Society Flashcards
Introduction - Themes
- Individualism
- Tolerance
- Equality
Introduction - Argument
All liberals broadly agree that society should be just and beneficial to the individual but differ in the belief of how to create such a society
Individualism - Agree - Point
All liberals see society as a collection of diverse and potentially autonomous individuals, seeking self-determination, self-realisation and self-fulfilment. In view of all this, each individual within society, therefore, seeks freedom
Individualism - Disagree - Point
- Classical liberals believe the principles of egotistical liberalism which denotes that individuals are driven by wish to fulfil thier potential and a desire to be independent, thus they argue that this should be reflected within society
- Modern liberals have adopted the principles of developmental individualism, in this sense individuals are less autonomous and therefore require the state’s support to be free
Individualism - Disagree - Example
(Classical)
Herbert Spenser’s principle of ‘social darwinism’ where those who did not enjoy the benefits of individualism would gradually be eliminated, supports the view that individuals should be left alone
Individualism - Disagree - Example
(Modern)
John Stuart Mill paved the way for modern liberals, and it can be said they differ more as they cannot agree on how to create an individual society
Tolerance - Agree - Point
All liberals agree that the main aim of society is to promote individualism and make sure that these individuals are able to achieve their destiny. They are big supporters of the doctrine of meritocracy
Tolerance - Disagree - Point
- Classical liberals stick with the idealistic view that society is completely meritocratic, and therefore no state assistance is needed
- Modern liberals see the social inequality present in society and argue that there must be state provisions in order to promote meritocracy
Tolerance - Disagree - Example
(Classical)
John Stuart Mill devised the ‘Harm Principle’ in which human actions were divided into ‘self-regarding’ and ‘other regarding.’ As long as inequality experienced by some did not affect the freedom of others it is not the concern of the liberal society
Tolerance - Disagree - Example
(Modern)
John Rawls theorised the ‘veil of ignorance’ whereby if individuals were to have no preconceptions about the sort of people they might be in a new society they would choose a society where the poorest members fared signficantly better
Equality - Agree - Point
All branches are united around foundational equality, the assertion that individuals are born equal. Moreover, they agree that our current society is not adequate in promoting the equality of all individuals within it
Equality - Agree - Example
Both Mary Wollstonecraft and Betty Fridan agreed that women are unfairly discriminated against and set out to challenge this ‘irrational assumption’
Equality - Disagree - Point
They disunited around the principle of formal equality - the view that the formal rules should not exclude indivduals from achieving certain goals because of arbitary personal characteristics. Modern liberals support formal equality, but classical liberals just believe in foundational equality
Equality - Disagree - Example
(Classical)
John Locke asserted that society predates the state - Locke described this as the ‘state of nature.’ This state of nature has ‘natural laws and natural rights’ and therefore, there is no need to have formal equality as it is already a principle that occurs naturally within society
Equality - Disagree - Example
(Modern)
Betty Fridan asserted that formal equality was pivotal for the rights of individuals within a liberal society. She argued it was various ‘cultural channels’ which condemned women to achievement and that formal equality must be implemented to make society fairer
