Liberalism Flashcards
To what extent do Liberals agree about society?
YES:
✓ Equality (rule of law can be included here)
✓ Human nature + natural rights
✓ Individualism
NO:
☓ Minimal v enabling state
☓ Liberty (-ve + +ve)
☓ Liberal democracy (tyranny of maj etc.)
or
Yes: human nature + individualism, social contract & free market + property
No: equality, self-reliance v collectivism, negative v positive liberty
Equality
– US Bill of Rights and UK Human Rights Act (1998) (CHECK GLOBAL EXAMPLES)
- Both of which protect legally what can be considered natural and inalienable rights
–1st, 5th, 6th amendment examples
– Blair - ‘barmy’ - allow nine Afghan hijackers temporary leave to remain in Britain
– NRA’s survaillance - probably unconstitutional
– 2010 = sex offenders on reg for life in breach of human rights (TERRORISM ACT 2005 REFORMS)
– Gladstone’s 1884 Reform Act included proposals that would give working class men equal voting rights.
– Wollstonecraft
– Justin Trudeau (2017) amended the Canadian Human Rights Act to add “gender identity and expression” to the list of federally prohibited grounds for discrimination
– Equality Act 2010 – Protected characteristics
– Equality Act (1928) and The Education Act (1944) which made secondary education free in the UK
– “An injustice is tolerable only when it is necessary to avoid an even greater injustice.” – Rawls
– Thomas Paine = hereditary rule “beyond equity, beyond reason”.
Human nature
– Rousseau = “man is born free, but is everywhere in chains”
– Mill = “better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a pig satisfied”
– Mill = any support for liberty must be “grounded on the permanent interests of man as a progressive being”
– Voltaire = “I detest what you say but will defend to the death your right to say it”
– Smith –> ‘The Theory of Moral Sentiments’ and ‘The Wealth of Nations’ = division of labour was the “necessary, though very slow and gradual, consequence in human nature”
– Mary Wollstonecraft = “my own sex will excuse me if I treat them like rational creatures”
Social contract + Rule of Law
-Locke = social contract - “himself under an obligation to everyone of that society”
– Thomas Paine = “is the only mode in which governments have a right to arise
- R(Miller) v PM (2019)
- Belmarsh and Broadmoor
- Howard 10 times
- Blair- ‘barmy’ (2006)
–Impeachment of Pres
– Justices impeached - Thomas Porteous 2010 - 15/20
- Sarah Everard killer
– George Floyd killer
- s.6 - police can be sued
- Chris Huhne - points
- David Chaytor, Jim Devine etc. - expenses scandal
- Nixon = “when Pres does it it’s not illegal” - wrong
Individualism
– Mill – “Over his own body and mind, the individual is sovereign”
– Kant = “ends in themselves” (not means to an end)
– Gladstone = “liberalism is trust in the people”
– Kant - each individual - right to external freedom “by virtue of his humanity.”
- People should not be treated as instruments to achieve a goal but as possessing intrinsic value = Kant = ‘categorical imperative’
– “There’s no such thing as society. There are individual men and women” – Thatcher
– Mill = “It is better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a pig satisfied”
– Samuel Smiles = individual had become the “faceless employee in a bulging factoring system”
– American Political Journalist, Norman Cousins = “in a democracy, the individual enjoys not only the ultimate power but carries the ultimate responsibility”
– Thatcher = “There’s no such thing as society, there are only individual men and women”
– DLG = Liberal Reforms = National Insurance Act (1911), Pensions Act (1908)
– Beveridge Report (1941) - 5 giants - welfare state should provide = “the cradle to the grave”
– Same Sex Marriage Act (2014 )
– Obama’s Defence of Marriage Act 2015
– Voltaire = “I hate what you say but will defend unto death your right to say it”
Liberty
– Milton Friedman = “a society that puts equality ahead of freedom will end up with neither equality nor freedom”
– Hayek = “a society that does not recognise that each individual has values of his own… cannot really know freedom”
– T.H. Green = society organic whole
? more
Economy
– “The government that is best is that which governs least” – Thomas Jefferson
– “The minds of men are of no concern to the federal government” - Jefferson
– Mill – The individual is the best judge of their own interests, and no authority can claim superior knowledge
– Locke - hated authoritarian govts making decisions on behalf of the people
– Herbert Spencer = survival of fittest
– Rawls = “Justice as fairness provides what we want”
– Betty Friedan = Too many individuals western society limited
– DLG = Liberal Reforms = National Insurance Act (1911), Pensions Act (1908)
– Beveridge Report (1941) - 5 giants - welfare state should provide = “the cradle to the grave”
