Liberalism

Question 1

Origins of liberalism

Answer 1

• Reformation -> a religious movement in the late 15th and early 16th centuries, led by protestors that sought to overthrow the power of the Catholic Church, arguing that the Church had become corrupt and that individuals no longer needed to rely on priests/Popes as intermediaries between them and God – Christianity could be individualistic and that each man or woman could commune with God directly
• The Enlightenment was an intellectual movement in the mid-17th – late 18th century that emphasised reason rather than faith, thinkers promoted scientific enquiry, debate, questioning and scrutinising previously held beliefs, and placed value on the ability of individual humans to think, reason, enquire and make progress

Question 2

The state of nature

Answer 2

what human society/existence was like before the creation of organised states- before governments, rulers, and law

Question 3

Liberal views of society

Answer 3

• purpose of society, for liberals, should be the facilitation of individualism
• believe that the “default setting” of any society is a focus on individual freedom and that any society which denies individualism is dysfunctional
• right to property is incredibly important due to it being a tangible expression of the individual within society

Question 4

Liberal views of the economy

Answer 4

• support for private property and capitalism
• Adam Smith -> economic liberalism which involves individual traders competing and cooperating and is thought to benefit all
• if free from restriction, the “invisible hand” of the market would guide traders towards success and wealth would trickle down to everyone
• as those with the most money in society become wealthier, this will mean they are able to pay workers a higher rate and as such all will benefit

Question 5

Liberal views of the objectives of the state

Answer 5

• rejection of traditional state
• govt by consent
• promotion of natural rights
• tolerance
• meritocracy
• equality of opportunity
• justice
• limited/constitutional govt
• fragmented govt
• formal equality

Question 6

Liberal views of human nature

Answer 6

• mankind is rational and capable of devising a state that reflects man’s needs through discussion
• society predates the state
• humans are naturally self-serving and drawn to act in their own interests but due to rationality destructive selfishness is avoided

Question 7

Principles of early classical liberalism

Answer 7

• revolutionary potential
• negative liberty
• minimal state
• laissez-faire capitalism

Question 8

Late classical liberal ideas

Answer 8

• Bentham -> utilitarianism
• Smiles -> self-reliance
• Spencer -> survival of the fittest
• Mill -> representative democracy

Question 9

Principles of modern liberalism

Answer 9

• positive liberty
• enlarged/enabling state
• constitutional reform/liberal democracy
• social liberalism

Question 10

Principles of neo-liberalism

Answer 10

• critical of mod lib for creating dependency culture
• called for politicians to “roll back the frontiers of the state”
• place importance on negative freedom and minimal state interference

Question 11

John Locke historical context

Answer 11

• His father was a lawyer and devout Puritan who fought for the
Parliamentarian side in the English Civil War
• Studied philosophy and medicine at Christ Church College, Oxford
• He became the personal doctor of Earl of Shrewsbury, one of the founders of the Whig Party who encouraged Locke’s interest in politics
• Direct influence on the authors of the US Constitution
• He invested heavily in slave-trading companies – despite being opposed to slavery – and was in favour of child labour

Question 12

John Locke key concepts/ideas

Answer 12

• Government by consent / social
contract
• natural rights
• Rejection of the DRoK
• importance of property rights

Question 13

Mary Wollstonecraft historical context

Answer 13

• Family was wealthy, but father was an abusive alcoholic who squandered the family fortune on bad investments. Very unstable childhood and financially
insecure early life
• Travelled to France in 1792 to see the French Revolution first-hand. Witnessed the executions of
Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette
• Translated several key French revolutionary texts into
English

Question 14

Mary Wollstonecraft key concepts/ideas

Answer 14

• human beings being inherently rational and equal also applies to women
• Denying liberty and equal rights to
women undermines the entire point
of the Enlightenment/Liberalism
• Women are “complicit in their own
subjugation”; the solution to this is
extending formal education to
women

Question 15

John Stuart Mill historical context

Answer 15

• Very precocious child – was fluent in Latin and ancient Greek by
the age of 8, and by 10 had read all of “the classics”, as well as modern works on law, astronomy, history, politics, and economics
• Jeremy Bentham was a friend of the family’s and Mill’s childhood
tutor – introduced him to utilitarian philosophy and liberal political thought
• Barred from attending Oxford or Cambridge due to his religious views
• Worked as a colonial administrator in India from 1823 to 1858
• 1865 – 1868 was a Member of Parliament for the Liberal Party,
where he advocated extensively for expansion of the suffrage, electoral reform, and Parliamentary reform
• First MP to publicly call for voting rights for women

