Classical liberalism Flashcards
What are the 4 distinctive features of early classical liberalism?
-revolutionary potential
-negative liberty
-minimal state
-laissez-faire capitalism
What is revolutionary potential as believed as a feature of early classical liberalism?
Locke’s ideas of gov by consent and opposition to divine right of kings required vigorous argument and sometimes revolutionary upheaval.
Similarly, rationalism and the idea of society being geared to maximal individual freedom not firmly accepted at the time
Mary Wollestonecraft’s idea that treatment of women denied them reason or liberty was seen as dangerously radical. Her idea that men and women required formal education to release their innate power of reason would later be seen as undisputedly liberal
What is negative liberty as believed as a feature of early classical liberalism?
Negative liberty was defined as freedom with absence of restraint and being left alone to pursue their own destiny. Individuals should therefore assume they are naturally free, unless stated otherwise
What do early classical liberals believe about the size of the state?
MINIMAL STATE
defined by negative liberty, governments should be limited in how they act and in what they do
What was Jefferson’s quote about minimal state?
‘The government that is best is that which governs least… when government grows, our liberty withers’
What is laissez faire capitalism as believed as a feature of early classical liberalism?
Adam Smith argued that capitalism, via the ‘invisible hand’ of the market forces had a limitless potential to enrich society and those within it. The wealth would then trickle down as long as the state took a laissez faire approach, meaning to leave it alone. Smith therefore advocated for the end of tariffs and duties which had protected domestic producers and the spread of free trade
What was Wollstonecraft’s primary message and why was it important?
that the Enlightenment’s optimistic view of human nature, and the ability of reason, should apply to all- male and female, as at the time both the state and society implied women weren’t rational and so denied them freedom and equality
Women had little rights once married or protection against her spouse and had no way to get divorced. Women could also not vote, which was seen as a violation of ‘government by consent’.
What movement did Wollstonecraft praise?
the French revolution- they put emphasis on ‘citizens’ showing apparent indifference to gender differences
How did Wollstonecraft think these views towards women would hold society back?
Society was limiting their stock of intelligence, wisdom and morality. She observed that ‘such arrangements are not conditions where reason and progress may prosper’
The denial of liberty to half the population left society vulnerable to doctrines that threatened the whole spirit of the enlightenment
Who made the subjugation of women worse according to Wollstonecraft?
women themselves as they were often complicit, generally desiring motherhood and marriage
What did Wollstonecraft think was the solution to women being denied liberty and individualism?
formal education should be made available to as many women as possible. Without this, they could never develop their rational faculties, never realize their potential and never realize the absurdity of illiberal principles like the divine right of kings
What caused a change from earlier classical liberalism to later classical liberalism?
Communities had become more urbanized and individuals had a growing sense of class consciousness
What was Jeremy Bentham’s response to changes in classical liberalism
known as the father to utilitarian philosophy. To prevent clashes in individuals looking to maximize personal pleasure and minimize pain in an urban society, the state should be more proactive in making ‘the greatest happiness of the greatest number
The provides some of the foundations of democracy
What was Samuel Smiles’s response to changes in classical liberalism
-self reliance was feasible for most people, including all classes.
- acknowledged that industrialized societies made it harder for individuals to be self reliant
- In seeking to overcome new factory obstacles, people were merely challenged more rigorously and in the process became more fully developed.
- If ‘self help were usurped by state help… human beings would remain stunted, their talents unknown, and their liberty squandered’.
What was Herbert Spencer’s response to changes in classical liberalism
he acknowledges the importance of self help and echoed Smile’s contempt for more state intervention. However, he questions Smile’s belief that all individuals could rise to the challenge of self help noting the presence of a feeble minority, which he feared could justify an extension of state power and therefore cause an erosion of the majority’s freedom. Consequently, he sought to apply the principles of ‘natural selection’ in what became known as ‘social Darwinism. He restated how minimal state and negative liberty would lead to survival of the fittest and the gradual elimination of those unable to enjoy the benefits of individualism
