Unit 3b Liberalism Flashcards
What does ‘Liber’ mean from Latin?
referred to a class of free men
Describe Liberalism in five words
Individualism Social Justice Equality of opportunity Limited state power but supports the existence Right to personal Freedom
What is Liberalism?
A wide ranging political movement and ideology which has its origins in the Enlightenment
When was Liberalism first used widely across Europe?
1840s
When was the first Liberal government in the UK?
1868
What is a doctrine?
How could Liberalism be described as a doctrine
A strongly held single view or collection of connected views.
It includes closely connected beliefs that all liberals believe in strongly. (freedom)
When was the Enlightenment?
Eighteenth Century
What challenged the views about nature and society?
The New philosophies
What assertions did the new philosophies made?
Each person is born a free, rational indivual
An individual does not have to accept the judgement of ruleers or the established churches to determine what was the best for their interests.
people possess free will
society does not have a fixed status
we are born fundamentally equal
What did Jean-Jacques Rousseau say about humankind?
Man is born free, but is everywhere in chains.
What is the relationship between capitalism and liberalism?
Liberalism became necessary in order to develop the free market of capitalism
What was causing fundamental economic changes in the 18th century?
A result of the growth of international trade and the early stages of the industrial revolution
What was Adam Smith’s (1700s) main observation of capitalism and views?
He believed the ‘hidden hand’ the development of free trade and unregulated business would act in the best interests of all
What stopped liberalism dominating in the 19th century?
conservatism and the interests of the traditional
Give three points about capitalism
A system in which entrepreneurs take risk in production and in return get a profit
Goods are exchanged between consumer and capitalists determined by the free market
Requires according to liberals, economic freedom
What are the eight core values of Liberalism?
Liberty/Freedom Tolerance Equal Rights Equal of Opportunity Pluralism Government by consent Justice Individualism
What is Freedom?
The ability to think or act as one wishes, a capacity that can be associated with the individual
What is Individual Liberty?
A natural right that gives individuals the opportunity to pursue their own interests by exercising choice
What problems did liberals have with a powerful government in the late 1700s/ early 1800s?
Too paternalistic/ claimed to understand what was in the people’s best interests/ better than they knew the people
They regulated the behaviour of individuals without just cause
What is the first category of individual liberty? X
Ultilktarian-
Each individual is best to judge eachothers interests
Jeremy Bentham- motivated to pursue pleasure and pain/ being able to those decisions and to act on them/ govern,net should not make choices for us
What is the second category of individual liberty for liberalism?
Johnathon Stuart mill-
‘True freedom’ absence of consent
What two catergories did Mill put our actions into?
Self regarding actions- actions that don’t affect other people
Other- regarding actions- do not affect others adversely/ can include negligent bahvuour
Give a quote from Mill on individual liberty
‘The only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over a member of a civilised society, against his will, is to prevent harm to others’
What is the difference between negative and positive liberty?
Negative- a man can act unobstructed by others. No restraints
Positive- the wish on the part of the individual to be his own master
Who first used the term negative liberty?
And who from?
Berlin/ used it for Mill
Who first used the concept of positive liberty?
T.H.Green (1836)
Saw society as organic/ citizens are motivated to promote the common good/ achieve self fullest by pursing social goofs
Should be the widest possible degree of choice and oppor runty for everyone
Who first used the term negative liberty to describe Mill’s views?
Isaiah Berlin (1900s)
What is negative liberty?
The absence of constraint/ unobstructed by others
What is positive liberty and who was thought to believe in it?
T.H.Green/ part of the individual to be his own master/ more modern liberals/ indivusld achieve self fulfilment by pursing social goals
What was the utilitarian view on liberty?
What was Bentham’s view?
each individual is the best judge / Bentham- as individuals we pursure pleasure and avoud pain/
What was Mill’s view on liberty?
Developed a view of ‘true freedom’/ absence of constraint/
What two categories did Mill put our actions in?
self regarding actions- those that do affect other people
other regarding actions- do affect others adversely but can include neglexct and discrom,ination
What does Toleration mean?
A willingness to accept views or actions that you do not agree with
What is Pluralism?
A belief in diversity of choice, or the theory that political power should be widely dispersed
What is the acceptance of pluralism linked in with?
Rooted in the principle of individualism
What is Voltaire’s quote?
I detest what you say but will defend to the death your right to say it
What does autonomy mean?
