2 Politics and revolution in a pre-industrial age Flashcards
(262 cards)
1
Q
Does Hobbes believe in a natural hierarchy of ability?
A
Evidence suggests not
“The difference between men is not so considerable” - men are largely equal enough in strength and wit to be able to succeed in conflict if they have alliances or skill
“The difference between men is not so considerable” - men are largely equal enough in strength and wit to be able to succeed in conflict if they have alliances or skill.
2
Q
According to Hobbes, what motivates human violence?
A
“The quality of hope in attaining our ends”. We commit to violence because we think it will work! It is natural and rational, because it rests on the rational belief that men are equal enough to get what they want and smart enough to do it.
3
Q
Why is Hobbes considered an enlightenment figure?
A
Various reasons. Some are his extra writings, but notably he does fundamentally believe in the ability of rationally-minded humans to get what they want via machination and effort.
4
Q
What is war to Hobbes?
A
The state of nature without a common power - a world of anarchic entities seeking power.
5
Q
What does Hobbes believe ends human conflict?
A
“A common power them [people] all in awe”.
6
Q
Is there peace when there is no common power but no direct threat to one’s safety according to Hobbes?
A
Yes. The threat of constant displacement is enough.
7
Q
What is Hobbes’ government best described as?
A
A deterrent.
8
Q
What are 3 consequences of a society without a common power according to Hobbes?
A
- No progress in arts or economics (no incentive)
- Fear
- “Solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short” lives.
9
Q
How could we evaluate Hobbes in the modern context?
A
Use Gramsci - we have achieved “a common power to keep them all in awe” with culture.
10
Q
What evidence does Hobbes give that humans are naturally competitive?
A
Note on how scared people are even at the moment. Notes how people already lock their doors and keep their possessions close at hand.
11
Q
What key concept does Hobbes discredit?
A
There is no notion of justice, there is no notion of right and wrong, or morality
Later conservatives such as Nozick will place huge emphasis on the importance of rights etc. Also clear point of difference with pre-industrial liberals
12
Q
What does Hobbes describe rights and justice as?
A
Notions people have when they live in a society, not in solitude.
13
Q
What does Hobbes say will allow us to leave the state of nature?
A
“Partly in the passions, partly in his reasons”. Hobbes says that some passions - notably, fear of death, desire for a comfortable life, belief in the virtue of hard work - provide the initial motivation. Reason provides the articles of peace.
14
Q
What does Hobbes’ view of how men exit the state of nature suggest about his underlying faith in human reason?
A
Says that whilst passion compels us to leave the state of nature (war) behind, reason provides the means by which to do it
ENLIGHTENMENT INFLUENCE
15
Q
According to Hobbes, the state of nature is a state of…
A
War.
16
Q
What are 5 relevant pieces of context for Hobbes?
A
- Early life overshadowed by family disgrace, after his father is expelled from London over a fight with clergy
- Highly educated at Oxford, Cambridge and then the tutor to the young William of Cavendish
- Link to Renaissance - translated classical texts into English
- When he was 64, the English Civil War broke out, which killed 200,000. Leviathan was written after this
- Some believe he was an atheist
Widely regarded as dismal
17
Q
What latin phrase is often used to describe Hobbes’ beliefs?
A
Bellum omnium contra omnes
War of all against all
18
Q
Where does the accusation of atheism for Hobbes come from and who echoed it?
A
True revelation cannot disagree with human experience/rationality.
Locke agreed.
19
Q
What religious movement did Hobbes reject, and who did he disagree with resultantly? Did the two meet?
A
Humanism.
Mersenne.
Yes. When Hobbes was living in Paris, Mersenne chaired a discussion group Hobbes participated in.
20
Q
What governmental system preceded Hobbes? What reaction did he have to it?
A
The Divine Right of Kings. He rejected it.
21
Q
Why would Hobbes reject DRoK?
A
Mechanistic theory (government made by people) is at the root of Hobbesian theory.
Monarchism is the antithesis of this.
22
Q
What was Hobbes’ reaction to the English Civil War?
A
He felt threatened by it and recluded into private life after it began.
23
Q
What two theories of government did Hobbes reject?
A
DRoK and Social Contract.
24
Q
Why did Hobbes reject social contract theory?
A
Too liberal - denied the fundamental competitiveness of men.
Also a reaction against context - Cromwell prorogued Parliament to ensure the beheading of Charles II.
25
Why might Hobbes have drawn a link between radical politics and social contract theory?
Levellers were coming through in the English Civil War.
26
What view does Hobbes take of rights?
Collective, and not individual.
27
What is Hobbes' magnum opus?
Leviathan (1651).
28
Does Leviathan defend arbitrary power?
No, because it is mechanistic and validated by the desire for such power.
29
An example of Hobbes' earlier works that provides insight into his political background?
Wrote the Elements of Philosophy and Elements of Law - had a wide ranging interest, from natural sciences to jurisprudence.
30
What are 4 views of Hobbes regarding human nature?
1. Humans are naturally competitive and materialistic, hence the state of nature is a state of war.
2. Human nature contains latent rationality, which can be mobilised to build a state along mechanistic lines.
3. Egotistical and self-interested.
4. No concern for natural rights etc.
31
Who advocated DRoK that Hobbes reacted against?
His contemporary Robert Filmer.
32
What was Hobbes important point about revolutions?
It matters little who is in charge - their first order must be to establish immediate order and judicial superiority.