– Beveridge = “a starving man cannot be free”
– Welsh Labour setting the maximum level of council tax premiums on second homes at 300% from April 2023
‘There is more that unites than divides liberals’. Discuss
YES:
✓ Human nature (+natural rights + key concepts)
✓ Political liberalism (Rule of Law, Const+frag govt)
✓ Economic (meritocracy, equality of opportunity)
NO:
☓ Political (liberal democracy)
☓ Economy (laissez-faire + free-market v keynesian, minimal v enabling state)
☓ Key concepts (individualism, equality, liberty)
Human nature
– Rousseau = “man is born free, but is everywhere in chains”
– Mill = “better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a pig satisfied”
– any support for liberty must be “grounded on the permanent interests of man as a progressive being”
– Voltaire = “I detest what you say but will defend to the death your right to say it”
– Smith –> ‘The Theory of Moral Sentiments’ and ‘The Wealth of Nations’ = division of labour was the “necessary, though very slow and gradual, consequence in human nature”
– Kant = Individuals should be “ends in themselves”
Political liberalism (Rule of Law, Const+frag govt)
– Suggested 2010 Sheriff’s First Legislation which would make it a crime for any federal agent to operate within a county without permission of the sheriff who are locally elected and accountable
– Madison = “the accumulation of power is the very definition of tyranny”
– Lord Acton = “all power corrupts”
– Montesquieu = “power should be a check against power”
– Madison = “States retain the authority to judge whether the constitution has been dangerously violated by the federal government”
- R(Miller) v PM (2019)
- Belmarsh and Broadmoor
- Howard 10 times
- Blair- ‘barmy’
–Impeachment of Pres
– Justices impeached - Thomas Porteous 2010 - 15/20
- Sarah Everard killer
– George Floyd killer
- s.6 - police can be sued
– Nixon = “When Pres does it it’s not illegal”
Economy (meritocracy, equality of opportunity)
– Justin Trudeau (2017) amended the Canadian Human Rights Act to add “gender identity and expression” to the list of federally prohibited grounds for discrimination
– Equality Act 2010 – Protected characteristics
– Equality Act (1928) and The Education Act (1944) which made secondary education free in the UK
– “An injustice is tolerable only when it is necessary to avoid an even greater injustice.” – Rawls
– Thomas Paine - hereditary rule - “beyond equity, beyond reason”
– Hayek – “a society that does not recognise that each individual has values of his own… cannot really know freedom”
– Fair Housing Act (1968) = can’t discriminate on housing based on race
– Equal Economic Opportunity Commission
Political (liberal democracy)
– American Political Journalist, Norman Cousins = “in a democracy, the individual enjoys not only the ultimate power but carries the ultimate responsibility”
– May - ‘cabinet that looked like the nation it serves’
– Scot 2014- 84.6%
– EU- 72.2%
– GFa- 81%
“No two countries with McDonald’s franchises have ever gone to war.” – Thomas Friedman
– Wakeham Report 2000- recommended improving rep. of HOL, but only 30% female, 6% ethnic minority
– 118th congress rep statistics
– Tyranny of majority - YouGuv = 59% MPs not rep of wider population
– EU Withdrawal Act 2020- 37% of electorate’s approval
– IPPR analysis shows that the 2010 GE was decided by just 111 constituencies, fewer than 460,000 voters, 1.6% of the electorate
Economy (laissez-faire + free-market v keynesian, minimal v enabling state)
– Smith = “we are led by an invisible hand to promote an end which was no part our intention,” and “we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest”
– Mao 2000 = 50% of pop. was below the poverty line, 2019 = 1%
– “The government that is best is that which governs least” – Thomas Jefferson
– “The minds of men are of no concern to the federal government” - Jefferson
– Mill – The individual is the best judge of their own interests, and no authority can claim superior knowledge
– Locke - hated authoritarian govts making decisions on behalf of the people
– Herbert Spencer = survival of fittest
– Rawls = “Justice as fairness provides what we want”
– Betty Friedan = Too many individuals western society limited
– DLG = Liberal Reforms = National Insurance Act (1911), Pensions Act (1908)
– Beveridge Report (1941) - 5 giants - welfare state should provide = “the cradle to the grave”
– Beveridge = “a starving man cannot be free”
– Welsh Labour setting the maximum level of council tax premiums on second homes at 300% from April 2023
Key concepts
– Mill – “Over his own body and mind, the individual is sovereign”
– Kant = “ends in themselves” (not means to an end)
– Gladstone = “liberalism is trust in the people”
– Kant - each individual - right to external freedom “by virtue of his humanity.”
