Liberalism- The Liberal State: Methods And Structures

Question 1

For liberals, the structure of the state must embody three features:

Answer 1

• constitutional/limited government
• fragmented government
•formal equality

Question 2

Constitutional/limited government

Consistent with its faith in government by consent, liberalism holds that the ‘contract’ between government and governed (see above) should be…

Answer 2

cemented by a formal constitution.

Question 3

Constitutional/limited government
Liberals believe in govt by consent so therefore believe the contract between governed and government should be cemented into constitution

How should this constitution be preceded ?

Answer 3

in keeping with its faith in rationalism, this constitution should be preceded by extensive discussion and consensus over what government should do and how it should do it.

Question 4

Constitutional/limited government

Why should constitution be preceded with extended discussion and consensus ?

Answer 4

In this way, constitutional rule is in stark contrast to the arbitrary rule characteristic of monarchical states, where rulers often did whatever they pleased, using whatever methods they wished.

Question 5

Constitutional/limited government
In virtue of the binding constitution, constitutional government may be described as…

Answer 5

limited government, with a liberal constitution imposing upon government two broad limitations

Question 6

Constitutional/limited government
Constitutional government may be described as limited government?

Answer 6

With a liberal constitution imposing upon government two broad limitation.

Question 7

Constitutional/limited government
constitutional government may be described as limited government, with a liberal constitution imposing upon government two broad limitations.

What are these two broad limitations ?

Answer 7

First, it ensures that governments must govern according to prearranged rules and procedures, and not in a random, ad hoc fashion.

Second, a liberal constitution is designed to prevent governments from eroding the natural rights of their citizens — a restriction often brought about via mechanisms like a Bill of Rights

Question 8

Fragmented government

The focus on limited government produces another key feature of a liberal state’s structure..

Answer 8

namely the dispersal or fragmentation of state power

Question 9

Fragmented government

This was brought about largely as a reaction against

Answer 9

pre-Enlightenment states where power was concentrated in the monarchy. As Lord Acton (1834-1902) famously observed, ‘power tends to corrupt…and absolute power tends to corrupt absolutely.

Question 10

Who states an infamous quote about power and its corruption and what is the quote ?

Answer 10

Lord Acton (1834-1902)
‘Power tends to corrupt…and absolute power tends to corrupt absolutely’

Question 11

Fragmented government
Fragmented government also reflects liberalism’s belief in

Answer 11

the rationality of mankind: if individuals are generally reasonable, and inclined to self-determination, it seems logical to empower as many individuals as possible in the exercise of a state’s functions.

Question 12

Fragmented government
The idea of fragmented politics power has its most celebrated embodiment in …

Answer 12

in the Constitution of the United States

Question 13

Fragmented government
The US

Answer 13

Heavily indebted to the ideas of Locke, it introduces a series of ‘checks and balances’, designed to avoid power being concentrated. Since then, such checks and balances have become common in liberal states across the world

Question 14

The liberal state: how is power dispersed?
5

Answer 14

• A formal ‘separation of powers’, between the executive, legislature and judiciary.

• A separation of powers within the legislature itself, so as to produce a ‘bicameral’ (two-house) legislature.

• A Bill of Rights, immune to the short-term decisions of governments.

• A Supreme Court, to uphold any Bill of Rights, and whose decisions override those of elected governments.

• A federal system of government, whereby many of the state’s functions are delegated to various regional governments.

Question 15

Formal equality

Given the liberal belief in foundational equality (that all individuals are born with equal rights), it would be illogical for a liberal state not to…

Answer 15

reflect this in its own structures

Question 16

Formal equality

As such, the liberal state strives for

Answer 16

formal equality, where all individuals have the same legal and political rights in society

Question 17

Formal equality
The liberal state places significant emphasis on..

Answer 17

the doctrine of the ‘rule of law, which holds that laws passed in a liberal state are applicable to everyone, with no exemptions granted on the basis of status. In short, no one should be outside the law, but no one should be above it either

Question 18

Formal equality

the procedures whereby the law takes its course — as prescribed by a liberal constitution — will apply to

Answer 18

all citizens.

Question 19

Formal equality

Formal quality is also linked to the idea of

+examples

Answer 19

equal political rights — for example, the equal right to petition a parliament, the equal right to invoke a Bill of Rights before the courts, or the equal right to criticise the state while exercising the ‘natural’ (and legally protected) right to freedom of speech and publication.