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Politics (Edexcel) > Liberalism > Flashcards

Liberalism Flashcards

1
Q

What is individualism?

A

Where an individuals interests are more important than collective/societal interests - human rights should apply equally and not infringed on by others or the state

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2
Q

What do classical liberals believe on individualism?

A

Egotistical individualism - self-interest and self-reliance which minimises the importance of society
-Human nature is fixed (everything needed to grow is given at birth)

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3
Q

What do modern liberals believe on individualism?

A

Developmental individualism - society where each person can grow, plays down self-interest and more state intervention needed so that they could be more than what is assigned at birth - Mill advocating for greater education

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4
Q

What is tolerance? (liberalism)

A

A willingness to respect values, customs and beliefs

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5
Q

What did classical liberals believe on tolerance?

A

Rational individuals were capable of tolerance - Locke argues the state of nature allowed people to exercise natural rights although there may be clashes

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6
Q

What is the state of nature? (liberalism)

A

A hypothetical of what life may have been like before law and government - used in Locke’s theory that the state was required to prevent clashes between people

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7
Q

What did modern liberals believe on tolerance?

A

Should be extended to intolerant acts unless it directly threatens others
Betty Friedan argued for greater tolerance of minorities as a liberal feminist and rejected radical feminism, instead opting for further legislation on discrimination and even positive discrimination

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8
Q

What is positive discrimination?

A

Treating someone who has been disadvantaged differently in order to produce positive outcomes (e.g creating all women short lists for jobs)

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9
Q

How do classical and modern liberals differ on individualism?

A

Classical:
-Egotistical individualism, Individual rights more important than collective, Minimal state involvement with negative freedom
Modern:
-Developmental individualism (human nature not fixed), Enabling state and Positive freedom

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10
Q

What are the similarities between classical and modern liberals on individualism?

A

-All born with natural rights, liberty, happiness and avoidance of pain
-Formal equality (Wollstonecraft ‘citizen’ in French Revolution
-Tolerance (Locke, Wollstonecraft and Friedan)

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11
Q

What is freedom/liberty? (liberalism)

A

Gov should not interfere unless someones actions threatens others - mechanistic view driven by rational self-interest whereby minority interests and overridden by those of the majority

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12
Q

What are classical liberals beliefs on freedom?

A

Reject a pessimistic view of human nature, as much personal freedom as possible which respecting the liberty of others - supports social contract theory, ‘harm principle’ and minimalist state

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13
Q

What is Locke’s mechanistic theory of government?

A

That society is merely a collection of atomised self-interested individuals

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14
Q

What is negative freedom? (liberalism)

A

A classical belief where the state treats everyone equally but does not improve the lives of individuals - supports a minimalist state as one of the biggest threats to liberty is the state itself

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15
Q

What is the ‘harm principle’? (liberalism)

A

A classical belief popularised by J.S Mill in ‘On Liberty’ (1859), that human actions should be as free as possible unless it harms others - negative liberty which limits the influence of the state, ‘self-regarding’ and ‘other-regarding’ actions

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16
Q

What are modern liberals beliefs on freedom?

A

Positive liberty - individuals are entitled to protections for their freedoms in order to achieve their potential that wouldn’t have happened otherwise, optimistic about human nature to actively support others rather than just respecting their own rights

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17
Q

How do modern liberals differ from the classical ‘harm principle’?

A

What defines harm - as it may be psychological and emotional as well as violent, therefore modern liberals support limits on speech and actions

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18
Q

How are modern liberals beliefs on freedom seen through Rawls?

A

In ‘Theory of Justice’ he reinstated foundational equality but that it is now needed under the law - argued a redistribution of wealth, public spending and progressive taxation

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19
Q

How do classical and modern liberals differ on freedom?

A

Classical:
-Atomistic society (Locke and Mill)
-‘harm principle’, minimal state
-negative freedom
Modern:
-organic society, common good
-progressive taxes for development (Rawls)
-positive freedom and enabling state

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20
Q

What is an atomistic society? (liberalism)

A

Classical belief that society is a collective of individuals who pursue their own interests, there is no such thing as a common good

21
Q

What are the similarities between classical and modern liberals on freedom?

A

-Entrenched constitutions and separation of power to provide a limited gov for individual freedom
-Both accept social contract theory (Locke & Rawls)
-Accept some sentiment of harm principle

22
Q

What is the state?

A

a ‘necessary evil’ that liberals viewed as a threat to individuals liberty, strict limits needed or it will be exploited for someones own gain, both share a fear of the state

23
Q

What is a ‘necessary evil’

A

How liberals refer to the state - necessary to protect individual freedoms and defend the nation but an evil as it can interfere with peoples rights

24
Q

How can the state be limited? (liberalism)

A

constitutionalism, government by consent, checks and balances, separation of the powers

25
Q

How should the liberal state act?