Question 16

John Stuart Mill key concepts/ideas

Answer 16

• Negative Freedom
• The Harm Principle
• Tolerance of ideas and expression is essential – allows new ideas to emerge through open, rational debate
• Liberty and freedom is necessary for society to progress
• “Developmental individualism”
• Liberal models of representative
democracy

Question 17

John Rawls historical context

Answer 17

• 2nd of 5 sons: 2 of his brothers died of illness when he was a young child
• Served in the war in the Pacific during World War II, fought in the Philippines and witnessed the aftermath of Hiroshima, experiences that gave him a lifelong hatred of war and the military, and made him lose his Christian faith
and become an atheist

Question 18

John Rawls key concepts/ideas

Answer 18

• The original position/”the veil
of ignorance”
• Social justice
• Positive liberty
• Rawls argued that rational
individuals would choose an
enlarged state – so modern
liberalism consistent with
government by consent

Question 19

Betty Friedan historical context

Answer 19

• Born to a family of Russian & Hungarian Jewish immigrants in Illinois
• Studied psychology at Smith College, an all-women university in Massachusetts, academically
successful and wanted to pursue a PhD, but her boyfriend pressured her into turning down her PhD
offer
• Worked as a journalist but was dismissed when she fell pregnant
• Wrote The Feminine Mystique in 1957 – foundational text of modern feminism (liberal feminism)
• Founder of NOW – most important pressure group campaigning for women’s rights in the USA
• Important voice in the pro-choice movement

Question 20

Betty Friedan key concepts/ideas

Answer 20

• Illiberal attitudes in society
condemned women to
underachievement – not their
“innate inferiority”
• The capacity of women as
individuals to realise their potential
and achieve their goals is restricted
by society, culture & the state needed to change to address this
• The enlarged and enabling state
should actively advocate for
women’s rights

Question 21

John Locke and human nature

Answer 21

Human beings are rational, guided by the pursuit of self-interest, but mindful of others’ concerns

Question 22

Mary Wollstonecraft and human nature

Answer 22

Rationalism defines both genders: intellectually, men and women are not very different

Question 23

John Stuart Mill and human nature

Answer 23

Though rational, human nature is not fixed: it is for ever progressing to a higher level

Question 24

John Rawls and human nature

Answer 24

Mankind is selfish yet empathetic, valuing both individual liberty and the plight of others

Question 25

Betty Friedan and human nature

Answer 25

Human nature has evolved in a way that discourages self-advancement among women

Question 26

John Locke and the state

Answer 26

The state must be representative, based on the consent of the governed

Question 27

Mary Wollstonecraft and the state

Answer 27

The monarchical state should be replaced by a republic which enshrines women's rights

Question 28

John Stuart Mill and the state

Answer 28

The state should proceed cautiously towards representative democracy, mindful of minority rights

Question 29

John Rawls and the state

Answer 29

The state should enable less fortunate individuals advance, via public spending and public services

Question 30

Betty Friedan and the state

Answer 30

The state should legislate to prevent continued discrimination against women

Question 31

John Locke and society

Answer 31

Society predates the state: there were 'natural' societies with natural laws and natural rights

Question 32

Mary Wollstonecraft and society

Answer 32

Existing society 'infantilises' women and thus stifles female individualism

Question 33

John Stuart Mill and society

Answer 33

The best society is one where 'individuality' coexists with tolerance and self-betterment

Question 34

John Rawls and society

Answer 34

The society most individuals would choose is one which allows unequal outcomes, but where the condition of the poorest improves

Question 35

Betty Friedan and society

Answer 35

Society remains chauvinistic towards women, though women are complicit in their repression

Question 36

John Locke and the economy

Answer 36

State policy should respect the 'natural right' to private property and arbitrate effectively between individuals competing for trade and resources

Question 37

Mary Wollstonecraft and the economy

Answer 37

A free-market economy would be energised by the enterprise of liberated women

Question 38

John Start Mill and the economy

Answer 38

Laissez-faire capitalism is vital to progress, individual. enterprise and individual initiative

Question 39

John Rawls and the economy

Answer 39

Free-market capitalism should be tempered by the state's obligation to advance its poorest citizens

Question 40

Betty Friedan and the economy

Answer 40

Free-market capitalism could be an ally of female emancipation, if allied to legislation precluding sexual discrimination