- People should not be treated as instruments to achieve a goal but as possessing intrinsic value = Kant = ‘categorical imperative’
– “There’s no such thing as society. There are individual men and women” – Thatcher
– Mill = “It is better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a pig satisfied”
– Samuel Smiles = individual had become the “faceless employee in a bulging factoring system”
– American Political Journalist, Norman Cousins = “in a democracy, the individual enjoys not only the ultimate power but carries the ultimate responsibility”
– Thatcher = “There’s no such thing as society, there are only individual men and women”
– DLG = Liberal Reforms = National Insurance Act (1911), Pensions Act (1908)
– Beveridge Report (1941) - 5 giants - welfare state should provide = “the cradle to the grave”
To what extent do Liberals agree about human nature?
YES:
✓ Optimistic view (rationality etc)
✓ Natural rights
✓ Equality, freedom, human flourishing
NO:
☓ How human nature is applied to the economy (self-sufficient individuals yet laissez faire v keynesian + minimal v enabling state) (role of govt in shaping human nature)
☓ Limited government (Lord Acton - all power corrupts, need cons+frag govt, checks and balances, limited, but in ‘state of nature’ had natural rights - contradictory)
☓ Individualism (Neo-libs - rational selfishness + egotistical individualism v developmental individualism)
Individualism
– Mill – “Over his own body and mind, the individual is sovereign”
– Kant = “ends in themselves” (not means to an end)
– Gladstone = “liberalism is trust in the people”
– Kant - each individual - right to external freedom “by virtue of his humanity.”
- People should not be treated as instruments to achieve a goal but as possessing intrinsic value = Kant = ‘categorical imperative’
– “There’s no such thing as society. There are individual men and women” – Thatcher
– Mill = “It is better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a pig satisfied”
– Samuel Smiles = individual had become the “faceless employee in a bulging factoring system”
– American Political Journalist, Norman Cousins = “in a democracy, the individual enjoys not only the ultimate power but carries the ultimate responsibility”
– Thatcher = “There’s no such thing as society, there are only individual men and women”
– DLG = Liberal Reforms = National Insurance Act (1911), Pensions Act (1908)
– Beveridge Report (1941) - 5 giants - welfare state should provide = “the cradle to the grave”
- Rand = “The question isn’t who is going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me”
- Rand = “Learn to value yourself, which means: to fight for your happiness”
- Rand = “man must exist for his own sake, neither sacrificing himself to others not sacrificing others to himself. The pursuit of his own rational self-interest and of his own happiness is the highest moral purpose of his life”
– Nozick = more optimistic = all individuals have self-ownership - owners of their own body, mind and abilities
To what extent do Liberals agree about the economy?
YES:
✓ Free market
✓ Private property
✓ Promotion of individualism/liberty
Meritocracy/equality
✓ Free market
NO:
☓ Government intervention
☓ Negative v positive freedom
☓ Self reliance v collectivism
Free market
can use conservative thinkers / evidence ?
– Smith = “we are led by an invisible hand to promote an end which was no part our intention,” and “we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest”
– Mao 2000 = 50% of pop. was below the poverty line, 2019 = 1%
Property
– Locke = “life liberty and estate”
– Locke = “preservation of property”
Key concepts (liberty, individualism, equality, meritocracy)
Government intervention
- Samuel Smiles = ‘Self-Help’
- Smiles = “Heaven helps those who help themselves”
- Smith = “The real tragedy of the poor is the poverty of their aspirations”
- Thatcher leaving 20 mines close - 20,000 jobs
- Sunak = letting businesses “bleed to death” as Chancellor in COVID
- Loss of 120,000 jobs lost in 2023
– DLG = Liberal Reforms = National Insurance Act (1911), Pensions Act (1908)
– Beveridge Report (1941) - 5 giants - welfare state should provide = “the cradle to the grave”
Negative v positive freedom
– Locke = “all mankind… being all equal and independent, no one ought to harm another in his life, heath, liberty or possessions”
– Mill’s Harm Principle = the Misuse of Drugs Act of (1971) - sanctions on hard drugs > soft drugs - limit actions that present a threat to others
To what extent do liberals agree on the role of the state?
