Liberalism- The liberal state: objectives (SB)

Question 1

What was the root justification for the ‘liberal state?

Answer 1

That it allowed the more effective resolution of disputes between individuals.

Question 2

Locke and later liberals were keen to show that the kind of state they wanted embodied wider and grander principles

These principles were…

Answer 2

to be significantly developed by England’s Bill of Rights of 1689, the American Constitution of 1787 and the first French Republic of 1789

From these historical events emerge various objectives, which are central to any understanding of what the liberal state seeks to achieve

Question 2

Although the root justification for the ‘liberal state was that it allowed the more effective resolution of disputes between individuals…

Answer 2

Locke and later liberals were also keen to show that the kind of state they wanted embodied wider and grander principles

Question 3

Rejection of the ‘traditional’ state
The liberal state is founded upon…

Answer 3

an explicit rejection of the type of taste common in Europe prior to the Enlightenment- a state marked by monarchical, absolutist and arbitrary rule

in other words the luberal state renounces the sort of state where power is concentrated in the hands of one indiviudal and whether that power is exercised randomlu.

Question 3

What are the objectives that emerged from the historical events ?

7

Answer 3

-Rejection of the ‘traditional’ state
-Govt. by consent
-Promotion of natural rights’ individualism
-Promotion of tolerance
-Meritocracy
-Equality of opportunity
-Justice

Question 4

Rejection of the ‘traditional’ state
The liberal state would be especially

Answer 4

contemptuous of any government that claimed a ‘divine right’ to govern, according to a subjective and thus irrational perception of God’s will

Question 5

Govt by consent
Following on from its rejection of ‘the divine right of kings’ liberalism insists that the state is legitimate only if

Answer 5

those under its jurisdiction have effectively volunteered to be under its jurisdiction; in other words, govt.s must have the consent of the governed

Question 6

Govt by consent
The doctrine of (govt.s must have the consent of the governed) has a profound effect upon…

Answer 6

the relationship between politicians and people.

Far from being the ‘subjects’ of the govt.- as the traditional state had asserted- the people in the state now have ultimate control over it

Question 7

Govt by consent
What can ‘govt by consent’ be linked to?

Answer 7

the notion of ‘govt by contract’- what Enlightenment theorists such as Jean Jacques Rousseau later dubbed a social contract

Question 8

Govt by consent
The doctrine of (govt.s must have the consent of the governed)
As Locke maintained…

Answer 8

‘government should always be the servant, not the master, of the people’

Question 9

Social contract

Answer 9

Linked to Enlightenment philosophers such as Locke and Rousseau, this term denotes that the state should be a ‘deal’ between govts and governed.

It states that in return for submitting to the state’s laws, the governed should be guaranteed certain rights and that, if these rights are violated, so it the citizen’s obligation to obey the state’s law

Question 10

Tolerance/harm principle

Answer 10

Within liberalism, these twin terms refer to the belief that particular views and activities- particularly those we might frown upon- should be tolerated, just as long as they do not ‘harm’ the freedom of others. Both concepts are strongly linked to the liberal belief in individual freedom.

Question 11

Promotion of natural rights/individualism
Liberals always assume that before any formal state was created…

Answer 11

individuals enjoyed ‘ natural rights’ than enabled self-realisation, self-determination and -therefore- individualism

Question 12

Promotion of natural rights/individualism
Liberals always assume that before any formal state was created individuals enjoyed ‘ natural rights’ than enabled self-realisation, self-determination and -therefore- individualism… so

Answer 12

so it would be irrational for individuals to abandon both natural rights and individualism by submitting unconditionally to any state

Question 13

Promotion of natural rights/individualism
The only rational reason to submit to the state would be if…

Answer 13

it not only respected but promoted natural rights, ensuring that they were more safely and easily exercised than in the state of nature

Question 14

Promotion of tolerance
Linked to its devotion to natural rights, the liberal state is also concerned to ensure

Answer 14

tolerance towards all those individuals who exercise their natural rights in various ways

Question 15

Promotion of tolerance
Obviously tolerance was closely linked to…

Answer 15

individualism- how could an individual seek self-determination if his action and opinions were to be forbidden by others?

Question 16

Promotion of tolerance
It was this dilemma in mind of -how could an individual seek self-determination if his action and opinions were to be forbidden by others? - that the French philosopher Voltaire…

Answer 16

issued his famous clarion called for freedom, claiming ‘i detest what you say but will defend unto the death your right to say it’

Question 17

Promotion of tolerance
Which philosopher was related to the dilemma of -how could an individual seek self-determination if his action and opinions were to be forbidden by others?- ?