33
What are 3 Hobbesian views on society?
1. A single moral authority at the centre is required which removes debate about what is morally permissible.
2. In a prelude of the neoliberals, Hobbes argued that no society could exist without the respected authority of the state enforcing a common order.
3. Society is a concept which can only arise out of the agreement of people to enter into a social contract that ensures their own security.
34
What are 3 views of Hobbes on the state?
1. The state must be incredibly strong. There must be no doubt about the capabilities of the state to enforce a mutual order.
2. The state's power must NEVER be divided or devolved. It must remain centralised, so that the state can speak with one moral voice and so that internal divisions do not replicate the state of nature. The state may or may not literally be one person.
3. The state must rise from a mechanistic origin - it cannot be imposed on people.
35
What link is there between Hobbes' state and society?
The state is a prerequisite to the society.
Rejection of the "natural society" of the liberals.
36
What is fundamentally dangerous about revolution for Hobbes?
Once the state is gone, the worst tendencies of human nature liquidate the society.
37
What evidence is there to suggest that Hobbes favoured collective rights?
Competitive egotism envisaged by Hobbes must be constrained by society (in the first instance the state).
38
Hobbes' view on hierarchy?
Not specific about where the hierarchy originates (i.e. whether it can be a meritocracy) but clearly endorses a hugely centralised state.
39
Was Hobbes a reactionary?
No, he exalted reason and logic over religion and superstition.
40
The principal purpose of Hobbes' state is?
Mutual security.
41
Hobbes view on the economy and where this was echoed?
The strong state is necessary to any trading economy, which Hobbes viewed as important.
This is the neocon bit in the New Right.
42
Why might Hobbes have been hesitant about the free market?
Individuals competing openly...
43
Where does the fundamental difference between the views of Locke and Hobbes probably emerge?
Locke was a God-fearing Christian, who cited God as the source of his natural law.
Hobbes had no hesitation in saying that God didn't exist, and that there was no divinely inspired natural law.
44
Locke is often used in exam as a counterpoint to...
Hobbes.
45
Locke nickname?
"Father of classical liberalism".
46
Where was Locke educated?
Christ Church.
47
What was Locke's first profession? How is this relevant?
Medicine.
Became personal physician, and later a kind of personal advisor, to the Earl of Shaftesbury.
48
What are 3 relevant pieces of context for Locke?
1. Doctor and political advisor to the Earl of Shaftesbury, a key pro-Orange agitator in the lead up the Glorious Revolution.
2. Observant Protestant.
3. Elite scientific education.
49
Evidence of Locke's elite scientific education?
Did a Bachelor's of Medicine and studied further under the supervision of Thomas Sydenham, the famous English doctor.
50
What major intellectual movement was Locke linked to?
The Enlightenment.
51
What did Locke dedicate most of his life to? Why is this relevant?
Empiricism - the school of epistemology which emphasises that experience is the root of true understanding.
Critical to individualism, and justifies laissez-fairism as everyone has a different view of the world.
52
Locke's empiricism is referred to as... Who influenced him?
Tabula rasa.
Early Arabic thinkers, whom he encountered at Oxford.
53
Where were most of Locke's works written?
Holland, 1682-88 when he was in exile.
54
When was Locke's magnum opus published? What was it?
1688.
Two Treatises on Government.
55
What is the clear, sharp and blatant contrast to Hobbes that Locke states? Quote?
There is a law of nature, which is reason.
"The state of nature has a law of nature to govern it".
56
How does Locke frame human conflict?
Unnatural, since it violates the law of nature set down by God.
57
Is conflict and subordination ever justified in the Lockian vision?
Not among equals, since God does not sanction it.
Total contrast to Hobbes.
58
What is the duty of mankind according to Locke?
to "preserve the rest of mankind".
59
If someone transgresses the law of nature, according to Locke...
"the offender declares himself to live by another rule than that of reason and common equity".
Liable to extraordinary punishment.
60
What does Locke say we should do to those who violate the law of nature? Why?
Restrain or even destroy them.
Because:
1. They are a danger to mankind
2. Others must be discouraged.
61
Why does Locke's view of punishment betray a certain flaw in his thinking?
He is at great lengths to explain that those who violate the law must be punished to discourage others.
Surely if the law of nature was really powerful this wouldn't be necessary.
62
Is the law of nature a fact of nature? How does this underline liberal thought?
No.
It needs enforcing more than the A Level syllabus admits.
63
What principle of justice does Locke outline? How is this mirrored by later liberal states?
Those who break the law must be punished harshly. Anyone can be the arbiter of punishment.
Later liberal states would place great emphasis on the primacy of the judiciary.
64
Further evidence that Locke does not believe in an unconditional law of nature?
Seeking to qualify why mechanistic theory prevails.
"very uncertain" regarding property in the state of nature; "full of fears and continual dangers".
So people enter states to protect property.
65
What is the purpose of the state in Locke's view?
The "chief end" of government is the preservation of property. This is what people got together to protect.
66
What does Locke think the most important thing the state should have is? Why? What does this betray?
A "known and indifferent judge".
Because men cannot execute the law of nature fairly and without prejudice.
A concession to the legacy of Hobbes - men are self-interested.
67
Does Locke deny the fact that self-interest eclipses people's attachment to high principles such as the law of nature? Eval?
No. This is why he puts so much emphasis on a known and indifferent judge.
But he states at least that people are aware of the law of nature, and, in doing so, predictably ought to feel some attachment to it.
