IR part 3

Montesqui commerce

commerce teaches nations to value mutual interest over domination, links nations to one another through mutual dependence, limits absolute monarchy

machiavelli on the citizen army

don’t pay your soldiers, have them fight for the country as a whole, importance of the civilian army and humility, no private interest

hume on politics

no reason, governments formed from utility and habit not social contract, everything is just perception, moral judgements come from feeling not reason

hume on concentration of power

british mixed constitution is best, freedom without order just means instability, moderate governance is the foundation of freedom and stability, people like authority to contain their desires, small is beautiful

hume on patriotism

citizens should cultivate public virtue grounded in reason and common interest, not dogma. rational patriotism is much better than revolution

gibbon on roman fall

expansion can’t simply solve problems, rome has no where to expand, suppression in the form of peace and stability, mildness of Aurelius was too indulgent

gibbon on christianity

christianity is hypocritical, not truly persuasive because no outsides are persuaded, it is intolerant and persuades via heaven and hell, rome is mild but christianity is not, christianity is a monarchia, connected to the government

adam smith and the poor man

the poor man wants artificial and elegant repose but its not natural and will not bring happiness, capitalism profits off of the infinity of human desires

invisible hand (main)

ambition of the poor to become rich and pursue their desires runs capitalism and promotes markets as well as other socially beneficial institutions

moral/distributive invisible hand

the rich seek status and wealth, to achieve this they must employ and distribute resources to other people, elites share the fruits of production out of vanity

market/capital allocation invisible hand

when individuals seek higher profit they are led to promote national income with price signals, decentralization, competition

smith on happiness

rich only seek for admiration, virtue will bring true inner happiness but humans always adjust to peaceful conditions, earth can never be a liberal utopia

smith impartial spectator

an account of conscience: an internalized, socially formed perspective through which individuals judge and regulate their passions by imagining how an unbiased observer would view their conduct (neutral nations)

smith labor theory of value

the more work you put into something the more it is worth (marx)

smith on a nation’s wealth

measured by annual produce of land and labour, fundamental source of wealth is labor and productivity (specialized markets)

smith on trade

can be good but also merchants can easily corrupt it, merchants shouldn’t be treated excessively well, you will never have perfect free trade, however trade is natural because of humanity’s ability to speak and reason

rousseau on political society

requires explicit agreements and shared institutions in a social contract, legit power comes from specific social bodies that humans willfully join, global humanity doesn’t naturally share resources

rousseau on the social bond

shared moral and political identity, many common ideas of society being held together (tradition/authority etc) are false, no force can generate moral duty to obey, only voluntary agreements are legit

rousseau on corsica

corsica one of the last places capable of true freedom, retain frugality and commonality, new constitution must be for existing corsica, don’t get involved with luxury or trade

burke on french revolution

heartily disproves, old constitution had great diversity and balance of interests, inherited traditions and customs are strongest, all revolutions treat former elites as criminals unjustly

burke on equality

attacks equality of man and argues that humans are naturally different in many facets, old constitutions classified citizens which created natural harmony

volksgiest

herder, each nation has its own cultural essence of spirit of the people

herder on humanity

humans are shaped by distinct customs and physical conditions, no two languages are the same and no superior or inferior nation

herder on history

warns histories commit retrospective arrogance by believing they are the culmination of history, history is the study of human development and always evolving

herder on human character

rejects idea of permanent human character, no single or best human character, everything is situational, each age/character has its own purpose in humanity

Kant on nature

nature gives humans all capacities but unfolds slowly over time, development of reason is humanity’s purpose, individual can not comprehend nature’s generation-wide plan, history gives us meaning in everyday disorder

kant on peace

even the well-ordered state has external peace threats, nature pushes humans to form a lawful framework to prevent war, states can not have standing armies in this framework

Lenin on capitalism

concentrated production and control is a capitalistic stage in development, monopolies and enterprises start coordinating after a certain threshold for competition is reached

Lenin on imperialism

natural stage in capitalism, 1) simple commodity production 2) manufacture with expanded division of labor 3) large-scale industry, it is the final stage of capitalism, intensifies competition because monopolies increase respective state power

Weber on social organization

social actions become organized when oriented to rules, roles, and shared purpose. modernity pushes organizations to rationalization and bureacracy

weber 3 kinds of rules

rational-legal (trained officials), charismatic (disciples), traditional (loyal retainers)

weber on the state

the state is the most developed political control group, use of force to maintain order, (Patrimonial/traditional, feudal, bureacratic) states

weber on bureacracy

defined by: technology, chain of command, full time commitment, predictable and rational, authority vested in office over individual, grow as societies rationalize

weber on discipline

probability that a command will be obeyed promptly and automatically, builds militaries and then burea, created mechanized petrification of human life for modern efficiency

constructivism

(weber) defines actions based on doctrine or institutions, the way people view the world influences their actions

Simmel on domination

a relationship between dominator and subordinate (not coercion), obediance is a form of participation, subordinate always interprets/reacts, many desire to be dominated to escape responsibility, mutual dependence of ruler and ruled

arendt on private vs public freedom

seen as private (freedom of will) vs political (freedom from oppression), freedom is truly rooted in the capacity of humanity to begin

arendt on ancient vs modern freedom

ancient freedom: participation in public life, free only among equals, public political status

modern freedom: freedom of will/thought/from interference, seen as private inward condition, begun with christianity transfer of freedom to the inner soul

arendt on revolutions

revolutions are expressions of freedom but fall when dominated by poverty/inequality, french rev turned from freedom to mass hunger and social misery but american revolution was more successful in freedom

arendt modern tragedy

humanity has never spoken so much about freedom yet so rarely experienced it directly

arendt on enemy of freedom

greatest enemy is traditional identification of freedom with the sovereign, sovereignty demands predictability and command, humans are born and able to act in unpredictable ways

arendt on freedom and power

freedom is not the opposite of power, power arises only when people act together and then freedom appears

arendt ultimate danger

disappearance of public forum because no one notices it disappearing