Key Thinkers: main ideas

John Locke (1632-1704)

• social contract theory: society, state and government are based on a theoretical voluntary agreement

• limited government: a government that should be limited and based on content from bellow

Mary Wollstonecraft (1759-97)

• reason: women are rational independent beings capable of reason

• formal equality: in order to be free, women should enjoy full civil liberties and be allowed to have a career

John Stuart Mill (1806-73)

• harm principle: that individuals should be free to do anything except harm other individuals

• tolerance: a belief that the popularity of a view doesn’t necessarily make It correct.

John Rawls (1921-2002)

• theory of justice: an opinion that society must be just and guaranteed each citizen a life worth living

• the veil of ignorance: a hypothetical scenario where individuals agree on the type of society they want from a position where they lack knowledge of their own position in society

Betty Friedan (1921-2006)

• legal equality: women are as capable as men and that oppressive laws and societal views must be overturned

• equality of opportunity: women are being held back from their potential because of the limited number of jobs that are ‘acceptable’ for women