68
What is the second feature of the Lockian state after the "known and indifferent judge"? Key point?
Power to give judicial decisions "due execution".
It must be strong enough to carry through the punishment, since failure to do so and falling short is dangerous.
69
How does Locke frame the need for government? Eval?
As areas where the state of nature is defective, rather than the other way around.
Basis for negative liberty.
Contrast to Hobbes.
70
What third branch of government is necessary in Locke's vision and why?
Legislative.
Otherwise men are just surrendering their autonomy.
71
Why does Locke outline the need for checks on the government, e.g. the legislative? Why does Locke choose a legislative?
RATIONALITY. This is fundamental. Frequently in Locke's work we see an arrogance and a disdain for assumptions of altruism or whatever. Locke believes we are all rational egotists. So an unchecked government would aggrandise itself.
This is why the legislative works as a check - because we are all rational and capable of using it to our best advantage.
72
What is the limit of legislative power in Locke's state?
"the common good" - very vague.
73
What is the first duty of a Lockian government?
Secure property.
74
What does Locke delineate on the function of the executive, and how does this compare to Hobbes?
The leader of any commonwealth (Locke doesn't call it a state) must govern according to standing laws, enforced by powerful judges able to oppose the government.
The leader of Hobbes' commonwealth is much more broad powered.
75
Key etymological point about Hobbes and Locke?
Both refer to their state as a "commonwealth".
Very big concession to mechanist theory here - commonwealths are for the wealth of everyone (commons), but for that only. They are not entities with their own motives, as socialism will claim they have become.
76
What is the form of Lockian foreign policy?
Domestically, the upholding of known laws.
Foreign, the redress of injuries.
77
Does Locke caveat his individualism?
Yes - he writes in Section 134 of Treatises on Government that the preservation of society ought to supercede the preservation of the individual where a conflict may exist.
78
What does Locke describe the legislative as?
The "supreme power of the common-wealth".
79
Why does Locke say legislative laws must be special?
The legislative is the only legitimate governmental body, since it represents the people.
80
How does Locke describe the power of the legislative?
Able to trump all prior obligations, even noble ones and longstanding ones
81
What does Locke describe the legislative as?
The 'supreme power of the common-wealth'.
82
How does Locke describe the power of the legislative?
Able to trump all prior obligations, even noble ones and longstanding ones.
83
What is tyranny according to Locke?
"Wherever law ends, tyranny begins"
The legislative is absolutely central
So basically, without democratic mandate, stuff is bad
84
Why is Locke's view NOT democracy? What is it?
Because it is not rule OF the people, it is rule FOR the people
Representative democracy
85
Ultimately, Hobbes and Locke have a similar view about mechanistic theory. Why?
Both agree that men give up authority to the state in order to better protect their property, the enjoyment of which is uncertain in the state of nature.
86
How has the context for Locke stabilized since Hobbes?
Instead of a tragedy of mechanistic theory, with the ECW, the Glorious Revolution represents a triumph of it.
So Locke is emboldened
87
The Earl of Shaftesbury was a...
Whig peer.
88
What did Locke think about the philosophy he read at Oxford?
Found the classics tiresome, was more drawn to the works of Descartes.
89
What did Locke think about women?
He responded very aggressively against De Patriarcha by Robert Filmer, saying that arbitrary power is bad. In his denunciation, he included a criticism of Filmer's misogyny, but qualified his comments to say that whilst women should not be equal, they should be able to keep their property.
90
Mechanistic quote of Locke
'The reason why men enter into society is the preservation of their property'.
91
Empiricism quote for Locke
'No man's knowledge here can go beyond his experience'.
92
Locke individualism quote
'Every man has a property in his own person. This nobody has right to but himself'.
93
Locke state quote
'Government has no other end but the preservation of property'.
94
What crucial topic develops from Locke's view of the state of nature?
Natural rights.
95
What link can we make between Locke's views of human nature and later comments by Michael Oakeshott?
This idea that liberalism has an aspirational view of human nature
Human beings have the capacity for reason and rationality
96
What is the root of Locke's fundamental optimism in human potential?
Belief in the divine inspiration of man's form - men are images of God.
97
2 views of Locke on human nature
1. Rational individual egotists.
2. Existing without too much strife and conflict in the state of nature.
98
Key point on a Lockian society?
Important to remember mechanistic origins.
Exists solely to preserve people's property.
99
3 key points Locke makes about society
1. The 'society' as an entity should be viewed as a collection of entities who uphold the natural law against those who transgress it and protects property rights.
2. Society predates the state. There were natural societies with natural laws and natural rights. THE SOCIETY DOES NOT DEPEND ON THE STATE.
3. Tolerant of minorities.
100
Clear contrast with Hobbes and Locke's view of the society?
State as a prerequisite of the society.
101
Evidence of Locke's tolerance?
He campaigned on behalf of religious nonconformists, and opposed stripping women of all rights.
102
Locke magnum opus
Two Treatises on Government (1690).
103
What is the antithesis of the state of nature?
State of law.
104
What is the state of nature like?
There are natural and immutable moral laws, but which may not be fairly enforced due to men's egotism.
105
What caveat is there to the view that Locke presents a wholly positive view of human nature?
Whilst he presents humans as uniformly rational and obedient to the laws of nature, he portrays many exceptions where men's rationality calls on them to act beyond these laws where it is in their best interest, or to apply the laws negligently.
106
What fundamental view of the state does Locke take issue with?
