social 30-1 - classical liberalism

john smith mill

• wrote on liberty - promoting individual freedom and decision making as core of societal institutions

liberalism

• ideology where principle of the dignity of freedom of the individual as the foundation for society

• human progress, decentralized power and sovereignty.

adam smith

• scottish political economist who rejected mercantilism (radical)

  • believed if people work for themselves, everyone including the state would b better off.

• theorized invisible hand describing market forces in the economy

  • “by having every individual look after their own best interests, they unwittingly end up helping everyone else by providing jobs and cheaper products”

• had a lassiez-faire economic system w/ minimal gov’t intervention

karl marx

• wrote the communist manifesto which basically outlined how the proletariat gained means of production

• believed capitalism would be overthrown in a class struggle between the proletariat and bourgeoisie.

baron de montesquieu

• enlightenment thinker in France

• believed in equality for individuals and accountability of gov’t also believed in the separation of powers to keep government balanced and in check

  • judicial, legislative and executive

    • these branches would be separate and dependent on one another so that the influence of any 1 pwr wouldn’t exceed that of the other two.

• used in modern-day democracies (ex: US Consitution)

• his ideas were seen as radical at the time.

ned ludd

• disgruntled textile worker who destroyed machinery

• considered reactionary and opposed “progress” of Industrial Revolution

J.D Rockefeller

• monopolized oil industry during Industrial Revolution in US

• considered robber baron and/or captain of industry

  • captain: donated lots of money, funded university

  • robber: drove people out of business, paid off gov’t to prevent th gov’t from breaking his monopoly.

robert owen

• designed a factory in new lanark to improve lives of workers

• believed individuals could pursue their own self-interests while also improving working and social conditions during hthe industrial revolution

capitalism

• economic system founded on belief in a free marker and limited government.

enlightenment in terms of classical liberalism

• time period following feudalism characterized by belief in the woth of the indivudal and increasing classical liberal thought.

chartism

• working class movement that focused on political and social reform. grp alr upset that some reform had taken place but it didn’t improve working class.

• name came from people’s charter of 1838 which outlined 6 essential goals:

  • uni suffrage, equal sized electoral distractions, voting by secret ballot, end need of property qualifications 4 parliament, pay for members of parliament, annual elections

• response to classical liberalism stressing improvement on the voting rights of the working class

Luddism

• movement of skilled artisans who rejected technological advancements

• in early 1800s, Luddites protested changes to the economy brought about by the industrial revolution

• replaced workers formed a protest movement with Ned Ludd being 1st to destroy machinery (b4 karl marx) causing many skilled workers to destroy over 200 machines

  • luddism

• luddites also attacked english busniessmen and factory owners. gov’t responded by making machine tampering a criminial offence-punishable by death.

socialism

• ideology that believes resources should be controlled by the public for the public

republic

• form of government where governing authority is vested in hands of representatives of the citizens

captain of industry

• term used by classical liberals who believed these mens contributions were foundations of western economics today

• success of these men could b seen as an example of how people in society made the most of an opportunity, took risks, worked hard and achieved success

• many of these men gave back to community in some way.

classical liberalism

• ideology stressing individualist principles (prices)

• stresses importance of human rationality (philosophized by John Locke)

  • humans have free thought and will, not gov’t role to impose on this

  • political freedom

• free market economy

utopian socialism

humanitarian movement opposing abuses of laissez-faire capitalism and built model communiyird.

robber baron

• greedy individualists who are unwilling to share wealth with those who helped them earn it.

• an image of a cold and ruthless man who’s greedy in pursuit of money and unwilling to share wealth with those who helped him earn it

• generated fortunes at the expense of their employees caring nothing for the troubles of their workers, customers or competition.

protestant reformation

• during the 16th and 17th centuries, the political, economic and social circumstances of Europe were altered through opposition to the catholic church

• Europeans came into contact with other flourishing but non-Christian civilizations challenging European religious thought about society and the meaning of life

  • some believed these new ideas could lead to a freer, more tolerant society but they were not widely accepted.

• religious reform movement that led to growing opposition to the catholic church in Europe

• reason was as significant as faith

renaissance

• the time period in Europe characterized by the growth of secularism and humanism

• life-based on reason than religion

• sparked belief in the importance of the individual in society

british civil war

• catastrophic series of conflicts that took place in the middle fo the 17th century

• fought between those loyal to the king, Charles I and those loyal to Parliament.

• wars divided the country at all levels of society. At the hear of the conflict was questions about pwr and religon

how was the enlightenment significant to classical liberlaism

• enlightenment produced significant ideas that laid foundations for liberalism

  • liberty, equality, natural rights, democracy, freedom of religon, self government

• ideas also changed the way people thought about the role of gov’t in their lives and that it should be limited to rule of law.

radical

• extreme; revolutionary

• rejects political and economic traditions of the past

reactionary

• tends to oppose change

• idealizes the past and accepts economic inequality.

laissez-faire capitalism

• belief that state shouldn’t interrupt free play of natural economic forces (esp supply, demand, boom bust)

• gov’t should leave business entrepreneurs alone to follow their natural self-interest

• pursuit of self-interst in economic affairs would benefit every1

• role of gov’t shifted to protect individuals, private property, other rights and no longer interfered in the trade of goods and labour.

economic liberalism and gov’t

• gov’t shouldn’t interfere with economic liberty of individual and should restrict itself to only 3 primary functions

1. protect individuals under rule of law

2. preseve natrual rights of life, liberty and property

3. only step in if justfied popular consent

adam smiths role of gov’t

• adam smith argued that the role of government should be limited to:

1. maintaining rule of law

2. ensuring contracts were followed

3. provide some public works (education, road maintenance for ex)