Self government, the ability to control one’s destiny by virtue of enjoying independence form external forces
When did the liberal case for toleration first emerge?
in the seventeeth century by John Locke
Give John Locke’s quote on toleration
every man may enjoy the same rights that are granted to others
Why did Mill think that toleration was important?
Individual- guarantee of personal autonomy
society- free market/ truth will merege
What liberal belief is sympathy for toleration and diversity linked to?
a balanced society, not one driven by fundamental conflict
Even if individuals pursue self interest what do liberals think will happen?
natural equilibrium
What is the first modern aspect of liberal tolerance?
individuals can be influenced by their social and economic circumstances/ not always responsible for out actions
What is the second modern aspect of liberal tolerance?
have greater tolerance over personal morality/ e.g abortion/ homosexuality/ these are private matters so have nothing to do with the state
What is constitutionalism?
The practice of limited government brought by the existence of a constitution/ a set of political values and aspirations that reflect the desire to protect liberty
What is a constitution?
A set of rules that seek to allocate duties, powers, and functions amongst institutions of government
What is a written constitution?
A single authoritative document that defines, powers and functions of government institutions and so constitutes ‘higher’ law
What is the first form in which support for a constitution can take place?
Powers of government bodies
Define Justice
A moral standard of fairness and impartiality
What is social justice?
The notion of of a fair or justiable distribution of wealth and rewards in society/ requires intervention of the state
What is legal justice?
Equal application of the law to all citizens
What is the liberal theory of justice based on?
A belief of equality in various kinds
What is foundational equality? How does this link to indivulaism and Liberalism?
Humans are born equal in that they have equal worth/ e.g equal rights/ each individual have equal worth, therefore Liberals are against any privileges especially when gender and race stop an individual from getting equal privileges
Why are Liberals seen to be ‘difference blind’
They believe rights shouldn’t be reserved for a paticular class or race e.g white Christian males
Why do liberals see social equality as undesirable?
We are not born the same because we are individuals/ possess different talents/ some work harder/ believe though that hard work should be merited/
What is equality for liberals?
IndiviUls should have an equal opportunity to develop their unequal skills and abilities
What is meritocracy?
Inequalities of wealth and social position solely reflect the unequal distribution of talent and application amongst humans
Why is meritocracy society just?
Individuals are judged not by their gender, race, religion
What beliefs do classical liberals have about meritocracy?
Believe in a strict meritocracy on both economic and social grounds
What do modern liberals believe about meritocracy?
Social justice can imply a belief of some social equality e.g John Rawls/ economic inequality is only justifiable if it works to benefit the poorest in society
What is equality of opportunity?
It recognises that some individuals are born with disadvantages which cannot be overcome by their own efforts. It applies to class, gender and ethnicity, implies the removal of artificial obstacles and other social problems
Why did the classical liberal view present a problem for modern liberals?
The doctrine of equal rights and indiuval Liberty were conflicting with eachother. Members of society were not blessed with equality of opportunity from a free society
What did Beveridge propose?
The availability of welfare/ education, healthcare and social security
What did the Labour Party do to promote equality of opportunity in the 1960s?
Introduction of comprehensive eduction/ expansion of higher education/ ea,lay of opp becoming part of the British political consensus
What does pluralism mean?
A modern conception of the truly liberal society/
What was pluralism for Alexis de Tocqueville?
Characterised by flourishing collection of groups to which people owned allegiance/ state would create a civil society which would prevent society from getting too powerful
What does the modern conception of pluralism include?
The diversity of culture/ state tolerates the expression of a variety of beliefs/ people are used to participating freely in groups/ groups have access to the political system/ existence of different culture
What was a government by consent according to Hobbes?
Where people would come together in a free compact or agreement to set up a power over them/
What was Locke’s version of government by consent?
Hs contract was to be real and not merely a notional device/ it would have to be constantly conformed/ means more regular free elections/ the use of referendums/
Why do some Liberals think that social equality is unjust?
it treats unlike individuals alike
What did John Rawls argue in his book ‘Theory of Justice’
Economic inequality is only justifiable if it works for the benefit the poorest in society
Give four factors of a liberal constitution
It is sovereign/ Governments must follow it
It defines the limits to the jurisdiction of government/ prevents arbitrary power
It defines the rights of citizens/
It distributes power among different institutions of government
What is a civil society?
Refers to the wide range of groups that flourish in pluralist societies/ Individuals may join them or be in them naturally e.g families e.g political parties/ pressure groups/ a free and active society is healthy in a democracy
What are Hobbes and Locke widely acknowledged for?