A

Tolerant, democratic, meritocratic, rational and limited - laws should be based upon natural laws of respect

26
Q

What is meritocracy?

A

Social position in society is determined by ability and effort

27
Q

What are classical liberals beliefs on the state?

A

Act as a ‘night watchman’, limited to simply protect (Mill) and be based on representative democracy rather then direct to avoid ‘tyranny of the majority’

28
Q

What are classical liberals beliefs on the state with the economy?

A

A non-interventionist state and laissez-faire economic policy with an ‘invisible hand’ for the free-market, classical opposed tariffs and duties on imports, instead ‘free-trade’ for trickle down economics

29
Q

What is ‘tyranny of the majority’? (liberalism)

A

The state elected by a majority that want to further their own objectives despite discriminating against the minority (Mill) - liberals feared this

30
Q

What is laissez-faire economic policy? (liberalism)

A

Minimal gov interference within economy - classical liberals supported this

31
Q

What is the ‘invisible hand’ in the economy? (liberalism)

A

A classical belief that the market will guide itself without any state interference (Adam Smith)

32
Q

What are modern liberals beliefs on the state?

A

An enabling state that practices positive freedom - equality of opportunity calls for greater education and welfare that promote social justice (Rawls) which links to developmental individualism (Mill)

33
Q

How do classical and modern liberals differ on the state?

A

Classical - minimal/limited state as a ‘night watchman’, formal equality in law, laissez-faire economy
Modern - enabling state to ensure equality of opportunity for those disadvantages by socio-economic factors, Keynesianism

34
Q

What are similarities between classical and liberal beliefs on the state?

A

Both believe in social contract theory and government by consent, and that the state serves individuals - although a ‘necessary evil’

35
Q

What is Keynesianism? (liberalism)

A

A modern belief in a ‘middle way’ for the economy - state should intervene in the market to try and secure full employment

36
Q

What is Rawls theory on the veil of ignorance that was proposed in ‘Theory of Justice’?

A

That individuals must construct a society from the ‘original position’, behind a veil of ignorance where they would have no preconceptions of where they would be in this new society, therefore arguing for more welfare and redistribution of wealth

37
Q

What is rationalism? (liberalism)

A

The idea that individuals should be free to exercise their judgement, without the need of guidance from external authority, we learn from our mistakes and gain knowledge through experiences

38
Q

How do classical liberals view rationalism?

A

That we will form a social contract with the state, after we move away from a state of nature (Locke). Optimistic view on human nature and a priority of education, utilitarianism shown in legislation (Bentham)

39
Q

What is utilitarianism?

A

The classical view that the most rational actions are those that produce the greatest happiness for the greatest number. Bentham acknowledged the need for a proactive state, and justified representative democracy to provide utilitarianism through legislation

40
Q

How do modern liberals view rationalism?

A

Argue we are capable of higher and lower pleasures, rational actions are ones that enable us to develop our individual selves - Mill advocated for education to promote developmental individualism, and Rawls viewed that human nature was intrinsically empathetic, leading to a fairer society

41
Q

How do classical and modern liberals differ on rationalism?

A

Classical argued for the most happiness for the majority (utilitarianism) while Modern viewed the higher and lower pleasures needed to develop

42
Q

What are the similarities between classical and modern liberals on rationalism?

A

They both believe that all individuals are rational, and hold a positive view on human nature as we try to improve the lives of the poorest, thus placing an emphasis on education to create equality of opportunity

43
Q

How do classical liberals view equality & social justice?

A

Belief in formal equality, due to negative liberty by the naturally free state of nature - social inequality is beneficial as an incentive to work hard and the best society is meritocracy. Wollstonecraft argued for equal opportunity for women

44
Q

How do modern liberals view equality & social justice?

A

Liberty must be positive if social justice was to be achieved to combat negative socio-economic factors, enabling state needed, freedom to empower others - links to Rawls & foundational equality

45
Q

What is foundational equality? name the key thinker

A

Rawls proposed that formal equality is not enough, must strive for a just society by redistribution of wealth, enabling state, public spending and taxation - acknowledged inequality of outcome was inevitable by choice

46
Q

What is liberal democracy?

A

A combination of ruling by the people, with a focus on individual rights, both liberals have a strong belief in constitutionalism - this addresses the threat posed by majoritarianism, where the minority is unrepresented

47
Q

How do classical liberals view liberal democracy?

A

Negative freedoms that are protected by the state but does not work towards (night-watchman), several checks and balances needed, discrimination should not impact an individuals freedom

48
Q

How do classical liberals view liberal democracy?

A

Human nature is not fixed, so they advocate for full democracy rather than a representative government (Mill expanding on Locke) - against direct democracy due to tyranny of the majority, modern libs sought to expand state

49
Q

What are the 6 key ideas for liberals?

A

-Liberal Democracy
-Equality & Social Justice
-Rationalism
-Freedom
-Individualism
-Tolerance

Politics (Edexcel) (14 decks)

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