Classical Liberalism

four core themes of classical liberalism

natural rights, utilitarianism, economic liberalism, social darwinism

what did bentham call natural rights (divide in liberalism itself)

nonsense on stilts

what did jefferson say about natural rights

men are “endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights”

whats the role of the government regarding natural rights

government protect rights

what are natural rights now commonly perceived as

human rights

what were locke’s three rights

life liberty and property

what were jefferson’s three rights

life liberty and the pursuit of happyness

what analogy did locke use to argue that without a state governing humans would clash, but the power of the state also needs to be limited

farm animal analogy

what sort of state might classical liberals advocate for

a night-watchman state

liberals want government by __________

consent

what should the state protect

individual rights

what kind of philosophy is utilitarianism

consequentialist

two key utilitarians

bentham and mill

rather than egoistic (like a lot of class. lib.) what is utilitarianism

other-regarding

before economic liberalism, what was in place

mercantilism

who pioneered the free market

adam smith

quote by adam smith about why the free market works

“it is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the baker or the brewer that we expect our dinner but from their regard to their own interests”

what are markets guided by

an invisible hand

leaving people to trade freely among themselves and be self-interested will create

positive supply and demand

what dictate market prices, according to economic liberals

market forces

what attitude should the government take regarding the economy

laissez-faire

what does economic liberalism assume about people

they are rational

what theory about society, taken from a biological theory, do some classical liberals hold

social darwinism

who wrote ‘Self-help’, a liberal book about social darwinism

samuel smiles

what did Margaret Thatcher believe could happen if too much help was given

create a ‘dependency culture’

quote by samuel smiles about laws helping people

“no laws, however stringent, can make the idle industrious, the thriftless provident or the drunken sober”

who pioneered the ide of survival of the fittest, in relation to social darwinism

herbert spencer

who believed the working class should have good working conditions but only through their own innovation and hard work

richard cobden

Sumner’s quote about helping the drunk

“the drunkard in the gutter is just where he ought to be”

example of when the british government used a laissez-faire attitude

colonial india