Liberalism Flashcards
What did Locke oppose?
Absolutism in the monarchy
What did Locke support?
Social contract theory (strong property rights), right to revolution and constitutionalism
What was Locke’s view of man?
He is free and equal
What did Adam Smith try to do in The Theory of Moral Sentiments 1759?
Reconcile human self-interest with unregulated social order through a ‘mutual sympathy of sentiments’
What was Adam Smith’s views on the economy?
Free trade, regulation limited to controlling monopolies
What did Kant add to the liberal ideology?
That due to the law of reason there must be categorial imperatives (such as freedom clearly) and that as we treat other as ‘ends’ we are not overly cruel
What did Jefferson support?
Agrarianism, limited government, laissez-faire, individual responsibility and freedom
Which idea did Bentham support?
Utilitarianism, ‘the greatest happiness for the greatest number’
Why did Bentham support utilitarianism?
Individuals were rationally self-interested creatures or utility maximisers
What did James Madison support?
Checks and balances, divided government , pluralism, federalism, bicameralism - a basic splitting of power
Which classically liberal ideas did Mill support?
Opposition to collectivism and tradition, negative freedoms
Which modern liberal ideas did Mill support?
Individuality, female suffrage, workers cooperatives
What did T.H. Green support?
Welfarism, social justice, positive freedom, new liberalism, not laissez-faire
What did John Rawls attempt to do?
Reconcile individualism and social justice through the social contract theory
What did Rawls see as the role of justice?
‘Justice as fairness’ whereby a ‘veil of ignorance’ makes everybody equal, and as a result people support that equality
5 core themes of liberalism
Individualism, freedom, reason, justice and toleration
5 core themes of classical liberalism
Natural rights, utilitarianism, economic liberalism, social Darwinism and neoliberalism
4 core themes of modern liberalism
Individuality, positive freedom, social liberalism and economic management
How did 20th century views of liberalism change?
They became more about what is right rather than promoting what is good (moral neutrality)
Classical and modern division of individualism
Egoistical individualism (atomism) versus developmental individualism (promoting individuals flourishing)
Mill’s Principle of Harm
‘The only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized society, against his free will, is to prevent harm to others’
Isiah Berlin’s belief on positive freedom
It is self-mastery through the achievement of autonomy or self-development (no focus on complete freedom to do anything you like, only that which aids yourself, so state intervention supported)
Opposite to rationalism
Paternalism
Explain rationalism
World has a rational structure which can be understood through human reason and critical inquiry(reason over empiricism or tradition)
Example of rationalism UK
Liberal Party members supporting debate and negotiation, fuelled by reason, over war
Liberal ideas of equality
Foundational equality + formal/legal/political equality; having equal opportunities to develop unequal skills that different individuals have
Classical and modern division of equality
Meritocracy and incentives to work versus some social equality
Recent modern liberal philosopher’s views of equality
Rawls supports only economic inequality when it benefits the poor/luck egalitarianism of Dworkin
Why was Mill supportive of toleration?
Only though this method may debate come about which would avoid ‘dull conformism’
Locke quote of state given freedom
Where there is no law there is no freedom
Hobbes quote on human life in state of nature
Solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short
Lord Acton quotes on power
Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely
Great men are almost always bad men
Montesquieu quote on separation of powers
Power should be a check to power
What was Mill’s plan for democracy?
To avoid wisdom being lost, plural voting based on one’s level of education should be brought in
What did Ortega y Gasset fear about democracy?
It would give rise to dictators who could appeal to the basest instincts of the masses
Differences in democracy between classical and modern liberals
Protective democracy of consent of Locke or equilibrium democracy of consensus
Who coined the phrases ‘nightwatchmen’ and ‘necessary evil’?
Locke and Paine
What are natural rights?
Inalienable God-given basic rights given to individuals merely for being human
3 disagreements over natural rights
Hobbes believing in monarchy instead of state of nature, Locke on ‘life, liberty and property’ and Jefferson on ‘life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness’
What was Bentham’s view of natural rights and what did he propose in kind?