What is this called?
The idea that the state was created by God
Locke supposes that the state is created by men; therefore, DRoK is debunked and the state must be mechanistic
A reaction against arbitrary power
107
What is this called?
Locke supposes that the state is created by men; therefore, DRoK is debunked and the state must be mechanistic. A reaction against arbitrary power.
108
5 Lockian views of the state?
1. The state was improving upon an essentially tolerable situation and therefore huge and draconian changes would be unjustified.
2. The state must embody natural rights and natural society, and should not go further than upholding these - LIMITED GOVERNMENT.
3. The state is not divinely appointed and must be mechanistically composed of the wills of the governed.
4. The state's first end is to preserve property.
5. The state's role is to act as an impartial judge.
109
3 reasons Locke's views are compatible with capitalism?
1. Property is the primary 'natural right' Locke identifies.
2. Meritocracy and an economic upper class undesirable.
3. Small holdings and competitive markets helped limit power of collectives and ensure sovereignty for the individual.
110
Who influenced Locke's view of the economy and how?
Francois Quesnay and the Physiocrats. Property proportional to wealth - hence Locke's unswerving emphasis on wealth and property.
111
How do people attain property in Locke's view?
When someone mixes their labour with nature, they remove the property from the common state of nature and make it private property
Used in lots of colonial appropriations, and used to deny women equal rights
Called the Labour Theory of Property
112
How does the Labour Theory of Property make Locke a capitalist?
Link his idea of the primacy of property to a system of labour and exchange
Used against large landholders and large enterprises whose "labour" is separated from the land
113
Caveat?
Used in lots of colonial appropriations, and used to deny women equal rights.
114
3 tenets of liberal individualism?
1. Maximum levels of self-determination
2. Maximum levels of self-realisation
3. Maximum levels of self-fulfilment
All individualistic but HIGHLY flexible - justifies intervention?
115
3 relevant pieces of context for Adam Smith?
1. Very key to point out that liberalism is far less radical or revolutionary by the time that Smith is writing in the 1770s. His book The Wealth of Nations is written at the time of the American Revolution
2. Withdrew from Oxford because it did not allow him to pursue more radical/individualistic literature
3. Had met Francois Quesnay and read Locke
116
3 things which are liberal about Adam Smith's philosophy?
1. Centrality of private property.
2. Belief in the ultimate rationality of people underlying the view that competition would benefit all.
3. The state should not distribute resources.
117
Adam Smith abbreviation
FIDMP -
Free markets,
Invisible Hand,
Division of labour,
Market mechanism,
Price mechanism.
118
Why is Laissez-Faire necessary for liberal economics?
'Let alone'.
No justification for state going beyond this in natural rights theory.
119
What is the invisible hand?
The force that guides the market, through the price mechanism and its interaction across markets.
120
Major contextual fact about Jean-Jacques Rousseau?
Born 1712 in Geneva, a democratic city - Rousseau could vote.
121
3 ideas of Rousseau?
1. Private property is the root of inequality.
2. The state of nature is the best state of man - the 'noble savage'.
3. Social contract liberalism - the most important check on government is the social contract.
122
How does the US represent the ideal of a liberal state?
1. Mechanistic theory and Rousseau's social contract - channels the impulse to govern on behalf, giving access to representative democracy.
2. Separation of powers and checks and balances prevents government from overstepping the mark and becoming tyrannical - government intervention in economy limited e.g. House budgetary powers.
3. Clear separation of church and state (Article 6) prevents arbitrary power.
123
How does the US not represent the ideal of a liberal state?
1. Article 1 has prevented the Lockian state from stopping at the preservation of property.
2. Slavery was legitimated by the Constitution.
124
2 ways the UK after the Glorious Revolution internalised Locke's ideas of the state?
1. 'Government by consent' with an elected and sovereign Commons.
2. House of Lords represents property owning classes interests.
125
2 philosophers who developed Lockian visions of the state?
1. Montesquieu with his work on the separation of powers.
2. Rousseau and social contract.
126
Why is the UK's embrace of liberal democracy limited compared to the US?
Never denied arbitrary power.
127
What is the tyranny of the majority and how do liberals account for it?
The idea that a democratic majority may overpower the state by sheer force of numbers and use the state to discharge duties which are beyond its capabilities.
Limiting of state power, as Montesquieu argued.
128
3 ways the US system internalised a wariness of the tyranny of the majority?
1. Federal system of government.
2. Enumerated restrictions in the Bill of Rights e.g. 2nd Amendment guns to protect from the state.
3. Separation of powers and checks and balances within the Federal Government.
129
Who in the early American context supports a check on the electorate in their writings and how?
Hamilton, wrote in the Federalist papers for extensive checks on the vagaries of public opinion, including the need for a Senate.
Madison wrote that the Senate could be more 'cool and deliberate' in debate.
130
What evidence is there of Locke's emphasis on fair and impartial justice in the US Constitution?
5th and 6th Amendment - right to remain silent and a right to a trial by jury.
131
How did liberals explain slavery?
A right to property means a right to human beings as property.
132
3 ways liberalism is incompatible with democracy?
1. Democracy necessitates collective action and can be seen as a sanction for further collective action.
2. Property rights are threatened by a large base of voters, many of whom do not own property but would doubtless want to.
3. According to Locke, there must be a higher law which entrenches the laws of nature. This is where the Constitution comes from. But democratic laws may obstruct these.
