Mid Flashcards
Four functions of an ideology
- Explanation: Why are things the way they are?
- Evaluation: Is this a good or bad thing? How do we evaluate society?
- Orientation: A political identity the individual can identify with.
- Political Program (Action): Recommended action
Normative knowledge vs. Empirical Knowledge
- Empirical: Informatory, describes the situation
- Normative: Prescriptive, recommends action.
The 3 ideologies that shaped global politics in World War II
- Liberalism: Places high value on individual freedom. Does away with prescribed status. Limited government
- Socialism: A society should try its best to be egalitarian to all. Democratic control of the means of production
- Fascism: Radical authoritarian nationalism. Suppression of the opposition and control of industry and commerce.
Machiavelli’s conception of republicanism (his rediscovery & interpretation of classical Roman republicanism during the Italian Renaissance)
- A king without laws will err more than peasants with no laws.
- Corrupt peasants may be changed by a good man but an evil-minded prince cannot be changed by anything but cold steel (death).
- A king who is not an evil man and who is constrained by the law would rule better than the people of his society who are free of laws.
- Rediscovered classical roman republicanism during Italian Renaissance
Tocqueville’s views on Democracy (what are its benefits, what are its problems)
- More, but less powerful. For example, the level of maximum happiness will be lower, but more will experience happiness. Science may have more flaws, but ignorance will be non-existent.
- Nation will be less brilliant, less glorious, less strong, but the people will enjoy a greater degree of prosperity.
- The poor man will be ignorant and have a great amount of self-interest without understanding what controls it.
- Believed in the separation of church and state and separation of powers.
John Stuart Mill’s (Utilitarian) position on Democracy (what are its benefits, what are its problems)
- Can be risky because we allow those with no knowledge, no practice, no sense of morality, have a say in how to run society.
- Very strongly supported the idea that allowing people to get involved in government allows them to develop a meaning of belonging and promotes morality.
- He also believed in the usual democratic fears (Tyranny of public opinion) and looked at education, the encouragement of diversity, protection from governmental constraints, and plural voting as the answer
Majority tyranny
- A weakness of democracy in which the majority rules with only its self-interest in mind, thus ignoring all minority groups.
Importance of Protestant Reformation to the emergence of liberalism
- Encouraged people to value individual conscience more than the preservation of unity and orthodoxy.
- Liberalism began as an attempt to free individuals from the constraints of religion conformity and ascribed status.
Importance of Capitalism to the emergence of liberalism
- Did away with mercantilism: One country can only improve itself at the expense of others.
- Mercantilism thus had to place restraints and give privileges to certain people. People grew discontent and wanted a system where all had an equal opportunity to compete. This was capitalism.
- The idea of letting everyone pursue private interests came from the Physiocrats.
- Another well-known defender was Adam Smith
Thomas Hobbes (A proto-liberal): his approach to social contract theory
His view of State of Nature
His view of Social Contract
Why are Hobbes’s premises liberal
Why is his view of the social contract & government NOT liberal?
Solidity, Poor, Nasty, Short
The Leviathan. We need some sort of stronger power. People must give up some freedoms and allow the leviathan to have power over them so a global war can be prevented.
Believed that the monarch’s legitimacy came from the people. King is justified only by the consent of the people.
Believed that we should submit to the leviathan.
John Locke (Founder of liberalism): his approach to social contract theory
His view of State of Nature
His view of Social Contract
Importance of Property Rights
His view of State of Nature: Inconvenient/Incommoding. Believed that people wouldn’t hurt each other but without government, we would live in constant fear of losing our property.
His view of Social Contract: We voluntarily give up our rights to the government and in change the government promise to protect our Life, Liberty, and property. If a government fails to do so, we gain the right to overthrow the government.
Importance of Property Rights: If property does not exist, then our resources are of no use at all to any man. Mixing labor with an item allows us to claim it as our property. While Locke is a strong defender of property, he believes we should only take what we need, otherwise we will be wasting resources.
Thomas Paine: his approach to revolution, liberalism, & the role of government
- Revolution: Right to revolution when the government deprives the people of their rights. Mentions that when living under a government and one cannot notice the fact, than the government is not correct.
- Liberalism: Believed that monarchy could not protect liberty.
- Role of Government: A necessary evil.
French Revolution’s rejection of Divine Right Theory of Monarchy & of the aristocratic privilege of the nobility
- The French revolution was a fight against ascribed status (Fixed). The chain of power
1st estate: Clergy | 2nd estate: Aristocrats | 3rd estate: Middle Class
French Revolution’s radical liberalism
- Down with the aristocrats, the clergy. Promoting international free trade.
Mercantilism
- One country can only improve itself at the expense of others.
- Mercantilism thus had to place restraints and give privileges to certain people.