YES:
✓ Pol - Limited state (modern-cons+fragmented) Rule of Law or natural rights
✓ Econ - Free market
✓ Key concepts - individualism, liberty, natural rights
NO:
☓ Negative + positive liberty (enabling+limited state) or Lib Democracy
☓ Econ - Laissez-faire v Keynesian
☓ Soc - equality of opportunity (Self reliance vs collectivism)
or -ve v +ve liberty
Natural rights
– Locke = “life liberty and estate”
– Locke = “preservation of property”
Limited state
– Madison = “the accumulation of power is the very definition of tyranny”
– Lord Acton = “all power corrupts”
– “The government that is best is that which governs least” – Thomas Jefferson
– “The minds of men are of no concern to the federal government” - Jefferson
– Same Sex Marriage Act (2014 )
– Obama’s Defence of Marriage Act 2015
– Voltaire = “I hate what you say but will defend unto death your right to say it”
To what extent do liberals agree on individualism?
YES:
✓ Limited state (+neo-lib- reject state promoting marriage etc.)
✓ Human Nature (+neo-lib- rational selfishness)
✓ Economic means as a promotion of individualism
Promotion of rights to protect the individual
NO:
☓ Egotistical v developmental
☓ Economic Collectivism - modern - more state involvement, welfare etc.
☓Positive vs negative rights
Limited state
– Same Sex Marriage Act (2014 )
– Obama’s Defence of Marriage Act 2015
– Voltaire = “I hate what you say but will defend unto death your right to say it”
– Article 9 ECHR - right to freedom of religion
- 1962 Sup Court ruling - prohibited teachers in public schools forcing kids to say morning prayers
- Bill to deestablish Church of England (sep of Church and state) introduced by Lib Dem peer Paul Scriven
Human nature
– Rousseau = “man is born free, but is everywhere in chains”
– Mill = “better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a pig satisfied”
– any support for liberty must be “grounded on the permanent interests of man as a progressive being”
– Voltaire = “I detest what you say but will defend to the death your right to say it”
– Smith –> ‘The Theory of Moral Sentiments’ and ‘The Wealth of Nations’ = division of labour was the “necessary, though very slow and gradual, consequence in human nature”
– Mary Wollstonecraft = “my own sex will excuse me if I treat them like rational creatures”
To what extent does modern liberalism depart from the ideas of classical liberalism?
YES:
✓ Individualism
✓ Liberty
✓ Economy
NO:
☓ Equality
☓ Human nature
☓ Free market
Individualism
– Mill – “Over his own body and mind, the individual is sovereign”
– Kant = “ends in themselves” (not means to an end)
– Gladstone = “liberalism is trust in the people”
– Kant - each individual - right to external freedom “by virtue of his humanity.”