133
How does Locke anticipate the skepticism about democracy later liberal thinkers show?
Declares that people act in their best interests, so if their best interests is to steal property, then they shall do so
Especially if they have legitimated statute law to appear on the same basis as natural law
FOR LOCKE, THE FRANCHISE SHOULD BE RESTRICTED TO THE LANDOWNING CLASS
134
What key argument can be made that democracy is incompatible with liberalism?
Any democratic body no doubt pollutes the independence of the impartial judiciary, which is more important
E.g. SCOTUS in the US and politicisation
135
Why is the power of a democratic government necessarily limited in a classical liberal state?
Natural rights theory implies that certain principles are inalienable regardless of election results.
136
How are tolerance and democracy at odds?
Democracy is guided by majorities. How can it honour the views of minorities?
137
3 ways democracy is compatible with liberalism?
1. Locke endorsed 'government by consent' and stated the need for mechanistic theory.
2. The concentration of political power is inherently dangerous to liberals - democracy prevents this.
3. Liberals believe that electors are rational and hence capable of rational democratic decisions.
138
Locke rejected the twin pillars of the traditional European state. What were these?
1. Monarchical absolutism.
2. Divine Right of Kings.
139
5 key characteristics of early classical liberalism?
RAMLN
1. Revolutionary implications.
2. Negative liberty.
3. Minimal government.
4. Laissez-Faire capitalism.
5. Ambivalent towards democracy.
140
How did revolutionary potential shape early classical liberalism?
1. Locke's ideas, written concurrently to the Glorious Revolution, became a rallying cry for revolutionaries everywhere.
2. A belief in rationality instead of original sin and human frailty turbocharged revolts in America and France.
3. The debunking of the twin pillars of the traditional European state motivated many revolutions.
141
When was the term negative liberty coined?
20th Century by Isaiah Berlin.
142
Where does the main thrust for negative liberty come from?
On Liberty by John Stuart Mill - freedom means being left alone.
143
How did Locke support negative liberty?
Supported the notion that society was naturally atomistic and that individuals were essentially rafts of self-interest.
144
2 consequences of negative liberty in early classical liberal statecraft?
1. Economics.
2. Size of the state restricted.
145
What is the difference between the minimal government and the minimal state?
Minimal government refers not to the structure of the state but how much governing the state can do
Minimal state refers to the size of the state and its institutions
Liberals are always more in favour of a minimal government, because a large state with checks and balances is needed, but not one which interferes excessively
146
How do liberals strike a balance?
Liberals are always more in favour of a minimal government, because a large state with checks and balances is needed, but not one which interferes excessively.
147
For Locke, structural constraints on state power are...
Not enough - the notion of minimal government should inform state decision making
It is not a question of CAN we do this, it is a question of SHOULD we do this
148
Thomas Jefferson quote which reflects the classical liberal emphasis on the state and negative liberty?
'When government grows, our liberty withers'.
149
Where does classical liberal faith in laissez-faire capitalism come from?
Negative liberty.
150
How did Locke feel about democracy and so what did he do?
Democracy represented a threat to 'natural' property rights.
Confine the franchise to property owners.
151
What did early socialists say about liberalism and why?
Just a cover for bourgeois class interests.
The right to vote was confined to property owners and the system was an open defence of private property.
152
Ways the Glorious Revolution was liberal?
Mechanistic theory - challenges the natural fealty to the King, and introduces a government by consent in the Commons
In defence of natural rights
153
Ways the Glorious Revolution was not liberal?
Underlined by religious chauvinism.
Gave sweeping powers to Parliament to implement taxes.
154
2 ways the American Revolution was liberal?
1. In defence of natural rights, notably the right to property.
2. Caused by a lack of representation, introduced a representative system of government.
155
2 ways the American Revolution was not liberal?
1. Denied the right to self-actualisation to slaves.
2. Was the UK actually tyrannical?
156
3 ways the French Revolution was not liberal?
1. Huge state overreach in the form of executions etc. La Terreur.
2. Failed to implement an impartial judicial system - instead, it was politicised.
3. Men do not obey reason, but resort to violence.
157
Where does mainstream conservatism come from?
A critical reaction by many Whigs against the horrors of the French Revolution.
158
Approximately how many died in La Terreur?
27,000.
159
What is the turning point in liberalism?
The point in 1789 where liberals have to decide what side they stand on.
160
Why does Burke fundamentally oppose the French Revolution?
Because, unlike the American Revolution, the French are seeking to impose upon a society a premeditated and engineered societal structure, which Burke refers to as a "philosophical abstraction". He argues that change not based on empirical experience is dangerous, and he is vindicated
161
What critical reaction did many Whigs have against the French Revolution?
A critical reaction by many Whigs against the horrors of the French Revolution.
162
Why does Burke fundamentally oppose the French Revolution?
Because, unlike the American Revolution, the French are seeking to impose upon a society a premeditated and engineered societal structure, which Burke refers to as a 'philosophical abstraction'. He argues that change not based on empirical experience is dangerous, and he is vindicated.
163
What epistemology does Burke espouse and how?
Empiricism. Change should proceed on the basis of experience, not 'philosophical abstractions'.
164
What are 4 relevant pieces of context for Edmund Burke?
1. Went to a Quaker school, and attends Trinity College Dublin with the Protestant elite
2. The son of a Protestant lawyer and a Catholic mother. Burke's father may well have been a Catholic
3. Marries a Catholic
4. Supported radical causes
Clearly a tolerant person and a typical Whig
## Footnote
Clearly a tolerant person and a typical Whig.
