Political Ideologies Flashcards
What is enlightenment?
An intellectual movement that opposed the medieval politics and philosophy of faith superstition and religion
What is absolute monarchy?
When the monarch exercises unlimited power over the people as gods representative on earth. The concept of the divine right of kings embodies this notion of royal absolutism
What are the origins of liberalism?
The European enlightenment of the 17th and 18th century
What did early liberalists argue?
Argued that humans were born free and morally equal and no one naturally has a right to rule over others. All laws and government must be justified and not accepted blindly or based purely on inherited tradition or custom.
This was a direct attack on the form of government at the time: absolute monarchy
What belief did the origins of liberalism promote?
A belief in reason, rather than faith and advocated the importance of the individual and freedom
What was early liberalism like?
Radical and potentially revolutionary with its idea central to the American Declaration of Independence in 1776
What are some different variations of liberalism and when did they develop?
Classical or traditional liberalisms dominated until the late nineteenth century and modern liberalism had dominated since that time
What are the 5 main beliefs of liberalism?
Freedom and the individual
Human nature
The role of the state
Society
The economy
The 5 main beliefs of liberalism: freedom and the individual
Freedom is central to all liberals as it benefits the individual however there is debate among liberals about how to define freedom
The 5 main beliefs or liberalism: human nature
Liberals have an optimistic view of human nature as rational and reasonable however classic liberals focus on humanities natural qualities and the ability of the Indian to satisfy their desires whereas modern liberals focus on what the individual can become given the right conditions, like a good education
The 5 main beliefs or liberalism: the role of the state
Classical liberals see a minimal role of the state as it has the potential to restrict individual liberties. Modern liberals favour a more interventionist role for the state in order to ensure that everyone has the same life chances
The 5 main beliefs or liberalism: society
Debates emerge in liberalism over how to protect a diverse and tolerant society and over the nature of the relationship between society freedom and the individual
State
A body that is sovereign within a defined territorial area with a legitimate monopoly of the use of force
Tolerant society
A society that is willing to accept a wide range of moral values, lifestyles, faiths and beliefs
The 5 main beliefs or liberalism: the economy
One of the deepest debates among liberals is the role of the state in the economy. Classical liberals favour free market capitalism to drive economic creativity and prosperity for all whereas modern liberals favour state intervention in the economy to ensure that all can flourish
All liberals believe in the right to own private property seeing it as an extension of individual freedom but they disagree over how far others such as the government through taxation have some claims on that freedom
What are the 6 main strands of liberalism?
Radical politically
Radical in gender terms
Egotistical individualism
Negative freedom
Night watchman state
Free market capitalism
The 5 main strands of liberalism: radical politically
Government by consent promoted the idea that government should represent and reflect the will of the people rather than be the master. Most early liberals rejected the notion of democracy. When talking about liberty for all in reality they usually meant male owners of property. Furthermore many eighteenth century liberals did not extend the concept of liberty to enslaved people
The 5 main strands of liberalism: radical in gender terms
The optimistic view that all humans are rational was developed to include women by Mary Wollstonecraft in the eighteenth century
The 5 main strands of liberalism: egotistical individualism
Humans are self seeking rational and independent, although this does involve practising restraint and some levels of cooperation with others. Society is comprised of individuals rather than social groups.
The 5 main strands of liberalism: negative freedom
The belief in liberty leads classical liberals to define liberty in terms of absence of restraint leaving the individual free to pursue their own view of the good life; the state can only legitimately intervene to prevent harm to others
The 5 main strands of liberalism: night watchman state
The state must only act to protect the peace safety and public good of the people according to John Locke. It only has the right to impose its power on the basis of the harm principle in order to ensure the widest possible freedom.
Any restrictions must be justified.
The 5 main strands of liberalism: free market capitalism
Liberty and private property are intimately related. The market economy based on property rights can deliver prosperity for the individual and society provided there is free trade and competition. Unless people are free to make contracts, sell their labour, invest their incomes as they see fit and set up businesses they are not really free.
The state must therefore not interfere with free trade and competition by using subsidies, taxes or promoting monopolies. However the state has a crucial role in ensuring the property is protected from theft and that contracts are enforced by an independent judiciary
Egotistical individualism
Humans naturally seek to advance their own happiness and interests. The selfish approach involves self restraint and cooperation as the individual wants to have their rights respected, so in term must respect the rights of others
Negative freedom
A concept of liberty or freedom that sees it as meaning an absence of constraint, described by the liberal thinker isaihah Berlin as freedom from rather than freedom to