Individualism, Liberty, Rationalism, Equality, and Toleration

Social Justice

Equality of economic, political, and social rights, with state assistance for the less privileged

Individualism

Belief in rational individuals with rights above state or groups

Egoistical individualism

Locke and Mill's view of self-interested individuals

Liberty

Evolved concept protecting individual freedom

Positive Freedom

Modern liberals' belief in state intervention for individual freedom

Rationalism

Consensus among liberals on human rationality

Foundational equality

Belief in equal status for all individuals in society

Toleration

Acceptance of cultural and political diversity

Voltaire

'I detest what you say, but will defend your right to say it'

Meritocracy

Society where positions are based on individual merit

Enabling state

State's role in providing welfare for individual potential

Capitalism

Economic system with limited capacity for individual happiness

John Rawls

Modern liberal advocating for a just society and redistribution of wealth

Veil of Ignorance

Rawls' hypothetical scenario where individuals design a just society without knowledge of their position

Positive Liberty

State support enabling individuals to fulfill their potential, emphasized by modern liberals

Modern Liberalism

Advocates for an enabling state, positive freedom, and social justice

Harm principle

JS Mill's idea that actions harming others should be restricted

John Locke

Classical liberal advocating limited government and foundational equality

Social contract theory

Basis that society and government stem from voluntary agreement

Mary Wollstonecraft

Advocate for women's rights and formal equality

John Stuart Mill

Classical liberal promoting harm principle and tolerance

Enabling State

State ensuring foundational equality through social and economic measures

Betty Friedan

Modern liberal advocating for legal equality and women's liberation from domestic roles

Negative Freedom

Freedom from external restraint, essential for human flourishing according to modern liberals

Classical Liberalism

Belief in minimal state intervention, laissez-faire economics, and negative freedom

Social Contract Theory

Idea that individuals consent to give up some rights for security within a society

Foundational Equality

Belief that individuals are born with natural rights, extended to all sections of society by modern liberals

Rugged Individualism

Concept that a person's success is determined by their own merit, a principle of classical liberalism

Representative Democracy

System where representatives form consensus rather than follow uninformed majority, supported by Mill

Keynesian Economics

Government intervention to manage demand and stimulate the economy, contrasting classical liberal views