Answer 17

French philosopher Voltaire

Question 18

Promotion of tolerance
French philosopher Voltaire

Answer 18

issued his famous clarion called for freedom, claiming ‘i detest what you say but will defend unto the death your right to say it’

Question 19

Promotion of tolerance
development of notion of
‘i detest what you say but will defend unto the death your right to say it’

Answer 19

was to be developed a century or os later by John Stuart Mill, who insisted that the state should tolerate all actions and opinions unless they were shows to violate the harm principle

Question 20

quick definition of harm principle

Answer 20

the principle that individuals should be free to do and say anything unless it could be proved that this ‘harmed; the rights and freedoms of other individuals within the state

Question 21

Promotion of tolerance
although liberalism is an individualistic creed…

Answer 21

it has usually recognised that individuals do not necessarily seek isolation and detachment from their fellow men and women (thus creating an ‘atomised’ environment) but are instead drawn to societies that accommodate their individualism

Question 22

Promotion of tolerance
GIVE AN E.G
Promotion of tolerance
although liberalism is an individualistic creed it has usually recognised that individuals do not necessarily seek isolation and detachment from their fellow men and women

Answer 22

when emphasising tolerance, for example, early liberals were aware that individuals were inclined to congregate into religious communities

Question 23

Promotion of tolerance
Because individuals were inclined towards communities it was therefore important that…

Answer 23

The state should show tolerance towards such communities, especially those representing the religious views of a minority.

Question 24

Promotion of tolerance
Glorious Revolution of 1688

Answer 24

Cemented the Protestant supremacy in England

Question 25

Promotion of tolerance
In the wake of the Glorious Revolution of 1688 what was Locke particularly keen on?

Answer 25

Locke was particularly keen that the post-Revolution state should extend tolerance towards Roman Catholics.

Question 26

Promotion of tolerance
The Glorious Revolution of 1688,
Since then, what was the attitude of those seeking to support and advance the liberal state ?

Answer 26

Since then, tolerating minorities has been an ongoing passion for those seeking to support and advance the liberal state.

Question 27

Promotion of tolerance
Give an example of a Liberal who was seeking to support minorities ?
Mid-20th c.

Answer 27

Since the mid-twentieth century, American liberals such as the feminist Betty Friedan (1921-2006) have sought to update Locke’s belief in the tolerance of minorities, campaigning for the state to improve the lot of individuals allegedly hindered by ethnicity, sexuality, physicality or (in the case of Friedan’s campaigns) gender.

Question 28

Meritocracy

Given the liberal state’s stress on individualism, the next principle of a liberal state is that political power should be exercised only by?

Answer 28

those who show themselves worthy of it

Question 29

Meritocracy

Government should be conducted by individuals who…?

Answer 29

In other words, government should be conducted by individuals who, through their own efforts and talents, have won the trust of the governed

Question 30

Meritocracy

Government should be conducted by individuals who by individuals who, through their own efforts and talents, have won the trust of the governed, consequently what is there no guarantee of?

Answer 30

Consequently, there is no guarantee that such responsibility will be conferred upon the descendants of those who govern — unless they, too, can demonstrate competence and integrity.

Question 31

Meritocracy
The meritocratic liberal state stands in contrast to….

Answer 31

The traditional state

Question 32

Meritocracy
In pre-Enlightenment regimes, power was..?

Answer 32

largely hereditary and aristocratic, with circumstances of birth trumping individual ability.

Question 33

Meritocracy
Who can we reference to when discussing the power type in pre-Enlightenment regimes?

Answer 33

Thomas Paine (1737-1809)

Question 34

Meritocracy
Who can be discussed and what was his further info on Pre Enlightenment regime power type?

Answer 34

As Thomas Paine (1737-1809) remarked, when justifying the French Revolution’s overthrow of the nobility in 1789, hereditary rule was ‘beyond equity, beyond reason and most certainly beyond wisdom’. Aristocracy thus had no place in the meritocratic liberal state commended by Locke, Mill and other liberal thinkers.

Question 35

Foundational equality/ legal equality

Answer 35

This refers to the liberal belief that every individual is born equal, with equal natural rights. Such individuals are therefore entitled to legal equality in a liberal state.
This would involve equality before the law and an equal recognition of individual rights.

Question 36

Equality of opportunity

For liberals it is an article of faith that all individuals

Answer 36

are born equal, have equal natural rights and are of equal value — a belief often referred to as foundational equality

Question 37

Equality of opportunity
As all individuals are born equal, within the liberal state all individuals must

Answer 37

must therefore have equal opportunity to develop their potential and achieve control of their own lives

Question 38

Equality of opportunity
If an individual fails to fulfil their potential

Answer 38

they must be able to assume total responsibility for this failure - and not somehow attribute it to the state.

Question 39

Equality of opportunity

Answer 39

Liberals believe that all individuals should be allowed similar opportunities to develop their potential. Unlike for socialism, however, equality of opportunity for liberalism does not necessarily exist alongside greater equality of outcome.

Question 40

Limited government

Answer 40

This involves government being limited’, in terms of how it can act, by a constitution’s formal rules and procedures. It is therefore the opposite of arbitrary rule, as practised in medieval, monarchical states.

Question 41

Justice
Linked to

Answer 41

equality of opportunity is a belief that the state should embody justice: there must be an assumption that it will treat individuals fairly, or justly, without regard to their identity’ (as defined, for example, by their occupation, religion, gender or ethnicity).

Question 42

Justice
The state should embody justice, as a result …

Answer 42

As a result, individuals within the liberal state must be able to assume a just outcome from any complaints they express and therefore a satisfactory resolution to any grievances they have with other individuals.