Liberalism (Full Flashcards)

Foundational equality

Foundational equality

All individuals are born equal and entitled to equal treatment by the state, linked to formal inequality.

Formal equality

Equality before the law and equal possession of legal rights.

Equality of opportunity

All individuals should have an equal chance to develop their potential however, that equality of opportunity usually leads to unequal outcomes, arising from unequal abilities.

Social contract

Agreement between the governed and the government where the state guarantees certain outcomes like protection of natural rights.

Meritocracy

Rewarding individual effort and achievement rather than inherited advantage in society and the state.

Mechanistic theory

Human beings are rational and can build a state that reflects their needs (e.g. the need for freedom and self-fulfilment), rejecting the divine right of kings (John Locke)

Tolerance/harm principle

Views and actions we dislike should still be tolerated, as long as they do not harm the liberty of others.

Limited government

The opposite of arbitrary rule; the state should be limited in terms of what it can do and how it can do it by a formal constitution (arguably a form of social contract).

Egotistical individualism

Human beings are naturally drawn to the advancement of their own, selfish interests but because we are rational, this does not necessarily lead to conflict or an insensitivity to the wishes of others.

Every individual seeks:

• self-realisation - to discover our true and unique selves, free from the constraints and expectations of others, and unhindered by the conventions of society

• self-determination - to ensure we are the masters of our fate and that the realities of our lives can be attributed to our efforts and achievements

• self-fulfilment - to ensure we have fully utilised our 'natural rights' and made the most of our particular talents

Developmental individualism

A focus on what humans can become (explains J. S. Mill's emphasis on education in a liberal society).

Negative freedom

Individuals are free from interference by governments and other individuals.

Positive freedom

The state gives people the empowerment and the enhancement of individual capabilities to live a self-directed and fulfilling existence.

Laissez-faire capitalism

An economy where private enterprise and market forces exist with minimal interference from the state.

Keynesianism

Based on the work of economist John Maynard Keynes, involving the state directing and managing market forces to ensure steady growth, full employment and therefore greater individual liberty.

Minimal state

Reflects the concept of negative liberty by minimising state activities, such as legislating and taxing as infrequently as possible.

Enabling state

A state that has been extended so its activities liberate individuals from social and economic problems, thus enabling them to fulfil their potential.

Liberty

Ability and right to make decisions based on one's view of human nature, safeguarding natural rights and limited government.

Liberal state

It is ‘necessary’ to avoid disorder, but ‘evil’ as it has the potential to remove individual liberty, and thus should be limited.

Concerning the liberal view of the economy, liberals support:

• minimal state

• laissez-faire capitalism

• private property rights

• competition

• macroeconomics

• equality of opportunity

Rationalism

Belief in human rationality, capable of reason and logic, leading to the acceptance of the need for a state by consent.

Social justice

The belief that individuals are of equal value and that they should be treated impartially and fairly by society.

Liberal democracy

A democracy that balances the will of the people, as shown through elections, with limited government (state) and respect for civil liberties in society.

Classical liberals were wary of democracy, fearing that it endangered natural rights and tolerance.

Modern liberals began championing the extension of the state, to start the enfranchisement of minority groups and support democratic devolution. However, modern liberals also show little interest, for example, in direct democracy and referendums due to fears that they represent a tyranny of the majority.

Human Nature - Similarities

• Each human being is unique and endowed with certain 'natural' rights such as the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of self-fulfilment.

• Rejects the idea of original sin, offering a more positive view of human nature, arguing that humanity has the capacity to affect steady progress and increase human happiness.

• Humans may be egotistical but our behaviour is also rational and respectful to others, guided usually by reason and logic rather than emotion and impulse.

• Rejects the notion of a "nasty, brutish, and short" life before the state, instead emphasizing the agreeable and generally efficient nature of pre-state societies.

Human Nature - Differences

Classical Liberalism:

• Emphasises individualism, self-centeredness, and self-reliance, believing that individuals are driven by the pursuit of pleasure and the avoidance of pain.

• Views humans as thoughtful and empathetic, drawn to intelligent compromise and mutual understanding with others.

• Believes that life before the state was generally agreeable and efficient, not necessarily something individuals would have wished to end.

Modern Liberalism:

• Views human nature as potentially shaped by enlightened liberal authorities, suggesting that society can influence and develop human characteristics.

• Emphasises the need for the state to ensure universal education and provide support in industrialised societies where individuals are less autonomous.

State - Similarities

• Both strands believe in the necessity of the state to ensure the protection and preservation of individual rights and freedoms.

• Stress the importance of consent and social contracts in the legitimacy of the state.

• Advocate for limited government and the need to check state power to prevent the infringement of natural rights.

• Share a commitment to improving upon the rights and conditions enjoyed in the state of nature, such as life, liberty, and property.

State - Differences

Classical Liberalism:

• Emphasises the role of the state in maintaining order and resolving conflicts in society to prevent chaos and anarchy.

• Advocates for a state that is structured to allow individuals to enjoy their natural rights more easily than in the state of nature, with impartial courts and fair methods of resolution.

Modern Liberalism:

• Stresses the importance of the state in providing education, public services, and support to individuals to overcome social and economic threats to freedom.

• Questions the compatibility of democracy and liberalism, highlighting concerns about majority rule potentially threatening minority rights.

Society - Similarities

• Both strands emphasize the importance of individual self-realization and self-determination in society.

• Advocate for societies that allow the maximum number of individuals to pursue their goals and interests.

• Share a commitment to promoting tolerance and diversity in society, ensuring that all individuals have the opportunity to flourish.

Society - Differences

Classical Liberalism:

• Views society as not dependent upon the existence of the state, emphasising the agreeable and generally efficient nature of pre-state societies.

