Individualism

Individualism places value on the rights of the individual over the rights of the group in society.

Primacy of the individual

• John Stuart Mill argued that “over his own body and mind, the individual is sovereign.”

• An individual has responsibility for their own actions, and is a rational being - and so an individual’s right to choose their own actions should be protected.

• Liberals believe that the individual is an end in themselves, rather than the means to an end.

  • This is a key principle of the philosophy of Immanuel Kant.

Individual vs the State

• Liberals believe that the state should not harm the rights of the individual, and dislike strong and paternalistic states which intervene on individual rights.

• Liberals believe the individual should have as much freedom as possible.

• Some liberal thinkers oppose government intervention in the free market, government welfare and other state policies that restrict individual rights, freedoms or responsibilities.

• Instead, the individual has a responsibility to achieve in society by the strength of their own ability.

Egoistical individualism

• Egoistical individualism is the belief that individual freedom involves satisfying one’s own desires and needs.

• More extreme versions of egoistical individualism, such as parts of Thatcherism, don’t believe in a society - instead that we live as a collection of rational self-interested individuals.

• This view of liberalism supports a state that is as small as possible, and individuals should have as few state restrictions as possible.

• This view is also known as atomism and is held by classical liberals.

Developmental individualism

• Developmental individualists believe in a society, and although they support the ideas of individualism, they believe that individuals wish to live alongside one another.

• Developmental individualists support more state intervention than egoistical individualists.

  • Developmental individualists support the idea that the state can make individuals more free by providing them with welfare and support.

• Developmental individualism is a view often held by social liberals.

Freedom or Liberty

Freedom is the ability and right to make choices for oneself without restriction, coercion or external intervention and it is the most important liberal value.

Freedom

• Individual freedom is the focus of liberalism.

• However, this does not include unrestricted freedom (‘absolute’ freedom), as this may harm other people and becomes licence to harm others.

  • Individuals have a right to freedom, but also a duty not to abuse others with it, or limit their freedom.

The role of the state

• The state should have a role in ensuring individual liberty, and should not extend beyond what is necessary to ensure individual liberty.

• The extent of the state depends on whether positive or negative liberty is supported.

• The state should guarantee freedom under the law - and so should protect individual freedoms from coercion and external restrictions.

  • For example, the 1st Amendment to the US Constitution protects freedom of religion and freedom of speech.

Capitalism

• Liberals believe in the principle of free choice, and therefore that the capitalist system is the best way to ensure individual freedom in society and the economy.

• The capitalist market is based around ideas of free choice.

• Some liberals believe in government interventions in the free market, but all support capitalism in one form or another.

The Harm Principle

• John Stuart Mill proposed the ‘Harm Principle’ to deal with the problem of when it is appropriate for society to restrict individual liberty.

• Individual liberty can be restricted if an individual’s actions may risk harm to others.

• This ensures freedom of the community.

Positive and Negative Liberty

Isaiah Berlin argued that there are two types of liberty - positive and negative.

Types of liberty: positive

• Positive liberty is when an individual is given freedom to do as they wish by an authority.

  • For example, the state giving social welfare to an individual may give them the income to do actions they wish to do.

  • Positive liberty supports a larger role for the state.

Types of liberty: negative

• Negative liberty is when an individual is free from external constraints and interference to do as they wish.

  • For example, freedom from a tyrannical government means that an individual can speak and act as they wish without fear of harm from the government.

  • Negative liberty supports a smaller role for the state.

The State

Liberalism supports the idea that the state is a necessary evil.

The state: a 'necessary evil'

• For Liberals, the state is a necessary evil.

  • Necessary because it provides the structures that avoid disorder and harm to individuals.

  • Evil because it has the power to coerce individuals and restrict individual liberty.

  • Because of this, liberals believe in restricting the power of the state, especially in the economy.

Paternalism

• Liberals disagree with paternalism - the restriction of an individual’s freedom by an external body in the individual's perceived interest.

  • Paternalism does not respect the individual as a rational being and does not respect individual freedom.

Limiting the state

• The state should be limited as much as possible.

• Liberals support limiting the state through constitutionalism (having a constitutional-style government, especially one that promotes individual liberty), having an independent judiciary, and supporting the rule of law.

• Some state intervention is needed to keep order in society, but this is minimal.

