Ideological Responses to Classical Liberalism

Reactionary → Classical Conservatives

Edmund Burke (1729 - 1797)

• Believed that the French Revolution was an attempt at radical change towards liberal values of equality

  • Supposedly as a result of liberalism, the Reign of Terror and political chaos occurred.

  • Change leads to problems, therefore change is bad.

Conservative ideas

• Hierarchical society

• Elites with education and ability should rule

• Suffrage should be limited

• Leaders should provide towards the common good

• Stability via tradition and customs — following the status quo

Failure of the Chartists - UK (1838 - 1848)

• The People’s Charter of 1838 was proposed as a petition of what regular Britons wanted to see from government and Parliament:

  • universal suffrage for men over 21

  • equally sized electoral districts/constituencies

  • secret ballot voting

  • property qualification for Parliament removed

  • pay for MPs

  • annual elections

• The People’s Charter was presented to Parliament with millions of signatures and was voted down. Two more proposals and votes occurred and was continually struck down.

Socialism

Utopian Socialism

• Communities based on cooperation and equality, e.g. Robert Owen

Robert Owen - Chorton Twist Company

• in the 1800s, Robert Owen became mill manager of the Chorton Twist company: the largest cotton spinning company in Britain

• The lives of workers were broadly improved in New Lanark

  • infants were cared for while parents were at work

  • education to 10 years old

  • 10 hour long work days for 10 year olds

  • adult education (literature) was made available

  • free medical care, concerts and dancing

  • homes, paved streets, company stores, landscaping, fines for poor behaviour

Marxism

• a classless society

• abolish private property

• revolution etc. → dictatorship of the proletariat

• (refer to other Marxism notes in this folder)

Democratic Socialism

• gradual democratic change to achieve socialism

  • e.g. NDP, UK Labour, SDP in Germany