• Concerned with protecting individuals against conformity and suffocating convention, advocating for a more tolerant society to achieve universal self-realisation.

Modern Liberalism:

• Emphasises the role of the state in providing support and assistance to individuals in industrialised societies where they are less autonomous.

• Stresses the importance of education in promoting greater tolerance and reconciling minority interests with majority interests.

Economy - Similarities

• Both strands emphasise the importance of property rights and individual economic freedom.

• Advocate for free-market capitalism and the promotion of private enterprise and ownership in the economy.

• Acknowledge the inevitability of inequality of outcome in capitalism but emphasise the importance of equality of opportunity.

Economy - Differences

Classical Liberalism:

• Advocates for laissez-faire capitalism and minimal government intervention in the economy, believing that market forces will naturally lead to prosperity for individuals and nations.

• Views capitalism as consistent with meritocracy and rewards for individual effort and achievement.

Modern Liberalism:

• Favours Keynesian capitalism and greater government intervention in the economy to overcome social and economic threats to freedom.

• Emphasises the need for more government spending, taxation, and regulation to ensure economic stability and address inequality.

John Locke - Human Nature

In the state of nature, society served mankind's best interests reasonably well due to mankind being guided by rationalism, 'natural laws' and 'natural justice'.

John Locke - State

The state is not part of God's creation (divine right of kings) therefore, ordinary people are not 'subjects' of the state. A legitimate state would be one created by mankind to serve mankind's interests and would only arise from the consent of those it would govern, respecting natural rights and natural laws to ensure that individuals are no worse off than they were in the state of nature. Due to the contractual nature of the state, the state would have to have limited government, have checks and balances, and always require the ongoing consent of the governed.

John Locke - Society

The size he predicts the state as there were natural societies with natural laws and natural rights.

John Locke - Economy

State policy should respect the natural rights to private property and arbitrate affectively between individuals competing for trade and resources.

Mary Wollstonecraft - Human Nature

Male and female individuals share a desire for self-fulfilment and self-determination but the state and society implied that women were not rational and therefore should be denied individual freedom and formal equality.

Mary Wollstonecraft - State

Women could not vote for those who governed them - a blatant violation of government by consent. Therefore, we require a Republican government, formal equality (all individuals, not just men) and a constitution that protected individual rights.

Mary Wollstonecraft - Society

Reason and progress do not prosper if you limit women's individualism. Women were complicit in their subjugation, desiring only marriage and motherhood; to correct this, formal education should be given to everyone to develop their rational faculties, recognise their potential and recognise the absurdity of illiberal doctrines.

Mary Wollstonecraft - Economy

Women were rarely allowed land ownership or paid employment - this needs to change because a free-market economy would be energised by the enterprise of liberated women.

John Stuart Mill - Human Nature

Though rational, human nature is not fixed as it is forever progressing to a higher level.

John Stuart Mill - State

Human actions are divided into self-regarding and other-regarding - self-regarding actions, such as religious worship and the expression of personal views, do not restrict the freedom of others and should therefore be tolerated. However, other-regarding actions, such as violent behaviour, clearly harm the freedom of others and should therefore be forbidden by a liberal state. The liberal principle of government by consent would be compromised if the interests of some liberal-minded individuals were denied by the votes of most (uneducated) voters therefore, Mill feared that a democratic state could lead to a tyranny of the majority.

John Stuart Mill - Society

Negative freedom - freedom mainly involves an absence of restraint - links to the harm principle. Liberty is not just a natural right but the engine of ongoing human development - liberty is a work in progress. Toleration of diverse opinions was especially important as it meant new ideas could emerge while allowing bad ideas to be openly ridiculed.

John Stuart Mill - Economy

Laissez-faire capitalism is vital to progress, individual enterprise and individual initiative.

John Rawls - Human Nature

Mankind is selfish yet empathetic, valuing both individual liberty and the plight of others.

John Rawls - State

The state should enable less fortunate individuals to advance, via public spending and public services.

John Rawls - Society

The peaceful, voluntary interaction of multiple individuals. Foundational equality does not just mean formal equality under the law and constitution but also greater social and economic equality. This is necessary to ensure a just society, where all lives can be fulfilled. When faced with the veil of ignorance, rational human beings would choose a society where the poorest members fared significantly better than in present society. While most individuals would choose to improve the lot of the poor, they would still want a society where the talented and enterprising were rewarded. Therefore, while the conditions of the poor should be improved by the state, the gap between the poorest and richest would not necessarily be narrowed, thus ensuring that this brand of liberalism remains distinct from socialism.

John Rawls - Economy

Foundational equality could only be provided by a significant redistribution of wealth via an enabling state, extensive public spending and progressive taxation. Free-market capitalism should be tempered by the state's obligation to advance its poorest citizens.

Betty Friedan - Human Nature

Male and female individuals share a desire for self-fulfilment and self-determination.

Betty Friedan - State

The state should legislate to prevent continued discrimination against women.

Betty Friedan - Society

The illiberal attitudes in society, rather than human nature, that condemned most women to underachievement; natural and transmitted via society’s various cultural channels, such as schools, organised religion, the media and mainstream literature, theatre and cinema. Channels of cultural conditioning left many women convinced that their lot in life was determined by iron laws rather than their rationality and enterprise. Disdained violence or illegality as a means of pursuing change as significant progress was possible via the procedures of a liberal state, therefore rejecting the Marxist-feminist argument that the state was dominated by patriarchal corporations, favouring liberal constitutionalism.

Betty Friedan - Economy

Free-market capitalism could be an ally of female emancipation if allied to legislation precluding sexual discrimination.