Limiting the state

• Classical liberals support laissez-faire economics and support only limited state intervention in the economy.

• Modern liberals are more likely to support more state interventions in the economy and society to promote positive freedoms.

• Liberals support limited intervention because they see humans as being rational and able to improve themselves.

  • Therefore, we should trust humans to make the right choices when given individual freedom, and the state isn’t needed to steer us in the right direction.

Rationalism

Rationalism is the belief that human beings are rational, reasonable and logical.

Rationalism

• Being rational means to make decisions based on weighing up all of the possible outcomes with logic and reason, rather than emotion.

• Rationalism supports individual freedom and self-determination (freedom to choose one’s own path and future).

  • Humans make decisions and moral choices according to reason and logic, and so must be entrusted to make them free from interference.

Paternalist ideologies

• Paternalist ideologies such as one-nation conservatism believe that some individuals are not able to make the right, or most rational decisions for themselves and so must be helped.

• Liberalism disagrees with this idea.

Progressive society

• Liberalism promotes a progressive society, as it supports the idea that individuals are rational rather than ruled by forces out of their control (such as religion).

• As well as this, liberalism supports the idea that no human is less rational than any other, and supports equal rights and freedoms for women, people of all ethnicities and people of all social backgrounds.

• As a result, liberals support progressive societies where all people have the same rights and freedoms.

• Liberals promote tolerance.

Tolerance

• Tolerance is a willingness to respect opinions, values, customs and beliefs (religious, political etc) with which you disagree.

• Voltaire is associated with tolerance, as his biographer Beatrice Evelyn Hall paraphrased: ‘I detest what you say, but shall defend to the death your right to say it’ in her 1906 biography of him.

• John Locke is associated with tolerance. He called for Catholic emancipation at a time when people in England were not free to practice Catholicism.

Study

Equality and Social Justice

Equality and social justice is the belief that individuals are of equal value and that they should be treated impartially and fairly by society.

Equality

• Equality is the belief that all individuals have equal rights, are of equal value, and should be treated equally by society.

  • Liberals believe that all individuals should be treated fairly and impartially.

Foundational equality

• Foundational equality means the rights that all humans have, simply by being born.

  • These rights cannot be taken away.

  • These foundational rights are also known as natural rights and inalienable rights.

  • The phrase ‘inalienable rights’ appears in the Declaration of Independence in the American Constitution.

Socialists and Conservatives

• Socialists:

  • Socialists also believe in foundational equality as they believe all humans are born equal and deserve equal rights & outcomes.

• Conservatives:

  • Conservatives do not believe in foundational equality as they accept inequality as a natural part of society.

Examples of foundational equality

• The US Declaration of Independence

  • ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness’.

• The Human Rights Act (HRA) 1998 is centred around foundational equality.

  • The HRA is based upon the European Convention on Human Rights.

Formal equality

• Formal equality is the idea that all individuals have the same legal and political rights in society.

• Formal equality is different to foundational equality as it means that the state has to provide rights by law to ensure this type of equality.

• Early liberal thinkers such as John Stuart Mill were opposed to formal equality, suggesting mechanisms such as weighted voting, where educated and land-owning voters had more of a say in elections.

Examples of formal equality

• Formal equality before the law is also part of the Rule of Law, written by A.V. Dicey in Introduction to the Study of the Law of the Constitution (1885).

• The principles within it are considered part of the uncodified (not written down in one place) British constitution.

• The Voting Rights Act 1964 in the US was aimed at providing equal voting rights across the US.

Equality of Opportunity

Equality of opportunity is the belief that individuals are of equal value and that they should be treated impartially and fairly by society.

Equality of Opportunity

• Equality of opportunity is the idea that all individuals should have equal chances in life to succeed or fail.

• Equality of Opportunity is aimed at addressing inequalities caused by what TH Green identified as the ‘cycle of deprivation’ which provides barriers that prevent some people from progressing in life, such as poverty, lack of education and ill health.

• Liberals believe that trying to create equality of outcome would lead to an unacceptable level of state intervention.

Socialists and Conservatives

• Socialists:

  • Democratic socialists believe in Equality of Outcome, where people end up with equal circumstances in terms of wealth and property.