165
What are 4 radical causes Burke supported?
1. Impeachment of Governor General of Bengal Warren Hastings for alleged cruelty.
2. Advocate of Adam Smith's free trade.
3. American Revolution supporter after 1776.
4. Defended Irish tenants against landlords.
Had a pretty woke private life too
## Footnote
Had a pretty woke private life too.
166
What are the key tenets of Burkean thought summarized?
HOTEL JP
Hierarchy is natural and desirable.
Organicism - link to empiricism.
Tradition - link to empiricism.
Empiricism - change on the basis of experience.
Localism - small platoons.
Judaeo-Christian morality - link to tradition
Paternalism.
167
What is a key Burkean quote that shows he is not a reactionary?
'A state without some means of change is without the means of its conservation.'
168
What was Burke's view of human nature?
Humans are fallible, but not evil. They are incapable of the kind of perfect rationality espoused by Locke or Hobbes.
169
Why did Burke disbelieve the French Revolution?
Aspired to an unattainable model of society based on a wholly unrealistic estimation of human nature and its capabilities.
170
Was Burke always pessimistic about human nature and potential? Evidence?
No. In his early works he discusses the concept of the 'imaginative community' which can override political/religious divisions.
171
What are 3 things about Burke's early work that hints at his later conservatism?
1. The imaginative community and inter-communal reconciliation.
2. On the Vindication of Natural Society - people are linked together, and to institutions, by emotion, not by rationality.
3. He spends much of his early work discussing the limits of centralised power.
172
What is a Burke empiricism quote?
'Example is the school of mankind, and they will learn at no other.'
173
What is the key difference between a Burkean and a Hobbesian state and why?
Power centralisation.
Burke believes power corrupts, and he has a very negative view of human nature.
174
What simile does Burke use to explain how the state and society works?
Society is more like a plant than a machine, it has a dynamism beyond rational comprehension.
175
Why does Burke believe in a hierarchy?
He sees equality as a philosophical abstraction, whereas traditional aristocracy has been tried and tested.
176
What does Burke say about his ruling class?
They must govern ON BEHALF of the people. The failure of the French aristocracy to do this made them responsible for the revolution of 1789.
177
Where does Burke's emphasis on platonic society come from?
A reaction against the highly centralised structure of France.
178
What did Burke say the small units in his society would be like?
'Little platoons' which would 'acknowledge, nurture and prune... the crooked timber of humanity.'
179
What are 2 key elements of a Burkean view of human nature?
1. FIXED - unlike socialism and developmental/transitional liberalism - human fallibility is built in.
2. FLAWED - we are fallible, but also occasionally greedy and self-interested.
180
Is Burke's view of human nature closer to Locke's or Hobbes'?
Arguably Locke's, because he sees humans as entities trying to be rational, only repeatedly failing by the constraints of our own humanity.
181
What is the key difference between Lockian and Burkean views of human nature?
The nobility of self-interest.
Locke portrays ambition as the motivation for the minimal state and, by his views on economics, argues it is the path to societal economic enrichment.
Burke, on the other hand, believes it is the cause of many societal problems.
182
What is a Burke quote about how human ambition is bad?
'The cause of the greatest disappointments, miseries and misfortunes, and sometimes of dangerous immoralities.'
183
What are 3 ways Burke and Hobbes are similar?
1. Both see human nature as in some way problematic, although they express this differently.
2. Both see hierarchy in society as natural and desirable.
3. Both demote liberal ideas e.g. individualism, liberty and equality below the notion of securing the state.
184
What are 3 key differences between Burke and Hobbes?
1. The degree of human frailty - Hobbes seems to think humans are maleficent and evil.
2. The power the state can have and how centralised that power ought to be.
3. Differing views of the economy.
185
Why is Burke's view of the economy somewhat weird?
Depends on individual rationality and perfect information, neither of which Burke thinks humans are capable of achieving.
186
What is Burke's view on hierarchy?
Ok with a degree of aristocratic privilege as long as that aristocratic lineage accepts its role as a paternal influence on the rest of society.
187
What is evidence that Burke wasn't wholly doubtful of human nature?
"Man is by nature reasonable"
Assertion that, despite all the things holding men back from imperfection, they do try nonetheless
## Footnote
Assertion that, despite all the things holding men back from imperfection, they do try nonetheless.
188
Why did Burke respect the American Revolution and not the French?
Colonists defending an established way of life, whereas the French were imposing a philosophical concept.
189
How did Burke describe the French Revolution?
A mistake which would lead to 'fearsome darkness.'
190
What chasm did Burke describe?
There exists 'a timeless chasm' between human ambition and achievement.
191
What is the major difference in human nature views of Hobbes and the New Right and Burke?
Merciless individualism versus co-dependent collectivism.
192
What view of the state and society do Burke and Hobbes share?
There are no natural societies, natural rights and natural laws. Those that exist exist because of the state's insurance. Without a state there can be none of these things. Therefore, the strong state precedes all.
193
What is the further development of Burke's view that the state is a necessary condition of society?
Organicism - society takes its present form not by some natural predestination but by slow and gradual development.
194
What is a Burke quote about tradition?
'Partnership... between those who are living, those who are dead and those who are to be born.'
195
Why, despite Burke's emphasis on not adopting "philosophical abstractions", does Judaeo-Christian morality play a central role in Burkean conservatism?
