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Politics Paper 1 > Liberalism > Flashcards

Liberalism Flashcards

(57 cards)

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1
Q

What is Liberalism?

A

a philosophy that emphasises freedom of individual

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2
Q

Principles of Liberalism

A
  • individualism
  • freedom and liberty
  • the state as a ‘necessary evil’
  • rationalism
  • equality and social justice
  • liberal democracy
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3
Q

Who is associated with ‘individualism’ and what does he say?

A

Immanuel Kant
all individuals are unique and have equal worth

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4
Q

What is categorical imperative?

A

people should not be treated as instruments to achieve a particular goal
people should be regarded for their own value

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5
Q

What is egoistical liberalism?

A

society is a collection of self seeking individuals that should be self reliant
self reliance over dependency

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6
Q

What is the most important liberal value?

A

freedom and liberty

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7
Q

What is the liberal view on freedom?

A

freedom must be exercised under the law
we still need the law to uphold freedom

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8
Q

Locke on Freedom

A

freedom is upheld by the law
the aim of the law is to protect and uphold freedom

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9
Q

John Stuart Mill on Freedom

A

negative and positive freedom

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10
Q

‘Negative Freedom’

A

individuals should only be constrained when their actions harm others

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11
Q

‘Positive Freedom’

A

individuals should be able to control their own destiny and achieve self-fulfilment

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12
Q

Jeremy Bentham on Freedom

A

governments sole purpose is to protect individual freedom and property to any threats

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13
Q

Jeremy Bentham on the state

A

government should be as minimal as possible
its sole purpose is to protect individual freedom and property to any threats

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14
Q

Liberalism on the state

A

negative view of the state
suspicious of the power of the state

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15
Q

What is the state needed to do according to Liberals?

A

necessary to avert disorder and protect the vulnerable

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16
Q

What type of government do liberals favour?

A

limited government
separation of powers so there is no concentration of power in one institution

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17
Q

What systems that exist in western democracies do liberals support?

A
  • devolution in UK
  • US ‘bill of rights’
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18
Q

Give some examples of limitation on the state that Liberals would agree with

A
  • free and fair elections
  • magna carta
  • human rights act
  • habeas corpus
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19
Q

Liberals on Human Nature

A

human reason - humans should be free to make their own decisions without needing to be guided by external authorities

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20
Q

What is the liberal view on rationalism?

A
  • faith in reason and science rather than religion, authority or tradition
  • we should all take responsibility for the choices we make
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21
Q

What do liberals believe should always come before conflict?

A

reasoned debate
liberals are wary of conflict

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22
Q

Liberals on Social Justice

A

Meritocracy - people should be rewarded for their efforts and abilities rather than their status at birth

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23
Q

Two types of equality that Liberals are interested in

Study These Flashcards
A
  1. equality of opportunity
  2. foundational equality
24
Q

What do liberals believe about equality?

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A

people should be awarded based on their different abilities and potential

25
How does the views on equality differ between Modern and Classic Liberals?
Modern Liberals - there should be some state intervention to narrow inequalities Classic Liberals - inequality can act as an incentive for people to try and better themselves by working harder
26
What do Liberals say about Democracy?
regular and free elections allows the power of the state to be limited
27
Social Contract meaning
people must agree to be governed in order for society to run smoothly, there must be an agreement to give up some freedom in the interest of security
28
Modern Liberals on Liberal Democracy
excessive democracy may lead to 'tyranny of the majority' therefore argue for the protection of minority rights
29
What is Locke's main principle?
the idea of social contract society, state and government are based on a voluntary agreement or contract
30
Locke on the state
government should be limited by consent from below role is to uphold our basic liberties and protect us from the threat of foreign invasion and social disorder
31
Locke on equality
natural rights and natural laws - people are equal in rights and must respect each others rights rulers and citizens are all subject to the law
32
Locke on human nature
individuals are rational entities
33
What do humans acknowledge about our liberties according to Locke?
due to the power of reason and rationality we fully acknowledge that our liberties are best protected via governance by the state
34
What idea does Locke reject?
anarchism "where laws do not exist, man has no freedom" a stateless society is one which we would be devoid of freedom
35
What is John Stuart Mill's main proposal?
harm principle
36
What does John Stuart Mill mean by 'harm principle'?
humans should be free to do whatever they want as long as it doesn't affect other people
37
John Stuart Mill on human nature
humans are sovereign entities capable of exercising free will
38
What does John Stuart Mill believe threatens the liberal goal of freedom?
disposition of custom - warns against the mediocrity of public opinion he believes there is a tendency to tell everyone to act in the same manner which crushes self expression
39
What does John Stuart Mill propose in order to guard against the disposition of custom?
we must avoid forcing our opinion on others unless we are certain of their truth same way Locke is suspicious of religious tolerance - using force to change someones beliefs is irrational
40
John Stuart Mill on the state
state intervention needed to prevent the poor from enduring injustice e.g. tolerance, flat tax on income, inheritance tax
41
What is John Rawls' main proposal?
'veil of ignorance'
42
Veil of Ignorance
promotes impartial decision making denies decision makers access to potentially biassing information e.g. class gender race talents etc
43
What is the benefit of the 'Veil of Ignorance'?
- people would not be certain about how successful they would be - therefore people would agree on the importance of equal rights including freedom of speech and right of assembly
44
Rawls on Society
under the veil of ignorance people would want a fairer society with adequate housing, safe neighbourhoods, a good education system and an unbiased criminal justice system
45
Rawls on Equality
everyone has an equal entitlement to certain basic rights acceptance that there would always be degree of inequality but a just society should aim to minimise the difference between outcomes for the best off and the poorest
46
What are Mary Wollstonecraft's main proposals?
- women are no more or less rational than men - both should be treated equally as rational human beings
47
Wollstonecraft on human nature
women are rational, independent beings capable of reason
48
Wollstonecraft on equality
formal equality - women are entitled to the same civil liberties as men equality of opportunity - valid for both sexes
49
What does formal equality achieve according to Wollstonecraft?
women would be able to experience a life of genuine liberty, free from the constraints of patriarchy, legal and political rights
50
What is the key to achieving formal equality according to Wollstonecraft?
education - it would enable a woman to gain self respect and to realise her potential
51
Wollstonecraft on Freedom
female liberty comes from formal equality
52
Wollstonecraft on equality of opportunity
recognises that as a result of biology women were more likely to opt for marriage and motherhood she wanted women to have the opportunity to choose between the two routes
53
Friedan on equality
she wishes to reform society so that women could easily choose between a career or domestic role depending on what they wanted this would result in true equal rights
54
Friedan on the state
any laws which prevented equality of opportunity for women should be repealed
55
Friedan on society
society is responsible for conditioning women to take on domestic roles rather than innate biological tendencies
56
Friedan on human nature
women should be seen just as capable as men of having successful careers in a number of different fields
57
Friedan on Freedom
the lack of freedom women have leads to unhappiness and unfulfillment

Politics Paper 1 (8 decks)

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