  • Social democrats (another type of socialist) believe in equality of opportunity, like liberals.

• Conservatives:

  • Modern conservatives believe in equality of opportunity.

  • They accept the need for an enabling welfare state, which provides basic welfare to ensure no-one falls below a certain standard of living, and which provides services like universal healthcare & education.

Examples of equal opportunity

• The HRA enshrines equality of opportunity in UK law.

• The creation of the NHS in 1947 by the Labour government, based on the ideas of Beveridge, a Liberal peer (Lord), commissioned to research the big challenges facing Britain after WWII.

• Liberal PM Gladstone created primary education for working class children, the beginning of universal education in the UK, in 1891.

• Liberal PM Lloyd George introduced National Insurance in 1911 and the People’s Budget in 1909, aimed at creating equality of opportunity.

Examples of equal opportunity

• Sure Start centres introduced by New Labour in 1998 were aimed at ensuring children born into working class families were given an equal start in life.

• The Race Relations Act 1967 was created to provide equality of opportunity regardless of race in the UK.

Liberal Ideas of the Economy

Liberal political beliefs support a capitalist economy which has private ownership and is controlled by market forces. Liberal ideas of the economy include laissez-faire capitalism and keynesianism.

Laissez-faire capitalism

• Laissez-faire capitalism is the belief that competition between people, seeking their own profit, benefits all in society.

• Liberals believe in a capitalist economy that has private ownership and is controlled by market forces.

• A free market is one that is left to its own devices and does not have interference from the government.

  • Classical liberals argue that this is the most efficient way to distribute resources in the economy.

Laissez-faire: supply and demand

• Prices are set by the forces of supply and demand and become stable so that producers and consumers can receive and pay a fair price for their goods and services.

  • In the 'Wealth of Nations' (1776) Adam Smith argued that the ‘invisible hand’ regulates the market, meaning that there is always an efficient supply, demand, price and distribution of resources.

• Classical liberals argue that a free market promotes freedom and individual responsibility - an individual is able to choose how they engage with the market.

Keynesianism

• Keynesianism is based on the ideas of the economist John Maynard Keynes and is an idea supported by modern and social liberals, rather than classical liberals.

• Keynesianism is an economic theory which rejects some ideas of laissez-faire economics.

• Keynesianism rejects the laissez-faire idea that the government should have no involvement in the economy, and that it can correct itself.

• Instead, the government should intervene to stimulate the economy by manipulating demand.

Keynesianism

• Supporters of Keynesianism believed that the government should help the economy achieve price stability and full employment.

• This government intervention in the economy helps support some liberal ideas - such as equality of opportunity (by creating full employment), and the idea of the ‘enabling state’.

Other Important Liberal Ideas

Other important liberal ideas include meritocracy, mechanistic theory and social contract theory.

Meritocracy

• Meritocracy is the idea that individuals should be able to succeed in society on the basis of their ability rather than any other factor.

• Individuals should succeed based on merit rather than where they were born, how much money their parents had, and other circumstances of their birth.

• Individuals should have equal opportunities to succeed, so that those with the most ability are able to.

• Social mobility is important, as anyone should be able to achieve great things.

Mechanistic theory

• Mechanistic theory is the idea that the state is a man-made creation that individuals create to serve their interests.

• Liberals believe that the state is created by individuals to protect freedom.

• As a result, interactions between individuals can help determine how the state functions.

• The mechanistic theory opposes the organic theory of the state.

  • The organic theory of the state is favoured by conservatives, who believe that the state evolves over time.

Mechanistic theory example

• The social contract is an example of the mechanistic theory - individuals come together to vote for a government to make laws to uphold individual freedom.

  • The individuals and the government have rights and duties towards each other.

  • If the individuals don’t like the actions of the government they can vote it out of power - and therefore change how the state functions.

Social contract theory

• The social contract is the idea that the state/society is set up with agreement from the people to respect its laws which serve to protect them.

• The idea was popularised during the Enlightenment period and refers to a contract between the people and the government, based on the people’s consent (permission) to be ruled, given via their votes.

• Famous theorists who wrote about the social contract include Jean Jacques Rousseau and John Locke.

Examples of social contract

• ‘On the Social Contract’ by Rousseau (1762): ‘Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains’.

  • At the time, people were considered subjects with no rights, rather than citizens with rights such as voting.