‘Nonsense on stilts’ preferring the happiness-promoting self-interested utilitarianism
Samuel Smile’s book title of 1859
Self-help: Heaven helps those who help themselves
Progression of Social Darwinism
Herbert Spencer developed ideas that society worked like Darwin’s ideas of the time - those who work hardest will naturally fall to the top (success of the fittest)
3 economists of neoliberalism
Smith, Hayek and Friedman
What was Mill seen as in the history of liberalism and why?
The bridge of old negative freedoms and modern issues of women’s suffrage and personal development
Why did Mill and Bentham disagree?
Mill felt life should be about more than just happiness, or good and bad, but also development of intellect and morals
Mill’s quote about individuality
Preference to be ‘Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied’
Which philosopher built up ideas of new liberalism and who followed this?
Green, then Hobhouse and Hobson
What was the basis of Green’s ‘socialist liberalism’?
Not having the ‘freedom to starve’ but still having the freedom to have individuals help themselves
Examples of social liberalism
Beveridge report about removing ‘five giants,’ New Deal, New Frontier, Great Society
What were the ideals of Rawls?
Social-democratic liberalism, of ‘equality as fairness’ and the ‘difference principle’ where economics and society are organised to help the poorest
Division between classical and modern liberals on the ideology in general
Economic liberalism versus social liberalism
Division between classical and modern liberals on how individuals act
Maximise utility versus personal growth
Division between classical and modern liberals on justice
Rights-based justice versus justice as fairness
Division between classical and modern liberals on welfare
Strict meritocracy/safety-net welfare versus concerns for poor/cradle to grave welfare
Example of individualism UK
No government can do anything except through people, and people must look after themselves first - Thatcher
Example of positive freedom UK
Lib Dem tuition fee abolition
Example of negative freedom UK
Lib Dem/Labour 2017 Manifesto support for legalisation of marijuana
Example of justice as rights-based UK
New Labour passing 1998 Human Rights Act
Example of difference principle UK
Conservative reforms of raising tax free allowance under Cameron (aiding poorest) in 2015 Manifesto
Example of toleration UK
In order to avoid conflict, through toleration of other ideas compromise over striking workers was reached in 1912 with Liberal Party
Example of constitutionalism UK
Cabinet Manual by Gus O’Donnell asked for by Brown
Example of utilitarianism UK
Liberal New Right of Thatcher decreasing taxes so people can use their money as they wish
Example of economic liberalism/neoliberalism UK
Big Bang of 1986
Example of social Darwinism UK
2016 Tory cut of capital gains tax which aides wealthy far more than poorest
Example of individuality UK
New Labour support of apprenticeships in order to expand choices to develop yourself
Example of economic management
Yellow Book of Liberal Party of 1928
Example of classical liberalism in Orange Book
Free markets in public sector
Example of modern liberalism in Orange Book
Help for poor in terms of social liberalism much like paternalism
Milton Friedman opinion on equality
Only liberty or equality, not both
Liberal critique of socialism
Levelling up is better than levelling down in socialism
Inequality supported by all liberals with
Inequality of outcome will occur in capitalism, all agree
Mill on freedom of opinion
Human beings should be free to form opinions and to express their opinions without reserve
Classical liberals on freedom with markets
The freer the markets the freer the people
What is libertarianism?
Ideas of natural rights and utilitarianism where liberty from the state is more important than equality and other ideas
Ideas of TH Green
Freedom from coercion is only useful if all individuals are unhindered from poverty or disease in order to self-develop
Dworkin on natural rights
Idea that rights act as ‘trumps’ over any other idea, unlike legal positivists that see rights only as those protected in the law
Voltaire on toleration
The consequence of humanity. We are all formed of fragility and error; let us pardon reciprocally each other’s folly, that is the first law of nature
Locke on possessive individualism
‘God gave the world to the use of the industrious and rational’ leading to support of property ownership of those who make it, freedom from state to take that away
Locke’s idea of consent
Government based on the consent of the governed, with state acting as rule of the majority and rules divorcing private interests before taking power
Hegel on the state
Idea that individual egos are all that the state acts to protect from tyranny leads to no ability to support civic good or the betterment of the public
Example of justice as fairness UK
2005 Constitutional Reform Act creating independent and therefore fair judiciary
