Political Philosophy Flashcards
What is John Stuart Mill’s thoughts on curtailing human freedom?
Mill’s believes that the only grounds that the government should curtail freedom is if it cause harm to others. This doesn’t seem to include self-regarding behaviour but only actions that have an effect on other peoples freedom.
What does Mill’s harm principle provide?
The harm principle provides a rational solution to the problem of freedom. It guarantees individual liberty but small sacrifices will be made to ensure this liberty.
What does the harm principle say about positive and negative freedom?
The principle implies that positive and negative freedom are intimately tied together, while other philosophers believes that restricting negative freedom allow positive freedom to flourish.
How can positive and negative freedom work together?
If we follow the rule that an truly free individual requires certain capacities and personal resources, then by giving them these things some freedoms need to be transgressed. Stating that by using negative freedom, we can expand our positive freedom.
Why do libertarians find wrong with Mill’s views on positive and negative freedom?
Libertarians believe that Mill’s view sounds more like the denial of freedom than anything else. It also presents a problem to the minorities of society as the giver ment might use this law to help the wider society but is actually presents itself as fear of minority customs.This could lead to ramifications, asking the question whether extending restrictions, risking further erosion of individual’s freedom or ignoring the issues and leave it open to accusations. ignore
What is the argument against positive freedom?
The argument against positive freedom is that it’s hollow for the socially disadvantaged and by restricting negative freedom, the government can compensate for the disadvantaged.
What is Thomas Hobbes’ view on the social contract?
Hobbes States that without a government, we would revert to a state of nature, where everyone is killing everyone and life is plain old cruel. Hobbes believes we sign the social contract to escape the fear and chaos of that the state of nature presents.
What type of government does Hobbes believe we should follow?
Hobbes believes we need a strong government to stop the state of nature, so he highly advocates monarchy. Monarchy is where the people give all power to a king and by signing the social contract, we have complete obedience for him in exchange for peace and security. This means the King can do anything that doesn’t cause harm to the people.
Why would we accept monarchy?
Hobbes believes we would accept monarchy because any alternative is worse. The alternative being we return to a state of war and since there won’t be a distinction between right and wrong, people wouldn’t survive. His underlying message being its worth giving up freedom and equality for security.
What is Locke’s view on the state of nature?
Locke’s view on the state of nature is that during this state everyone as advantages and disadvantages, which tends to even the playing field and since we are governed by a law of nature that prevents us from killing anyone, it prevents us from falling into a state of war wher everyone is at each other’s throats.
Since Locke states that through reason we live in peace, then why do we need a government?
According to Locke, we need a government to settle our disputes impartially for use, because when we try to settle our own disputes, emotions tend to could our judgement.
Why does Locke not believe in the idea of monarchy?
Locke disagrees with the idea of monarchy because it takes away our right to appeal and in order for that right to work, the government needs to be made up of multiple powers that can balance each other out to make one impartial resoultion/judgement.
According to Locke, what is the governments responsibility?
According to Locke, the governments only role on our lives is the protection of property, which goes against many governments today as they are doing more than just protecting property.
Where would find the state of nature?
The state of nature can be found via the relationships between countries. For Hobbes, you could see his theory as we are in a world plagued by war and terrorism. On Locke’s hand however, you could see his vision on the state of nature by the way the UN tries to reason and deal with many situations.
What is the social contract theory?
The social contract theory is an unspoken or non-written agreement between citizens and the government. In its basic form, it’s where citizens take advantage of the benefits the government has to offer but are living the rules they set out in return.
