terms

Question 1

foundational equality

Answer 1

same legal and political rights; equality before the law, equal voting rights etc.

Question 2

natural rights

Answer 2

human rights which predate government

eg: life, liberty, health, property, possessions (Locke)

Question 3

Fiduciary power

Answer 3

A government trusted to act in the interest of those it represents

Question 4

egotistical individualism

Answer 4

classical liberal thought:
people are self-seeking and self-reliant
society has minimal importance: it is just a collection of independent individuals

Question 5

developmental individualism

Answer 5

modern liberal thought:
Individual freedom linked to a desire to create a positive society in which individuals can flourish
plays down classical influence on self-interest
used as justification for state intervention to help disadvantaged

Question 6

utilitarianism

Answer 6

branches off of liberalism
mechanistic view of human behaviour and promotion of ‘the greatest happiness for the greatest number’

Key figure: Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832)

Question 7

negative freedom

Answer 7

idea of Mill/ The Harm principle
- freedom from interference from others-
no state intervention unless an idividual’s actions are harming someone else

Question 8

positive freedom

Answer 8

• capacity to realise personal potential and act on free will-
  freedom = individuals being able to control destiny, develop personal talents and achieve self-fulfilment BUT limited state interventions needed to make this possible

Question 9

laissez-faire capitalism

Answer 9

Adam Smith (The Wealth of Nations - 1776)
goods produced for exchange and profit, wealth is privately owned
self-interest to drive economic growth

Question 10

The harm principle

Answer 10

Mill idea of negative freedom: state not to get involved unless individual is causing harm to others
although ‘no person is an entirely isolated being’; this doesn’t fully cover actions of indirect harm nor does it explicitly classify offense as harm

Question 11

flat tax

Answer 11

same rate of income tax for everyone

Question 12

The veil of ignorance

Answer 12

Rawls idea of hypothetical state before birth where u don’t know where you will be in society so you will want a fairer society

Question 13

Maximin principle

Answer 13

Rawls

in reaction to veil of ignorance; minimum welfare will be maximised

Question 14

difference principle

Answer 14

stipulates/demands that a gain for anyone in society must contribute to the expectation of the worst-off person/ must benefit them too

Question 15

Keynesianism

Answer 15

a system of economic management (developed by Keynes 1883-1946) where the state/ gov directly intervenes to stimulate the economy to achieve full employment and economic growth

Question 16

Equality vs Equity

Answer 16

treating everyone the same
vs
giving them what they need to succeed

(link to equality of opportunity vs equality of outcome)

Question 17

Empiricism

Answer 17

preference of fact/ evidence > theory

eg. the way conservatives look to tradition rather than adopting an ideological view

Question 18

minarchist state

Answer 18

a night-watchman state

Question 19

libertarianism

Answer 19

severely limited state

Question 20

Atomism

Answer 20

Rand’s alternative society. Society is just a collection of independent individuals

Question 21

Objectivism

Answer 21

Rand’s theory

should be guided by your own self-interest plus altruism is morally wrong

Question 22

Paternalism

Answer 22

people in authority/ state guiding, helping and protecting those with less power.
those at the top have a responsibility to look after those at the bottom