- People should not be treated as instruments to achieve a goal but as possessing intrinsic value = Kant = ‘categorical imperative’
– “There’s no such thing as society. There are individual men and women” – Thatcher
– Mill = “It is better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a pig satisfied”
– Samuel Smiles = individual had become the “faceless employee in a bulging factoring system”
– American Political Journalist, Norman Cousins = “in a democracy, the individual enjoys not only the ultimate power but carries the ultimate responsibility”
– Thatcher = “There’s no such thing as society, there are only individual men and women”
– DLG = Liberal Reforms = National Insurance Act (1911), Pensions Act (1908)
– Beveridge Report (1941) - 5 giants - welfare state should provide = “the cradle to the grave”
– Same Sex Marriage Act (2014 )
– Obama’s Defence of Marriage Act 2015
– Voltaire = “I hate what you say but will defend unto death your right to say it”
Liberty
– Smiles = “Heaven helps those who helps themselves”
– US Bill of Rights and UK Human Rights Act (1998)
- Both of which protect legally what can be considered natural and inalienable rights
–1st, 5th, 6th amendment examples
– Mill = harm principle
– T.H. Green = society organic whole
– Locke = hated authoritarian govts making decisions on behalf of the people
– Kant - each individual - right to external freedom “by virtue of his humanity”
– “The minds of men are of no concern to the federal government” - Jefferson
Economy
– Smith = “we are led by an invisible hand to promote an end which was no part our intention,” and “we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest”
– Mao 2000 = 50% of pop. was below the poverty line, 2019 = 1%
– “The government that is best is that which governs least” – Thomas Jefferson
– “The minds of men are of no concern to the federal government” - Jefferson
– Mill – The individual is the best judge of their own interests, and no authority can claim superior knowledge
– Locke - hated authoritarian govts making decisions on behalf of the people
– Herbert Spencer = survival of fittest
– Rawls = “Justice as fairness provides what we want”
– Betty Friedan = Too many individuals western society limited
– DLG = Liberal Reforms = National Insurance Act (1911), Pensions Act (1908)
– Beveridge Report (1941) - 5 giants - welfare state should provide = “the cradle to the grave”
– Beveridge = “a starving man cannot be free”
– Welsh Labour setting the maximum level of council tax premiums on second homes at 300% from April 2023
Equality
– US Bill of Rights and UK Human Rights Act (1998)
- Both of which protect legally what can be considered natural and inalienable rights
–1st, 5th, 6th amendment examples
– Blair - ‘barmy’ - allow nine Afghan hijackers temporary leave to remain in Britain
– NRA’s survaillance - probably unconstitutional
– 2010 = sex offenders on reg for life in breach of human rights
– Gladstone’s 1884 Reform Act included proposals that would give working class men equal voting rights.
– Wollstonecraft
– Justin Trudeau (2017) amended the Canadian Human Rights Act to add “gender identity and expression” to the list of federally prohibited grounds for discrimination
– Equality Act 2010 – Protected characteristics
– Equality Act (1928) and The Education Act (1944) which made secondary education free in the UK
– “An injustice is tolerable only when it is necessary to avoid an even greater injustice.” – Rawls
– Thomas Paine = hereditary rule “beyond equity, beyond reason”
Human nature
– Rousseau = “man is born free, but is everywhere in chains”
– Mill = “better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a pig satisfied”
– any support for liberty must be “grounded on the permanent interests of man as a progressive being”
– Voltaire = “I detest what you say but will defend to the death your right to say it”
– Smith –> ‘The Theory of Moral Sentiments’ and ‘The Wealth of Nations’ = division of labour was the “necessary, though very slow and gradual, consequence in human nature”
– Mary Wollstonecraft = “my own sex will excuse me if I treat them like rational creatures”
Free market
‘Modern Liberals have abandoned individualism and embraced collectivism’. Discuss.
YES:
✓ Role of state in equality of opportunity
✓ Liberal democracy
✓ Minimal v enabling state
✓ Negative freedom + positive freedom
NO:
☓ Free market + property
☓ Individualism
☓ Liberty
☓ Meritocracy
☓ Foundational equality
☓ Rationalism
☓ Diversity + pluralism
Equality of opportunity
– Nozick = shouldn’t take money from someone to give it to someone else
Liberal democracy
– ‘Tyranny of the majority’ = Tocqueville
–> endangers - Locke = “cares of men’s’ souls”
– “A democrat living in Kansas will never cast a meaningful vote in a Presidential election in their lifetime” = Ed Grabianowski
– New York has voted Dem since Clinton
– Oklahoma has voted Rep consistently since Nixon
– Kentucky voted Rep consistently since Clinton
– Nevada (2012) = 52% Obama, 45% Mitt Romney
– Colorado (2012) = 51% Obama, 46% Romney
– Mill = “individuals are not accountable to society for behaviour and actions that affect only them”
– but Mill = “despotism is a legitimate mode of government in dealing with barbarians”
– Mill = “those who…require being taken care of by others, must be protected”
‘Liberal democracy is a contradiction in terms’. Discuss.