  • Rousseau wanted to find out if a social contract could be achieved, in which citizens had the same rights as one another, had freedoms and in return accepted government and security.

  • This is the foundation of modern liberal democracy and influenced the French Revolution (1789) and the American War of Independence (1776).

Examples of social contract

• Any election in which people vote (such as general elections, local, European etc) strengthens the idea of the social contract as people are voting for representatives to govern them.

• The 2016 EU Referendum represents a social contract for Britain to leave the EU by March 2019.

  • The struggle between Brexiteers, Remainers, parliament and the government represents the difficulties of implementing a social contract in which 16m people voted Remain, and 17.5m voted Leave.

StudyClassical Liberalism

Classical liberalism supports a minimal state as the best way to protect individual liberties and is an earlier form of liberalism. It was the ideology of the UK's Liberal Party up until the beginning of the 20th Century.

Minimal state

• All liberals to some extent believe that the state is incompatible with individual liberty.

• Classical liberals believe in the minimal state.

• A ‘minimal’ state has enough institutions to keep order in society, such as law and order institutions, but has limited intervention in the economy and in the personal lives of individuals.

• The minimal state and classical liberals support the idea of negative freedoms.

Minimal state: economy

• Minimal states support a laissez-faire economy.

• The market is able to allocate scarce resources most efficiently.

• State control of the market doesn’t allocate resources to those who value them most, and so the economy doesn’t run efficiently.

• For example, the Liberal governments of the 19th century supported free trade and tariff reform.

Minimal state: private space

• A minimal state is one where the state does not infringe on the personal realm.

• Individuals are entitled to private space without a moral code imposed by the state.

• For example, the First Amendment to the US constitution allows freedom of speech and religion.

  • The state cannot infringe upon an individual’s right to speech, or religious practice, both activities which often take place in an individual’s personal realm.

Freedom

• Classical liberalism believes in negative freedom which is the idea that less state intervention is good so that individuals in society become self-reliant and take more responsibility for themselves.

• Classic liberals are opposed to people becoming dependent on the state.

Modern Liberalism

Modern liberalism is a newer form of liberalism and believes in regulating the free market in order to prevent high levels of inequality.

Modern liberalism

• Modern liberalism believes in the power of free-market capitalism to distribute resources in society.

• However, there may be structural reasons that stop a fair distribution of resources and opportunities.

  • Structural reasons include poverty, unemployment and lack of education.

  • These contribute to an inefficient allocation of resources, and market failure.

• Therefore, state intervention is acceptable to enable a fair distribution of resources.

  • It is acceptable for the state to intervene to correct market failure.

Example of modern liberalism

• ‘New’ liberalism in the early 20th century is one form of modern liberalism.

• In the UK, modern liberalism has evolved from the 1906 Liberal government up to the present day.

Enabling state

• Modern liberals support the enabling state.

• The enabling state is a larger state that provides individuals with the resources that may be necessary to succeed.

• This kind of state supports individuals, rather than forcing them to be successful.

• As a result, this kind of state accepts more government intervention in society and in the economy.

  • For example, progressive taxation can be used to raise income for social welfare programs.

Examples of enabling state

• In the early 20th century the Liberal government introduced graduated income taxes to fund social reforms, such as some healthcare services and social insurance programs.

• The welfare reforms that took place after the Second World War were heavily influenced by the work of Sir William Beveridge, a Liberal peer.

  • The Beveridge Report outlined ways to support the poorest and worst-off in society and was one of the inspirations for the founding of the National Health Service.

Positive freedom

• Modern liberals believe in positive freedom rather than negative freedom where state intervention can ensure freedom.

• This can be through increasing opportunities for citizens or through policies which restrict individuals.

  John Locke (1632-1704)

  John Locke was a philosopher and wrote about social contract theory in his “Two Treatises on Government”.

  

  Social contract theory

  

  • The government should be reliant on consent from voters, rather than imposed on them from above.

  • According to Locke, individuals choose to leave the State of Nature and give up some of their individual powers to the government.

  • Individuals join together to form society and consent to lose some of their individual powers in order to gain laws, judges and an executive.

  • Individuals are rational and therefore believe that it is in their own best interests to consent to a government.