For developing the government by consent/
How did Hobbes see a government by consent?
people would come together in a free agreement to set up a power over them/ this would bring peace
How did Locke see a government by consent?
His contract was to be real and not a notional device/ it would have to be consatyly confirmed
What does government by consent mean for today?
Free regular elections/ referendums/ must tolerate the free expression
What is Locke’s quote on freedom?
‘Where there is no law there is no freedom’
What is a social contract?
A hypothetical agreement amongst individuals through which they form a state in order to escape from the disorder and the chaos of ‘the state of nature’
What is a state of nature?
A pre-political society characterised by unrestrained society and the absence of established authority
What did Hobbes and Locke think would happen to society without a state?
Individuals are selfish so there would be civil war
What would be the result of this civil war?
Rational individuals would enter into agreement to establishah a state government/ indivials would realise that it is in their interest to lose some libety to create state law
What is Hobbes on society without state?
‘Solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short’
What is the separation of powers?
the principle that legislative, executive and judicial power should be separated through the construction of three indepdent branches of government
What is Montesquieu’s quote on power that links to constitutionalism?
‘Power should be a check to power’
What devices are there to fragment government from power?
Cabinet govt- checks the power of the prime minister
parliamentary govt- checks the power of the executive
bicamerialism- checks the power of the legislative chamber
devolution of local authorities
What is Federalism?
A territorial distribution of power based on the sharing of sovereriginity between central bodies and regional ones
What three factors are part of a liberal democracy?
The right tor rule- regular and competitive elections
constraints on government imposed by a constitution/ protections for individual rights/ a civil society including a private enterprisde economy
What is civil liberty?
The private sphere of existence, belonging to the citizen, not to the state, freedom from government
What is the democratic character of liberal democracy based on?
A system of regular and competitive elections
What was the view of democracy according to liberals in the nineteenth century?
Saw democracy as as threatening or dangerous/ like Plato and Aristotle did/
What is a majoritarian system?
A belief in majority rule
What did J.S.Mill believe about education?
Uneducated people are more lib able to act according to narrow class interests Educated/ can use wisdom to help others/ should have votes according to level of education
What did Gasset believe about mass democracy?
Could overthrow a civilised society and the moral order
What was John Locke’s theory of protective democracy?
Voting rights should be extended to those who own property to protect their natural rights
What is the utilitarian view of democracy?
Indiuval a will vote so as to advance their interests as they define them
What is classical liberalism?
Earliest liberal tradition/
When was classical liberalism its most polukadist?
Early industrialisation of the nineteenth century
What is the first form of classical liberalism?
Egotistical individualism/ humans are rationally self interested creatures/ society is atomistic
What is the second form of classical liberalism?
Believe in negative freedom/ the individual is free
What us the third form of classical liberalism?
State is a necessary evil/ mininual state
What is the final form of classical liberalism?
Positive view of civil society
What are five features of classical liberalism?
Natural rights Utilitarianism Economic liberalism Social Darwinism Neoliberalism
When did classical liberal ideas develop?
During the transition from feudalism to capitalism/ reach peak in nineteenth centry
Give a common characteristic of classical liberalism based on human nature?
They view individuals as egotistical and self interested creatures/ society is atomistic
Give a common characteristic of classical liberalism based on freedom?
Negative freedom/ freedom is the absence of constraint
Give a common characteristic of classical liberalism based on the state?
Is a necessary evil/ lays down conditions for orderly existence/ minimal state
What did John Locke describe the state as?
a ‘nightwatchman’
Who described the state as a ‘necessary evil’
Thomas Paine
What are natural rights?
God-given rights that are fundamental to human beings and are therefore inalienebale
Who are the main natural rights theorists?
John Locke/ Thomas Jefferson (America)/ Hobbes
What are rights?
An entitlement to act or be treated in a certain way/
What did Jefferson describe natural rights as ?
‘alienable’
What were the three rights that Locke described as establishing conditions for leading a truly human existence?
Life, liberty and property
Why did Jefferson disagree with ‘propery’?
Did not believe property is natural right/ had developed for human convenience
What three rights did Jefferson proposed for the American declaration for independence?
life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness
Who did Hobbes believe could be the only person to establish a strong government?
A monarch
Why did Locke argue against arbitrary power?
He believe that government is established to protect natural rights
How did Locke view the contract between state and citizens?
Its a specific and limited one/
What three functions should the government not extend beyond on?
Maintaining public order/and protecting property/ providing defence against external attack/ ensure that contract are enforced
Give the quote from Thomas Jerfferson on government
‘That government is best which governs least’