YES:
✓ Participation (tyranny of the majority)
✓ Representation
✓ Two party dominance
NO:
☓ Participation
☓ Representation
☓ Government by consent + Rule of Law + checks & balances
Tyranny of the majority
– ‘Tyranny of the majority’ = Tocqueville
–> endangers - Locke = “cares of men’s’ souls”
– “A democrat living in Kansas will never cast a meaningful vote in a Presidential election in their lifetime” = Ed Grabianowski
– New York has voted Dem since Clinton
– Oklahoma has voted Rep consistently since Nixon
– Kentucky voted Rep consistently since Clinton
– Nevada (2012) = 52% Obama, 45% Mitt Romney
– Colorado (2012) = 51% Obama, 46% Romney
- 1997 referendum to create Welsh Assembly= 50.3% yes + 49.7% no. Turnout= 50.1%
– Poland = 98% ethnically Polish and 93% Roman Catholic
–UCL’s Constitution Unit poll (2022), 77% of people thought they had too little influence over how the UK is governed
– EU Withdrawal Act 2020- 37% of electorate’s approval
– IPPR analysis shows that the 2010 GE was decided by just 111 constituencies, fewer than 460,000 voters, 1.6% of the electorate
– 2019 GE- 287 constituencies (44% of the UK’s 650 constituencies) in which turnout was less than two-thirds of the electorate
– 2014: 42.4% of 16-24 yo have no interest in politics (UK)
Representation
118th Congress
- 72% male
- 28% female
- 74% white
- 11% black
- 10% Hispanic
- 88% Christian
- 0.2% unaffiliated
Democrats:
- 59% male
- 59% white
- 76% Christian
Republicans:
- 83% male
- 89% white
- 99% Christian
– Wakeham Report 2000- recommended improving rep. of HOL, but only 30% female, 6% ethnic minority
– First female ethnic minority in Wales only elected since the start of devolution in 2021- Natasha Asghar
– AA = Only rep. in Senate in 2005-2006 = 2
– A poll by YouGuv = 59% of people feel MPs not representative of the wider population
Two-party dominance
– 2010, Liberals= 23%, but 8% of seats
– 2015, UKIP won 12.6% of the vote, but only 1 seat
– Cons have maj- 43.6%
– 1997- Lab- 179- 43% vote
– 3rd party candidates in America : Eugene Debbs, Robert La Follette, Strom Thurmond, Ross Perot, Ralph Nader
Participation
– American Political Journalist, Norman Cousins = “in a democracy, the individual enjoys not only the ultimate power but carries the ultimate
– Scot 2014- 84.6%
– EU- 72.2%
– GFa- 81%
- Scot Ref- 84.6%- 100,000 16-17 voted- 97% vote again
- 2001- 59%, 2017- 69%
Representation
– May - ‘cabinet that looked like the nation it serves’
– Clinton = cabinet that “looks like America”
– Senedd - 50/50 split 2003
– New Zealand - 1st country to have a majority female in Parliament
1979-1980 = 16 (House), 0 (Senate)
2017-2018 = 83 (House), 21 (Senate)
Government by consent
– Paine - the contract = “the only mode in which governments have a right to arise”
– Locke
To what extent is liberalism a coherent doctrine?
YES:
✓ Free market + property
✓ Key concepts - foundational equality, individualism, liberty, rationalism, pluralism, justice
✓ Political - Rule of Law, constitutional and fragmented government
NO:
☓ Human nature (rational selfishness + classical v modern - altruism)
☓ Role of the state (minimal v enabling)
☓ Foundational equality vs equality of opportunity (contradiction)
☓ Liberal democracy
☓ Equality and freedom (bring in meritocracy + self-reliance)
Free market
Equality
– US Bill of Rights and UK Human Rights Act (1998)
- Both of which protect legally what can be considered natural and inalienable rights
–1st, 5th, 6th amendment examples
– Blair - ‘barmy’ - allow nine Afghan hijackers temporary leave to remain in Britain
– NRA’s survaillance - probably unconstitutional
– 2010 = sex offenders on reg for life in breach of human rights
– Gladstone’s 1884 Reform Act included proposals that would give working class men equal voting rights.
– Wollstonecraft
– Justin Trudeau (2017) amended the Canadian Human Rights Act to add “gender identity and expression” to the list of federally prohibited grounds for discrimination
– Equality Act 2010 – Protected characteristics
– Equality Act (1928) and The Education Act (1944) which made secondary education free in the UK
– “An injustice is tolerable only when it is necessary to avoid an even greater injustice.” – Rawls
– Thomas Paine = hereditary rule “beyond equity, beyond reason”
Political
Human nature
Role of the state
‘Liberalism is defined by the desire to minimise the role of the state’. Discuss.