  Limited government

  

  • Locke supported the idea of limited government, rather than a lack of government.

  • He argued that “where laws do not exist, man has no freedom”.

  • The state is able to protect us from harm, and this ensures individual freedoms.

  • Individuals have a right to their own property.

  • Locke believed that the state should protect an individual’s “life, liberty and estate”, and the protection of this should be the limits of government.

  

  Mary Wollstonecraft (1759–97)

  Mary Wollstonecraft was a prominent first wave feminist. Wollstonecraft’s most famous publication was “A Vindication of the Rights of Women”.

  A Vindication of the Rights of Women

  

  • Wollstonecraft argued in this text that men and women are both rational beings that should, therefore, be treated equally.

  • Wollstonecraft argued that “the mind has no gender”, meaning that women and men have the ability for reason and rationality, but women have been denied education and so may seem less rational.

  • Therefore, women should be educated to be rational members of society.

  • Wollstonecraft argued that both genders are rational - and so should be granted equal rights and liberties.

  Formal equality

  

  • Wollstonecraft supported formal equality for women - equal rights.

  • This would give women liberty, which they were unable to have when constrained by the patriarchy.

  • Wollstonecraft also advocated for careers for women.

  
  

Mary Wollstonecraft (1759–97) was a prominent first wave feminist who argued for the equality of women in her seminal work, "A Vindication of the Rights of Women."

Views on Human Nature

• Wollstonecraft believed that men and women are both rational beings capable of reason.

• She asserted that women have been denied education, impairing their ability to be rational, rather than being inherently less rational.

Views on Society

• Wollstonecraft argued for formal equality, advocating that women should have the same rights as men, thus promoting societal progression through equal treatment.

• She criticized the restrictive roles imposed by patriarchy and believed that true moral and social progress could only occur through the education of women.

Views on the Economy and State

• Wollstonecraft believed in the need for women to have opportunities for employment and to participate in the economy, which she viewed as essential for women's liberation.

• She argued for a societal and governmental structure that allows for the education and empowerment of women, promoting a state that respects individual freedoms and equality.

John Stuart Mill (1806-73)

John Stuart Mill was a 19th Century Liberal thinker, who is famous for writing “On Liberty”.

“On Liberty” - freedom

• In “On Liberty”, John Stuart Mill sets out his view of the Harm Principle.

• “On Liberty” focuses on the importance of individual freedom, and how this is vital to society and to the individual.

  • Mill argues that it is important to have a society with lots of diverse characters.

• Mill believes that all individuals have free will and have responsibility for their own lives.

• This text links to liberal ideas of individualism, freedom and responsibility.

“On Liberty” - tolerance

• Mill writes about ideas and truth in “On Liberty”.

• Mill argues that just because an idea is popular, it is not necessarily true.

• Mill says that individuals should discuss ideas and test them out through discussion to see which ideas are true - for example by playing the devil’s advocate (arguing from the opposition position to one’s own).

• Mill believed that established beliefs should be challenged, and shouldn’t just be accepted because it is popular.

The harm principle

• The Harm Principle is the idea that an individual should be free to act as they wish, as long as they do not harm other individuals.

• John Stuart Mill argues that the only acceptable intervention in an individual’s liberty by the state should be to stop someone from harming another individual and limiting their freedom.

• This supports the limited state, which has few coercive powers.

• We should not be able to undertake actions that limit another person’s freedom.

John Rawls (1921-2002)

John Rawls was a liberal political and moral philosopher from America. His most famous publication is “A Theory of Justice”.

"A Theory of Justice"

• Rawls tried to resolve the problem of balancing freedom and equality in “A Theory of Justice”.

• Rawls argued that freedom and equality can be balanced in a principle he called “justice as fairness”.

• “Justice as fairness” is the idea that the principles of justice in society are the principles that everyone in society would agree on if they assessed society from a position of ignorance.

The Veil of Ignorance

• Rawls proposed a thought experiment in which an individual has to imagine which society they would want to live in but were unable to know their position in that society.

• Rawls argued that all individuals would want to live in a society with a fair justice system, a good education system and equality of opportunity.

Challenges to the veil of ignorance

• The Veil of Ignorance has been challenged - philosophers have argued that it does not take into account the possibility of some people choosing an unequal society in the hopes of gaining