Question 41

Tensions within liberalism on society

Answer 41

• classical -> forms naturally as a result of human rationality • modern -> society can constrain the actions of individuals • neo -> society is damaged by the mod lib approach and becomes fundamentally less free

Question 42

Tensions within liberalism on the economy

Answer 42

• classic and neo -> support laissez-faire capitalism • modern -> keynesian economics, greater state intervention to promote positive liberty

Question 43

Tensions within liberalism on the state

Answer 43

• classical and neo -> minimal state that promotes negative liberty • modern -> enlarged/enabling state that promotes positive liberty

Question 44

Tensions within liberalism about human nature

Answer 44

• early classical -> innately rational • late classical/mod -> rationality is a potential quality that must be developed

Question 45

Consistencies within liberalism on society

Answer 45

Society is a collection of individuals seeking goals

Question 46

Consistencies within liberalism on the economy

Answer 46

• private property should form the basis of the economy • all liberals by definition are capitalist

Question 47

Consistencies within liberalism on the state

Answer 47

• state should follow pre-agreed rules/procedures • state power must be limited/fragmented • representative democracy over direct

Question 48

Consistencies within liberalism on human nature

Answer 48

• humans are fundamentally rational/egotistical • all humans have equal value and the same natural rights • sceptical of the masses and distrustful of direct democracy

Question 49

What is government by consent?

Answer 49

• state is only legitimate if the people it rules over agree that it is legitimate • the state must have the “consent of the governed” • individuals freely agree to accept the authority of the state and abide by its rules and restrictions (social contract)

Question 50

What are natural rights?

Answer 50

• In the state of nature individuals already had natural rights and were free to pursue their individual freedom • it would be irrational for individuals to consent to being part of a state if meant losing those natural rights and those individual freedoms so the rational state is one that not only respects but also promotes natural rights – making it easier for individuals to exercise their inherent freedoms than it would be in the state of nature

Question 51

What is tolerance in liberalism?

Answer 51

• because each individual has an equal right to pursue their own interests, the state must safeguard and promote tolerance of the individuals views, opinions and actions • partially due to Liberalism’s roots in the Reformation, which saw widespread persecution and conflict between groups with opposing views

Question 52

What is meritocracy in liberalism?

Answer 52

• political power should only be exercised by those who are worthy of it • Government should only be conducted by individuals who have won the trust of the people by their hard work and talent

Question 53

What is equality of opportunity?

Answer 53

Liberals take it as axiomatic (fundamental) that all individuals are born equal, have equal natural rights and are of equal value, therefore, all individuals must have equal opportunity to develop their potential and pursue their goals and desires • The state has a duty to ensure all individuals have equal opportunities. • HOWEVER, if an individual for whatever reason fails to achieve their potential, despite having access to the same opportunities as everyone else, this is their responsibility – not that of the state.

Question 54

What is justice in liberalism?

Answer 54

• The liberal state should be the embodiment of justice, it treats all individuals equally and fairly, regardless of who they are • Individuals within the liberal state must be confident that they will receive a just outcome and a satisfactory resolution regarding any grievances they have with other individuals

Question 55

What is constitutional government?

Answer 55

• liberalism sees the state as a contract between the government and the people and early liberals advocated for the idea that this contract should be given physical, legal form in the form of written, codified Constitutions • These constitutions should be the product of much rational discussion and debate between various learned individuals • The constitution should lay out the terms of the social contract – what the government can and can not do, ensuring that power is exercised according to predetermined rules and structures and not arbitrarily • place emphasis on safeguarding and protecting the natural rights of citizens

Question 56

What is fragmented government?

Answer 56

• advocate for the dispersal or fragmentation of state power, done through, for example, the separation of legislative and executive power into different branches • This is done to prevent the exercise of tyranny and arbitrary rule by the state • Largely a reaction against the autocratic governments exercised by pre-Enlightenment monarchical states

Question 57

What is formal equality?

Answer 57

• all individuals are born with equal rights, so the liberal state strives for formal equality: a state in which all individuals have equal legal and political rights • places significant emphasis on the doctrine of rule of law – laws are equally applicable to everyone: no one is “above” or “outside” the law

Question 58

What is negative liberty?

Answer 58

• freedom is the absence of restraint or limitations • freedom is the freedom from barriers, laws, punishments, etc (esp. from the state)

Question 59

What is positive liberty?

Answer 59

liberty is the freedom to be able to do things - to have the ability to self- actualise

Question 60

What is the minimal state?