YES:
✓ Econ - Laissez faire +free market
✓ Pol - Constitutional and fragmented government
✓ Sort of Soc - Individualism + Human nature
NO:
☓ Econ - Enabling state + Keynesian
☓ Pol - Liberal democracy
☓ Soc - equality of opportunity, positive liberty
Free market
Individualism
– Mill – “Over his own body and mind, the individual is sovereign”
– Kant = “ends in themselves” (not means to an end)
– Gladstone = “liberalism is trust in the people”
– Kant - each individual - right to external freedom “by virtue of his humanity.”
- People should not be treated as instruments to achieve a goal but as possessing intrinsic value = Kant = ‘categorical imperative’
– “There’s no such thing as society. There are individual men and women” – Thatcher
– Mill = “It is better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a pig satisfied”
– Samuel Smiles = individual had become the “faceless employee in a bulging factoring system”
– American Political Journalist, Norman Cousins = “in a democracy, the individual enjoys not only the ultimate power but carries the ultimate responsibility”
– Thatcher = “There’s no such thing as society, there are only individual men and women”
– DLG = Liberal Reforms = National Insurance Act (1911), Pensions Act (1908)
– Beveridge Report (1941) - 5 giants - welfare state should provide = “the cradle to the grave”
– Same Sex Marriage Act (2014 )
– Obama’s Defence of Marriage Act 2015
– Voltaire = “I hate what you say but will defend unto death your right to say it”
Constitutional and fragmented government
– Suggested 2010 Sheriff’s First Legislation which would make it a crime for any federal agent to operate within a county without permission of the sheriff who are locally elected and accountable
– Madison = “the accumulation of power is the very definition of tyranny”
– Lord Acton = “all power corrupts”
– Madison = “States retain the authority to judge whether the constitution has been dangerously violated by the federal government”
Enabling state
Positive liberty
Keynesian economics
To what extent do Liberals agree on rationalism?
YES:
✓ Human nature (+nr - rational selfishness)
✓ Natural rights
✓ Free market + minimal state
NO:
☓ Enabling state
☓ Disagreements over natural rights
☓ Meritocracy + self-reliance
Disagreements over natural rights
- -ve v +ve lib
– Mill - individualism but also hard paternalism
– Mill = “those who…require being taken care of by others, must be protected against their own actions”
– Mill = “despotism is a legitimate mode of government in dealing with barbarians”
- Equality and freedom tension
To what extent do liberals agree in natural rights?
YES:
✓ Human nature
✓ Property
✓ Life
NO:
☓Tolerance- Locke believed only educated should be allowed to vote. Modern day- universal suffrage is essential to modern liberal societies.
☓Foundational equality vs equality of opportunity.
☓liberty-different definitions- different methods- different goals.
Liberalism is in retreat. Discuss with reference to two global regions
YES:
✓ Conservatism
✓ Socialism
✓ Nationalism
NO:
☓ Political
☓ Economic
☓ Social
(Australia+Canada)
Conservatism
Socialism
Nationalism
Political
Australia:
Canada:
Economic
Australia:
Canada:
Social
Australia:
Canada:
Liberalism has a large impact on Welsh politics. Discuss.