Tradition.
196
What is a paternalism quote of Burke?
Rich must 'enlighten and protect the weaker.'
197
What is the limit on Burke's hierarchical ideas of the state?
There must be a constitution.
198
What is the key difference on individualism for Burke and Locke?
Burke - to be constrained.
Locke - to flourish.
199
Why are communities necessary for Burke?
1. Limit worst excesses of individualism.
2. Provide a sense of community and identity.
200
What are 3 key tenets of the Burkean state?
1. Power should be constrained according to traditional constitutional means.
2. The state should aim to manage change empirically.
3. Driven by an aristocratic paternalistic elite.
201
What are conservative state features?
1. Devolved democracy for the little platoons.
2. Tight enforcement of the rule of law so that society can exist.
3. Traditional constitutionalism and power sharing.
202
How can later conservatives' relationship with capitalism be characterized?
'Reluctant capitalists'.
'Capitalists with caveats.'
203
What are 4 reasons conservatives are naturally opposed to capitalism?
1. Individualism and self-interest necessary brings out the worst in human nature.
2. Harder to achieve state control with interdependent economies.
3. Platoons become less identifiable in industrialised societies, creating antagonistic societies.
4. The ruling class is not made up of a paternalistic elite, but on those who have displayed the most ruthlessness.
204
What is Burke's magnum opus?
Reflections on the Revolution in France, 1790.
205
What are 2 uses of tradition for Burke?
1. Guide future change.
2. Constrain worst excesses of human nature.
206
How might Burke justify his support for free markets?
Organicism.
207
How do early classical liberals defend gender inequality?
Application of 'natural law' to justify a natural sexual dimorphism.
208
Where does gender inequality perhaps stem from?
1. Sexual dimorphism in humans tends to physically favour males.
2. It was probably with the development of the manual plough in early agricultural societies.
209
What are 2 pieces of evidence that shows that agricultural societies may have created gender inequality?
1. Generally reduced degrees of gender inequality in wetland agricultural environment, because women do not need to drive the plough. This has been observed empirically.
2. Early sources from agricultural societies show evidence of gender inequality.
210
What does religion do to gender inequality?
Cast it.
Because initial agricultural inequalities were now codified.
211
How does Judaeo-Christian tradition denigrate women?
Adam & Eve - woman takes a part of man, and so women are subservient to men.
Also, it is Eve who eats the apple in the Garden of Eden.
212
Why did the Bible preach that women were inferior to men?
Timothy and Corinthians - women must be silent in church.
Appears to be taken from Jewish tradition.
213
Where was gender inequality reversed and what does it suggest?
Sparta.
Because slaves were used in lieu of men. Women's inferiority is domestic, not religious.
214
What was the status of women like in France before the French Revolution?
Inferior.
215
Who was Marie-Jean Caritat? What did he do?
The Marquis de Condorcet.
Published an article in July 1790 in support of full political rights for women.
216
Was Caritat a revolutionary?
No, he was an aristocrat, but he later became an ardent Republican.
217
What effect did Caritat's letter have?
Caused a major stir, and drew a large following under the study group The Cercle Social.
218
Who was in the Cercle Social?
Etta Palm d'Aelders - a Dutch woman, who called for equal political rights.
219
Who are 3 people active in French Revolutionary circles calling for equal rights?
1. Jean-Marie Caritat.
2. Olympe de Gouges.
3. Constance Pipelet.
220
What did de Gouges do?
Well, she died in 1793 by guillotine, but before that she published an important pamphlet entitled the Declaration of the Rights of Woman in 1791, mocking the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen for omitting female rights by echoing it.
221
Was de Gouges popular?
No, but she was notorious.
222
What did Pipelet say?
A popular writer, Pipelet made the case after the revolution for greater education for women.
223
What ultimately happened to the Cercle Social?
Tainted by association with the Girondins, it failed to gain influence.
224
What does de Gouges really argue?
That the natural rights stated for men should be extended to women.
225
How do men counterargue de Gouges?
Robert Filmer de Patriarcha.
Woman's subjugation is natural i.e. because of their reduced rationality, they are not entitled to equal natural laws and rights.
226
When does Wollstonecraft first write which attracts our attention? Why does she write it?
1790 Vindication of the Rights of Men.
In direct response to Burke's Reflections on the Revolution in France OF THE SAME YEAR.
227
What is a key quote about how Wollstonecraft thinks men and women should be perceived as equals?
'Virtue can only flourish amongst equals.'
228
What is the key Wollstonecraft quote about gender and rationality?
'Mind has no gender.'
229
What is Wollstonecraft's main idea?
Women must get the same education as men to compete with them.
230
What kind of society does Wollstonecraft believe in? Evidence?
An individualistic society.
Women not being dependent on men e.g. through family structures.
231
How does Wollstonecraft develop the empiricism of Locke?
Women must see themselves as equal to men and have undertaken education so as to see the world the same as men do.
232
What did Wollstonecraft believe the first step towards equality was and key comment?
Education.
MUST come from women educating themselves!
233
What is a Wollstonecraft quote about education?
'Strengthen the female mind by enlarging it, there will be an end to blind obedience.'
234
When was 'free love' invented? Why? What impact does it have on Wollstonecraft?
1791. French Revolutionary upheaval.
Wollstonecraft had many extramarital relationships etc. which destroyed her own reputation after her death.
235
What is evidence that the French Revolution challenged existing moral standards regarding sex?
