Liberalism

Summarise the ideas of classical liberalism:

-Government by consent
-Guarantee of individual freedom
-Representative democracy
-A limited role for the state within society and the economy
-Individuals are born with natural rights

What do modern liberals argue for in relation to the role of the state?

- Increased state role to ensure equality of opportunity and social justice

Difference between modern/classical liberalism on freedom:

Classical liberals: NEGATIVE FREEDOM- individuals should be as far as possible free from government intervention. Therefore there should be little constraints on the individual and state should be minimal.
Modern liberals: unrestrained pursuit of profit causes social and economic injustices. POSITIVE FREEDOM- saw freedom as the ability to develop and realise their potential.
-liberty may be threatened by social disadvantage and inequality. So it is not enough to just leave alone society to ensure liber

What did modern liberal Green say about freedom?

He said that humans have social responsibilities not just individual ones and that "negative freedom" would lead to exploitation and social injustice.

What is the aim of "Negative Freedom" for classical liberals?

It will encourage people to take responsibility and be self reliant. HOWEVER it could have the opposite effect and cause people to rely on the state and develop a "Dependency Culture"

What is "Egoistical Individualism" and who supports it?

Classical Liberals- Freedom is associated with self reliance and self interest.

What is the classical liberal view of the state?

They support a minimal state where the state lays down ground work for an orderly existence but from as far away as possible and does not get involved in the lives of the people.

What is the role of the state for classical liberals?

-The state’s role is to maintain order, enforce contracts between individuals, and protect its citizens from outside attack.
-Anything more- risk of infringing people’s liberties.
-Some support the idea of social Darwinism, which is the ‘survival of the fittest’ principle applied to society.
- people will rise and fall in society depending on their own merits and efforts
-not the responsibility of the state to help those at the bottom of society, for example through welfare.
- laissez-faire capitalist economy, which allows for personal freedom and provides benefits for all of society.

What is the modern liberal view of the state?

An enabling state- the state protects individual freedoms by establishing a wider range of social and economic responsibilities than a minimal state.

What is the purpose of the state for liberals?

To reduce inequality
Equality of opportunity
(welfarism)

Where is the evidence for this?

Early 1900s introduced old age pensions and national insurance
-Beveridge report 1942 stated that the uk population was held back by "five giants" (poverty,lack of education,poor health, unemployment and living conditions
Modern liberals stated that the government had a responsibility to remove these as they were barriers to freedom

State the similarity between modern/classical liberals on the state?

They both support the principle of self-government- that groups of people should have the power to rule themselves- to help protect civil liberties.

What is a mechanistic theory and who supports it?

The state as something which has been created by the people as a way of protecting rights and interests (mechanistic theory).- supported by modern/classical liberals

How do the views of classical/modern liberals differ on the state?

classical- minimal state intervention=protects liberty
modern- state intervention protects liberty

Classical liberal views on the economy:

Classical liberals support a laissez-faire capitalist economy, which allows for personal freedom and provides benefits for all of society.

Modern Liberal views on the economy:

Modern liberalism also supports ‘Keynesianism’- a rejection of classical liberal laissez-faire economics.
Allows some regulations to protect all classes in society.

Similarities between modern/classical liberal views.

- cautious of a strong state- supporting a limited state
- Do not place society before the individual
- State cannot force people to be good
- Help individuals help themselves

What did John Locke say about rationality?

individuals are rational entities. When offering their consent to the state, they are at the same time promoting their own self-interest. As rational entities, we fully acknowledge that our liberties are best protected via governance by the state.

What are his views on the state?

Only the state can properly uphold our liberties through protecting us from things such as war, invasion and social disorder

How does the social contract protect both the people and the government?

The state is obliged to protect its citizens whilst we in turn must accept the laws of the land. If we do not, a sanction may be imposed. The people can withdraw their consent

What did Locke believe about the state?

Locke believes in the concept of a limited state however acknowledges that the state is important to protect our civil liberties and freedoms. He said "where laws do not exist, man has no freedom" This is because they would not be able to protect us from harm.

What is Mary Woolestone craft best known for?

‘A vindication of the rights of woman’

What did Mary Woolestone craft argue about equality between men and women?

- argued both men and women should be treated equally as rational human beings.
-Women were not naturally inferior to men, but may appear to be because they’ve been denied educational opportunities.

What did Woolestone craft advocate for?

formal equality

What does this mean?

- women should be entitled to the same civil liberties as men.
- women would be able to experience a life of genuine liberty free from the constraints of patriarchy.
- extend towards women being allowed to have a career outside of the home, an argument that was well ahead of its time

What actions did John Stuart Mill say we could pursue?

Any action that doesn't infringe on the liberty of others, developed by his "harm principle"

What did J.S Mill say about the state?

It is only justified in limiting our actions when they limit the liberty of others.

How did John Rawls explore unfairness?

veil of ignorance.

This requires us to place ourselves in the position of others. It also requires us to consider the danger of being born into poverty.

It argued that people will only develop fair principles of distribution only if they are ignorant of their position in society.

How did this link to his idea of the state and society?

If we imagined ourselves in a position of poverty then we would want a fairer society with adequate housing, safe neighbourhoods, a good education system and an unbiased criminal justice system. Society can be said to be fair when we can state that no-one would care what circumstances we would be born into.

what is‘justice as fairness.’ and what does it seek to promote?

The principles of justice are those everyone would agree to from a position of ignorance. Under this we would support the liberty principle

What was Betty Friedmans most important piece of work?

‘The Feminine Mystique’

What issue did Freidman expose?

Friedan exposed the stifling boundaries placed upon women (particularly mothers and housewives) and identified the multiple frustrations of those who felt trapped by the confines of social expectations. They cannot be free if they have these societal expectations placed upon them.

How did these expectations effect liberty for women?

omen were prevented from fulfilling their potential in life ---Women were therefore sold a lifestyle that centred around marriage, the home, the family and their associated material goods. However, many women wanted more from life than that on offer to them.
- Advocated for female emancipation from the patriarchal expectations