YES:
✓ Policy
✓ Electoral success
✓ Governance
NO:
☓ Conservatism
☓ Socialism
☓ Nationalism
Policy
– DLG = Liberal Reforms = National Insurance Act (1911), Pensions Act (1908)
– funded - Finance Bill (“the People’s Budget”) - taxed the “rich” to subsidize “working” citizens and the ill and injured
– Education Secretary - Kirsty Williams - plan to raise standards + reduce attainment gap - 2022 curriculum. 200+ schools involved in developing 6 different curriculum areas
Electoral success
– 1945-1980
– 1945 - Clement Davies - party survived Tory-Labour post-WW2 dominance
– 1945 = Liberals 7 MPs
– 1966 = 1 MP
– Devolution in 1999 didn’t increase popularity of Liberals, but dominance of Labour
– 1999 = 6 Welsh Assembly seats
– 2000 = formed coalition govt with Labour
– 2017 = 1 seat in Senedd
– 2021 = 4.6% (2016 = 7.1% vote)
Governance
– Cons-Lib coalition 2010 –> Welsh Lib Dems influential in implementing Silk Commission (further devolution - e.g. tax varying powers, legislation for borrowing)
– Blair’s New Labour - deliver 1997 devolution referendum
– Reduction to 1 AM in 2016 reveals extent of control of governance
Conservatism
– Tory Welsh secretary - Nicholas Edwards - wanted to introduce Welsh language channel S4C. Division - pro-Welsh Conservatives & English-centric colleagues didn’t support
- Made Torys realise importance of supporting Welsh language - poured millions into supporting Welsh language
- 2000s = Cons policy differs from Welsh govt policy
– England - grammar school reintroduction
– Different tuition fees (£9,250 (w) v £9,000 (e))
– Prescription charges in England, Wales it’s free
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- Devolution has seen Cons perform better
– 2011 = 14 seats
– 2016 = 11 seats
– 2021 = 16 seats
– 1918-2019 = 29 elections in UK –> 13 Cons, 11 Labour, 4 national/coalition
– 2019 = best result since 1983 = 14 seats (6 seats from Labour & only Lib Dem seat)
– 2021 = 25.6% vote
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– Policies of Westminster in 1980s led to calls for devolution
– The powers of the Welsh Office (1964) = showed it just executed English law (Thatcher)
– May = Wales Act (2017) = reserved powers –> conferred powers (greater control = tourism, transport, culture)
Socialism
– Attlee - nationalisation
- NHS Act (1946)
- Nationalisation under Attlee = Coal Industry Nationalisation Act (1946), Transport Act (1947), Electricity Act (1947) + Gas Act (1948), nationalised 1/5 of economy - unemployment reduced to 2.5%
– Under Carwyn Jones (2009) - drift to right - implemented Tory austerity policies - increased privatisation - Arriva trains
– Mark Drakeford = Transport for Wales Act (1921) (nationalised trains)
– Welsh Labour setting the maximum level of council tax premiums on second homes at 300% from April 2023
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- Nationalisation of coal mining was supported
– Support reached peak - GE of 1966 = 61% vote
– Labour led Welsh Assembly for all 5 terms
– 2019 = 22/40 seats
– 2021 = 30/60 with 38% (up from 33.1% in 2016)
– Arguably success less so - forced into coalitions (less than 30)- Labour-Plaid ‘agreement’ despite majority in 2021
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1922 = Labour - unbroken dominance in Welsh politics
– 2003 = Rhodri Morgan (First Minister) = government was creating “clear red water” between it and Blair’s New Labour
–> Proponents of Clear Red Water doctrine desired abandonment of privatisation
–> Welsh Labour should promote partnership between government, employers + unions
Nationalism
– Welsh Language Act (1993) = Welsh + English should be treated equally
– Calls to have this integrated in Equality Act (2010)
- Future policy:
– Full electrification of rail system by 2030
– Expand seats in Senedd to 96
– 1m Welsh speakers by 2050
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– 1966 = Plaid Cymru - Gwynfor Evans (pres) won in Carmarthen by-election
– 1992 = 4/40 constituencies
– 1970s = Labour proposed devolution but was rejected (1979 = 79%)
– Thatcherism
– 1997 referendum = 50% in favour of devolution (success for Lab), won 34/40 seats of Wales
– Plaid Cymru = 4
– Conservatives = 0
– 1st Assembly election (1999):
–> Labour = 28 seats
–> Plaid = 17
–> Cons = 9
–> Lib Dems = 6
– 2019 = Plaid held on to all 4 seats it won in 2017
– 2021 = 20.5% (from 20.7% in 2016)
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– Devolution - 1997 - creation of Welsh Boards of Education and Health
– Plaid Cymru
– Civic Welsh Nationalism movement today pushes for Welsh language
– Former Plaid Counsellor Simon Brook = “Nationalism was slain in Wales by Liberalism, rather than Conservatism… the Welsh nation was murdered by its own left wing”
– (socialism in nationalism) Welsh Nationalist Saunders Lewis = “Restoring the Welsh Language in Wales is nothing less than a revolution” (but socialists generally reject nationalism)
– From 1981 - Plaid’s constitution committed to “community socialism” - Welsh concept emphasising focus on local politics
– Plaid entered a formal coalition with Lab in 2021
