taxes is good as long as it doesn’t undermine the poor
Key Thinkers:
Locke
Two Treaties of Governmnet [1690] — social contract theory = limited governmnet
Key Thinkers:
Wollstonecraft
A Vindication of the Rights of Woman [1792]
- reason = women are as rational and independent beings as men so formal equality = guided by reason
Key Thinkers:
JS Mill
‘The Harm Principle’ = On Liberty [1859] — free to do anuthing except harm other people = the goovernment cannot interfere in slef-regarding actions, even if they harm the individual