The Revolutionaries liberalised divorce law and decriminalised same-sex sex, but did not go further than this.
236
What are 5 contextual influences on Wollstonecraft?
1. Her family. She had been born into a previously wealthy family who had tumbled down the social hierarchy due to the actions of her alcoholic father. This is where her criticism of marriage probably comes from.
2. Enthusiastic supporter of the French Revolution who goes there and lives under threat of death from the Reign of Terror.
3. Has a relationship with Gilbert Imlay which leaves her a daughter. Gilbert disappears.
4. Later marries William Godwin and has a second daughter Mary, but gets postpartum sickness and dies. Godwin publishes the Memoirs, which scandalise Wollstonecraft.
5. Attempts suicide after the Imlay thing.
237
What relevance does the sister Eliza have to Wollstonecraft's story?
In Wollstonecraft's youth, she helped her sister Eliza escape with her infant child to live alone.
238
Why might Wollstonecraft emphasise the responsibility of individuals in their own emancipation?
Her personal context - succeeding despite the odds.
239
What are 2 works of Wollstonecraft and what did they contain?
1. A Vindication of the Rights of Men (1790) - a defence from Burke.
2. A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792) - attacked male libertinism.
240
What did A Vindication of the Rights of Woman address? Why were many of its readers then put off by the memoirs?
Attacked male sexual libertinism
Wollstonecraft advocated greater chastity for both men and women, when in her own life she seemed to take the opposite approach
241
What are the two works of Wollstonecraft?
1. A Vindication of the Rights of Men (1790) - a defence from Burke
2. A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792) - attacked male libertinism
242
What did A Vindication of the Rights of Woman address?
Attacked male sexual libertinism
243
What was Wollstonecraft's view on marriage?
Women are not equal to men as things stand so the relationship is one of dependence and servitude.
244
What does the Vindication of the Rights of Man say about the revolutionaries?
Attacks the revolutionaries for their failure
She is in Paris in 1792, 2 years after the publication. Her life is endangered
245
How did Wollstonecraft's view of marriage change?
Went from against to more ambiguous - i.e. in favour if the partners were equal
Still in her own life lived in a separate apartment to her husband William Godwin
246
Was Godwin the one who wanted to get married?
No. He was an anarchist and had written against marriage before
Wollstonecraft has asked this before. She asked Imlay to marry her
247
What did Wollstonecraft think about 'femininity' and 'feminine virtues'?
Femininity is made by society - there are no female virtues.
248
What does Wollstonecraft believe about the 'female identity'?
Only really becomes significant once women are in a romantic relationship.
249
What did Wollstonecraft say about romantic relationships?
Must be built on the basis of equal esteem, with both partners seeing each other as equals, and must stem from a solid friendship before sexual urges.
250
What did Wollstonecraft characterise female virtues as?
A barrier to rationality when considered outside of a relationship.
251
What is important to remember when discussing Wollstonecraft?
THE EXAM BOARD CONSIDERS HER A LIBERAL KEY THINKER.
252
What was Wollstonecraft's main claim as a liberal thinker?
Positive ideas about human nature apply to ALL people, regardless of gender or background.
253
In the liberal reading of Wollstonecraft's legacy, what is she saying?
That women represent the fate of all minorities to whom equal esteem is denied.
254
Why did Wollstonecraft think fettering female individualism was bad?
Bad for economics and society
"such arrangements are not conditions where reason and progress may prosper"
## Footnote
'such arrangements are not conditions where reason and progress may prosper.'
255
How did Wollstonecraft get the ball rolling for Mill?
Condemned women's own limited ambition and said it was the result of an insufficient education
Pioneered ideas of developmental individualism and the role of education
256
What are 4 views of Wollstonecraft on human nature?
1. All human beings are rational, and subsequent denial of natural rights to some groups for supposed inferiority is unjust and tyrannical.
2. Individualism is vital, and the denial of it is both economically bad and bad for human experience.
3. Optimism underlining sympathy for the French Revolution.
4. We must be educated to achieve our full potential.
257
What are 3 views of Wollstonecraft on the state?
1. The monarchical state should be replaced by a republican administration which grants equal political rights to all.
2. Democracy is vital given the need for individual expression and individual rationality.
3. A constitution must be put in place to protect all individuals equally.
258
What are 3 views of Wollstonecraft on society?
1. A lack of education means that societal oppression can continue e.g. marriage; therefore, people must be educated.
2. Individualism must not be stifled, particularly in property - women should have equal property rights.
3. A perfect, utopian society is achievable.
259
What are 3 views of Wollstonecraft on the economy?
1. A free market economy would be energised by the enterprise of liberated women.
2. Property must be held equally by women.
3. Female self-sufficiency is necessary such that marriage is not oppressive.
260
Why does Wollstonecraft ask why women are property of men?
Wollstonecraft asks why women are not entitled to equal rationality.
261
With reference to the liberal and conservative thinkers you have studied, analyse and evaluate the extent to which traditional liberalism and conservatism are compatible with democracy
Intro; define traditional liberalism and traditional conservatism
P1; liberalism compatible due to human nature
P2; conservatism incompatible due to human nature
P3; liberalism incompatible due to threat to individualism and threat of government expansion
P4; conservatism compatible due to the need to limit power and empirical change
Conclusion; mixed picture but liberalism ultimately more compatible
262
Also in the Vindication of the Rights of Woman...
Why are women property of men? - Wollstonecraft asks why women are not entitled to equal rationality
