Liberalism: key thinkers (L2.3) Flashcards
Who are the five key thinkers for liberalism?
Locke
Mill
Rawls
Wollstonecraft
Friedan
Who are the key thinkers for classical liberalism?
Locke
Mill
Wollstonecraft
Who are the key thinkers for modern liberalism?
Rawls
Friedan
What are Locke’s two main ideas?
Social contract theory
Limited government
What does Locke’s social contract theory say on rights?
Rights exist prior to the state and the social contract
What is Locke’s social contract theory?
Society, state and government based on a theoretical voluntary agreement
> In the state of nature, people were fundamentally peaceful
> The social contract is an agreement between members of society to have a state
> This contract gives people the right to reject their government if it fails them (revolutionary implications)
What are Locke’s ideas on the rule of law and democracy?
- Established the idea of the rule of law - government subject to law, not above it
- Did not support democracy for all (feared propertyless would redistribute wealth)
What are Locke’s ideas on limited government?
Government should be limited and based on consent from below
> Powers of government restricted to what people agreed to in social contract
> No right to interfere in matters beyond protecting these fundamental rights
What are Locke’s ideas on the state?
- Created by rational agreement, not divine right or tradition (mechanistic view)
- Legitimate only when based on consent of the governed
- No absolute authority; power resides ultimately with the people
What are Locke’s ideas on the state’s role in protecting rights?
- Purpose is to protect pre-existing natural rights, not create new rights
- Should be limited to protecting rights, ensuring security, and upholding contracts
What are Locke’s ideas on the economy?
- Trade and commerce should be largely free from state interference
- Early advocate of what would become free market ideas
- Supported a stable currency (helped establish the Bank of England)
What are Locke’s ideas on property?
Strong defender of private property rights
> Property emerges naturally when individuals mix their labour with resources
What are Locke’s ideas on state intervention into the economy?
Limited role for government in economic affairs
What are Locke’s ideas on human nature?
People are naturally peaceable and can get along without force
> People are capable of consent-based social organisation
> Individuals can be trusted to make their own moral and economic decisions
What are Locke’s ideas on rationality?
Humans are fundamentally good and rational
> Rationality allows people to understand natural law and rights
What are Locke’s ideas on society?
Based on voluntary cooperation and trade, not coercion
> Society organised around natural rights and their protection
> Private property as the foundation of social order
What are Mill’s two main ideas?
Harm principle
Tolerance
What are Locke’s ideas on society within the state?
Society exists prior to and separate from the state
> Ideally composed of independent property owners with stake in social order
What is Mill’s harm principle?
Individuals should be free to do anything except harm other individuals
> State should only limit individual freedom to prevent harm to others
> Individuals should be allowed to follow their religion, personal beliefs, lifestyle
> May include smoking, drinking alcohol, taking drugs if no harm to others
What role does the state have in Mill’s harm principle?
State can legitimately stop actions that harm others (theft, violence)
> Free speech should be limited only if it directly incites specific harmful actions
> Societies are diverse with many different ways of living; state should not impose one
What are the three reasons Mill believe tolerance is good in a society?
- People are fallible – you might be wrong in suppressing ideas
- Most views contain an element of truth, even if mostly wrong
- Even completely true views need to be challenged to remain valid
What is Mill’s view on tolerance?
Belief that the popularity of a view does not necessarily make it correct
What does tolerance mean?
Tolerance means “putting up with” things you disapprove of
What is Mill’s view on the state and tolerance?
Government should not suppress views even if majority finds them offensive
What was Mill’s view on democracy?
Democracy risks “tyranny of the majority” where rights of minority groups are violated
> Particularly concerned that poor majority would vote to redistribute wealth
> However, Mill came to accept democracy was necessary
What were Mill’s proposed solutions to prevent tyranny of the majority in democracy?
- Giving those with property more votes than those with less
- System of education to spread liberal values
- Spreading ownership of property more widely
What was Mill’s view on the tyranny of the majority?
Feared that majorities could use democratic power to oppress minorities
What were Rawl’s two main ideas?
Theory of justice
The veil of ignorance
What was Rawl’s veil of ignorance?
Hypothetical scenario where individuals agree on the type of society they want without knowing their own position in it
> People designing society wouldn’t know if they’d be rich/poor, talented/untalented, male/female, etc.
> Forces people to consider what would be fair for everyone, not just themselves
> Under the veil, rational self-interest leads to fair principles of justice
What is the result of Rawl’s veil of ignorance?
People would reject systems with extreme inequality or lack of basic rights
> Would not choose pure meritocracy since natural talents are morally arbitrary
> Shows why rational people would choose a society with significant redistribution
What is Rawl’s theory of justice?
Justice as fairness: the idea that society must be just and guarantee each citizen a life worth living
What is Rawl’s theory of justice in practice in a society?
- Everyone should have fair share of society’s resources
- Freedom requires a degree of equality in distribution of resources
- If some are poor and marginalised, they cannot be free
What is Rawl’s difference principle?
Inequalities in society justified only if they benefit the least advantaged
> Pure equality might reduce total wealth and leave everyone worse off
> Some inequality creates incentives that can increase total wealth
What relationship does Rawl’s theory of justice have with equality of outcome clashing with liberty?
- Takes modern liberalism furthest toward equality of outcome
> Still maintains focus on liberty, not complete equality
> Reconciles freedom and equality better than previous liberal theories
What are Rawl’s views on the state?
- State should be more extensive than classical liberals allow
> Main purpose is to secure justice as fairness
> Should redistribute wealth to benefit least advantaged
What are Rawl’s views on the type of state which should be created?