Answer 60

• idea of negative liberty suggests that the greater power we give the state, the less freedom people have • led to the development of the idea of the minimal state – a state with as few or limited powers, roles and activities as possible • sees the actions of state confined to a handful of narrow areas only, eg policing (protection of private property) and national defence, everything else is left up to individuals/the market

Question 61

What is laissez-faire capitalism?

Answer 61

• ‘let do/leave alone’ in french • adam smith argued in that individuals and businesses, working to enrich themselves and pursue their own interests, would naturally enrich society • Smith argued that any state interference in the economy would disrupt this natural tendency towards growing wealth so the best thing that the government could do for the economy was to leave it alone • classical liberals therefore argued for the abolition of tariffs and other trade protections and the spread of “free trade” within and between nations

Question 62

What are Mill’s ideas about developmental individualism?

Answer 62

• focused on the potential of the individual – not just what they were, but what they could be • according to Mill, individuals were fundamentally progressive – they wanted not only to achieve their individual goals and desires, but also to better themselves and achieve their individual potential • as a result, Mill strongly supported expanding formal education, as education was the best way for individuals to better themselves

Question 63

What are Mill’s ideas of democracy?

Answer 63

• many liberal thinkers were terrified of what they called the “tyranny of the majority” – the idea that “the masses” might elect a government that was itself tyrannical and placed greater restrictions on individual freedom • mill proposed a form of representative democracy: where the electorate would not be empowered to make political decisions themselves, but would instead elect educated, liberally minded representatives to make decisions on their behalf • mill argued that before universal suffrage could be achieve, universal education needed to be put into place, so that voters were educated and better equipped to choose a representative (but he did not support state-provided education as this conflicted with the liberal ideal of the minimal state) • argued for plural voting – some individuals should have more votes than others, based on their education level, intelligence, and “contribution to society” so a doctor or a wealthy businessman would have more votes than an illiterate factory worker “Explain and analyse t

Question 64

What is an enlarged/enabling state?

Answer 64

• only a larger, expanded state, with more laws, taxation, and state bureaucracy could effectively enhance the positive liberty of all the individuals in the state, thus ensuring equality of opportunity for all • the state should “enable” individuals to reach their potential and therefore be more free – eg through providing education, healthcare, transport etc

Question 65

Neo-liberal policies

Answer 65

Advocate for “rolling back the frontiers of the state” and champion privatisation of state industries, fewer state regulations of the economy, free trade between nations, slashing welfare programmes, and lower taxation

Question 66

Arguments for neo-liberalism being a form of liberalism

Answer 66

• Return to classical liberal ideals (minimal govt, negative freedom, laissez-faire) • Tends to be socially liberal – eg tolerant of LGBTQ rights, minority groups etc • Many neo-liberal governments still support things like affirmative action ( EG Blair premiership) • Favour constitutional reform

Question 67

Arguments for neo-liberalism being a form of conservatism

Answer 67

• Reactionary rather than progressive – seeking to “return” to a previous idea rather than promoting new ideas for a new future • Played a key role in influencing “New Right” conservativism • Mainly championed by right-wing figures (Thatcher, Reagan)

Question 68

Neo-liberal key features

Answer 68

• seeks to reintroduce and reapply classical liberal beliefs about negative liberty, the minimal state, and laissez-faire capitalism to modern societies and the globalised economy • modern liberal ideas about positive liberty and an enlarged and enabling state have fostered a “dependency culture” and constrained the liberty and potential of individuals

Question 69

Challenges to liberalism

Answer 69

• heavy-handed ways in which liberal states responded to terrorism also undermined liberal values e.g. increased surveillance, heightened state security • financial crash of 2008 and the austerity policies that followed undermined the economic arguments for neoliberalism • huge increase in migration to western liberal states, driven partially by neoliberal economic policies and partially by neoliberal wars, has also become a significant issue and led to a resurgence in right-wing populism • fundamentally idealist and optimistic view of human nature presented by liberalism appears hard to maintain in the face of the uncertainty, instability and conflict of the 21st century

Question 70

John Locke key text

Answer 70

Two Treatises of Government (1689)

Question 71

Mary Wollstonecraft key text

Answer 71

Vindication of the Rights of Women (1792)

Question 72

John Stuart Mill key text

Answer 72

On Liberty (1859)

Question 73

John Rawls key text

Answer 73

A Theory of Justice (1971)

Question 74

Betty Friedan key text

Answer 74

The Feminine Mystique (1957)

Question 75

Keynes key text

Answer 75

The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money

Question 76

Hayek key text

Answer 76

The Road to Serfdom (1944) (Margaret Thatcher’s favourite book)