liberalism - key thinkers' thoughts COPY Flashcards
Friedan on the economy
Free-market capitalism could be an ally of female emancipation, if allied to legislation precluding sexual discrimination.
Mill on society
The best society was one where ‘individuality’ co-existed with tolerance and self-improvement.
Wollstonecraft on the state
The monarchical state should be replaced by a republic which enshrines women’s rights.
Wollstonecraft on society
Society ‘infantilised’ women and thus stifled female individualism.
Mill on the economy
Laissez-faire capitalism was vital to progress, individual enterprise and individual initiative.
Rawls on the state
The state should enable less fortunate individuals to advance, via public spending and public services.
Mill on human nature
Though fundamentally rational, human nature is not fixed: it is forever progressing to a higher level.
Rawls on the economy
Free-market capitalism should be tempered by the state’s obligation to advance its poorest citizens.
Locke on society
Society predates the state: there were ‘natural’ societies with natural laws and natural rights.
Wollstonecraft on the economy
A free-market economy would be energised by the enterprise of liberated women.
Friedan on society
Society remained chauvinistic towards women, though women were complicit in their repression.
Locke on the economy
State policy should respect the ‘natural right’ to private property and arbitrate effectively between individuals competing for trade and resources.
Rawls on human nature
Mankind is selfish yet empathetic, valuing both individual liberty and the plight of those around them.
Mill on the state
The state should proceed cautiously towards representative democracy, mindful of minority rights.
Locke on human nature
Human beings are rational, guided by the pursuit of self-interest, but mindful of others’ concerns.
