LIBERALISM!

Who are the Key Thinkers?

• John Locke (Classical)

• Mary Wollstonecraft (Classical)

• John Stuart Mill (Classical)

• John Rawls (Modern)

• Betty Friedan (Modern)

What are the two main strands?

• Classical Liberalism

• Modern Liberalism

Define Classical Liberalism

• Based on rationalist principles

• Classical Liberals see state intervention as an unnecessary barrier to individuals’ freedom and ability to express their own identities

Define Modern Liberalism

• Believe targeted interventions by state are necessary if all individuals are to enjoy comparable rights and freedoms

• This strand was a response to development of social and economic inequalities in industrialised economies

What do all liberals agree on?

• both strands seek to maximise individual freedom

• All liberals believe that humans are rational, moral and capable creatures

• They accept John Locke’d belief that every human has equal natural rights to life, liberty and property. This is known as foundational equality

What is Self-Actualisation?

The process of realising one’s potential and striving towards a state of fulfilment

What is Social Justice?

The aim for society to be structured so it is fair for every member, regardless of their class or status. Some advocates of social justice emphasise equality of outcomes, but others consider equality of opportunity to be more important

What do Classical Liberals believe in terms of the State and Economics?

• Locke, Wollstonecraft and Mill all believe that state intervention in society and the economy should be limited to upholding the rule of law and protecting natural rights

• They believe that laissez-faire capitalism allows individuals to fulfil their potential, without the state interfering with the natural right of property ownership

What do Classical Liberals believe in terms of Equality?

They believe that formal equality is enough for individuals to self-actualise. Formal equality is where every member of society receives the same legal protections and rights

What do Modern Liberals believe in terms of the State and Economics?

• Rawls and Friedan share classical views that humans are inherently rational creatures, but they also believe that the state can be a positive force in society and the economy

• They call for an enabling state that can help people experience individual freedom and opportunities for social progress

• As well as aiming to maximise individual liberty, they also desire social justice

What do Modern Liberals believe in terms of Equality?

They argue that the state needs to promote equality of opportunity. This means allowing every individual a fair chance to realise their potential

What do Classical Liberals believe of Human Nature?

• Humans are rational and tolerant beings

• These traits allow humans to live peacefully and productively among one another, without an overbearing state

• They emphasise tolerance as they see humans as equal and morally trustworthy

Locke and Religious Tolerance

Locke advocated for religious tolerance so individuals could express their ‘personal identity’. Despite doing this at a time of severe religious tension, Locke saw humans as capable of disagreeing peacefully due to them being fundamentally moral

Classical Liberals and Women’s Rights

• Wollstonecraft argued that society needed to be more tolerant of Women’s Rights

• Mill agreed, being the first MP to seek women’s suffrage in the HoC

• Mill’s harm principle states that individuals should have complete liberty over self-regarding actions

• However, individuals shouldn’t use their freedom to inflict harm in other-regarding actions

Quote for Mill’s Harm Principle

‘The liberty of the individual must be thus far limited; he must not make himself a nuisance to other people’

Locke’s Social Contract

• It’s an imaginary agreement between citizens and the state; individuals consent to give up some liberties in return for protection

• Closely related to following ideas of the Mechanistic Theory and the Fiduciary Power of Government

Mechanistic Theory

The concept that the state is a means of preserving individual liberty

Fiduciary Power of Government

The concept that political power should only be used for the benefit of society, not for the self-interest of representatives of

Mill’s vision of individual’s responsibilities to society

• He criticised hedonism (pursuit of pleasure for its own sake)

• He advocated for developmental individualism (individuals use liberty to develop themselves). Freedom should be used to discover higher pleasures e.g. knowledge

• This has dual benefit of enabling individuals to self-actualise while also contributing to social progress

• ‘Better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool dissatisfied’, this means that individuals should push themselves out of their intellectual comfort zones

Wollstonecraft and the role of Women

• Women have responsibility to educate themselves in order to be equal to men

• ‘intellect will always govern’, therefore women’s ’neglected education’ allowed the development of ‘tyranny of men’

• While supportive of free maker capitalist, she thought it made women focus on acquisitiveness rather than self development

• Places responsibility on women to improve their societal position. However, she wanted the state to extend formal equality to women - mainly in relation to suffrage, property rights and representation

Classical Liberals on Self-Interest and Self-Preservation

• believe in laissez faire capitalism where the state doesn’t need to redistribute wealth

• Free market as ‘invisible hand’ that guides society

• People pursuing their own interest in capitalist system would naturally benefit society as a whole

• Social Darwinism (radical individualist philosophy) applied natural selection to society

• While this is classical, it opposed Mill’s idea of an individual’s responsibilities to wider society

• Some classical liberals believe that individuals are only responsible for the own self preservation, this competition would therefore drive economic/social progress (if at expense of some individuals)

T. H. Green’s ideas of liberty

these definitions of the two types of liberty marked a turning point in liberalism:

• Negative liberty: aka ‘freedom from’, this means that individuals don’t have external constraints on liberty e.g. individuals free from oppression, theft and violence

• Positive Liberty: aka ‘freedom to’, individuals actively enabled to realise their potential e.g. individuals have access to services like welfare, education and healthcare

Classical vs Modern on State Intervention