Democratic but with constitutional limits protecting rights
> Deliberative democracy approximates the veil of ignorance
> Created and legitimised by hypothetical agreement, not tradition
What are Rawl’s views on the state’s role in rights and liberties?
-Must secure basic liberties for all citizens
- Should ensure fair equality of opportunity
What are Rawl’s views on the economy?
Accepts market economy but with significant redistribution
> Not committed to either capitalism or socialism in principle
What are Rawl’s views on the economy in terms of justice?
- Whichever economic system best serves justice should be adopted
> Difference principle requires redistribution regardless of system
> Free market acceptable only if it benefits least advantaged
What are Rawl’s views on property rights and taxation?
- Property rights important but not absolute
- Progressive taxation justified by principles of justice
- Redistribution through taxation and spending, not direct control
What are Rawl’s views on human nature?
- Humans naturally self-interested but capable of fairness
> Under right conditions, people will choose just arrangements
> Not naturally altruistic but capable of accepting fair principles
What are Rawl’s views on rationality?
People are rational and capable of sense of justice
> Rationality includes ability to revise one’s life plan
What are Rawl’s views on self-interest?
Self-interest behind veil of ignorance leads to fair principles
What are Rawl’s views on society?
Society should be a “fair system of cooperation”
> Primary goods include rights, liberties, opportunities, income, wealth, self-respect
> Society should provide meaningful opportunity for all to develop
What are Wollstonecraft’s two main ideas?
Reason
Formal equality
What are Rawl’s views on equality of outcome and justice within society?
Just society gives everyone a fair share of primary goods
> Less concerned with equality of outcomes than equality of basic opportunities
> Social justice requires substantive equality of opportunity
> Just society creates basis for stability and social cohesion
What are Wollstonecraft’s ideas on reason?
Women are rational and independent beings capable of reason
> Education needed to develop women’s rational capabilities
What is Wollstonecraft’s view on rationality within gender?
- Female rationality equal to male rationality
> Women’s rational capacity suppressed by lack of education
> Applied classical liberal ideas about rationality to women
> Rationality is the basis for claiming equal rights
What are Wollstonecraft’s ideas on formal equality?
In order to be free, women should enjoy full civil liberties and be allowed to have a career.
> Women should be equal in law to men
> Applied classical liberal principles of equality to women
What is Wollstonecraft’s view on the state’s role in providing formal equality?
The state should remove obstacles to women having same rights
> Sought removal of legal barriers rather than special provisions
What is Wollstonecraft’s view on the state, in relation to gender inequality?
- State should give women the same legal rights as men
- No laws should restrict what women can do based on gender
What is Wollstonecraft’s view on the economy in terms of gender?
- Women should be allowed to pursue careers outside the home
- Equal access to professions and trades
- Right to own property
- Equal economic opportunities
What is Wollstonecraft’s view on human nature, in terms of gender?
Men and women share the same fundamental nature
> Both sexes equally rational and moral
> Gender differences largely result from education and social expectations
What is Wollstonecraft’s view on society, in terms of gender?
Society should allow women to develop rational capabilities
> Social change primarily through changing attitudes, not state action
What are Friedan’s two main ideas?
Legal equality
Equal opportunity
What are Friedan’s ideas on legal equality?
Women are as capable as men
> Oppressive laws and social views must be overturned
What is Friedan’s view on state action to promote legal equality?
Laws should ensure women’s equal rights in economy (jobs, education, pay)
> Pushed for laws protecting women from domestic abuse and sexual violence
> State should take lead in securing women’s equality (modern liberal approach)
What are Friedan’s ideas on equality of opportunity?
Women being held back from their potential
> Limited number of jobs “acceptable” for women restricts opportunity
> Education system perpetuates women’s inequality by socialising them into domestic roles
What is Friedan’s view on the state’s role in ensuring equality of opportunity?
- State should ensure equal access to jobs and education
- Private companies should be required to treat women employees equally
- Equal pay for equal work
What is Friedan’s view on the state, in terms of women’s equality?
- Modern liberal view of state as enabler of equality
> State should actively intervene to promote women’s equality
> Laws needed not just to remove barriers but to ensure equal treatment
What is Friedan’s view on the state compared to Wollstonecraft?
More expansive role for state than Wollstonecraft envisioned
What is Friedan’s view on the economy, in terms of women’s equality?
Economic system discriminated against women in employment
> Equal access to all jobs and professions, not just “women’s work”
> Women’s economic independence essential to their freedom
What is Friedan’s view on human nature, in terms of gender equality?
Women and men share same fundamental capabilities
> No inherent differences that justify occupational segregation
> Gender roles socially constructed, not biologically determined
What is Friedan’s view on society, in terms of women’s equality?
Women trapped in domestic roles leading unfulfilling lives
> Social attitudes needed to change alongside laws
> Society should value women’s contributions outside home
What are the differences between Friedan and Wollstonecraft’s view on the role of the state?
Wollstonecraft: Favored removing legal barriers to women’s equality; minimal state intervention; focused on negative freedoms.
Friedan: Advocated active state intervention through anti-discrimination laws, equal pay legislation, and state-funded support systems like childcare.
What are the differences between Friedan and Wollstonecraft’s view on the conception of equality?
Wollstonecraft: Advocated formal equality before the law; focused on equal education and opportunity to demonstrate rational capacity.
Friedan: Promoted substantive equality of opportunity; recognised social and psychological barriers; concerned with outcomes and not just rights.
