liberalism: outline varieties of liberalism historical circumstances conceptions of freedom four...
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Liberalism: OutlineLiberalism: Outline
Varieties of Liberalismhistorical circumstancesconceptions of freedomfour functions of ideology
Welfare-state Liberalism and Socialism
Liberal democracy
What is Liberalism?What is Liberalism?When you hear someone is a
liberal, or a particular proposal or policy is liberal, what do you think this means?◦Think general principles
A liberal ______ (person/politician, proposal, policy, and so forth) is:
1. ___________________________ 2. ___________________________ 3. ___________________________
A liberal is…A liberal is…
Inclined toward reducing role of government
Tolerant toward unusual, deviant persons, actions
Concerned with protecting rights of unpopular minorities
Liberal policies…Liberal policies…Higher taxes social welfareAgainst restricting freedom of
expression, action (e.g., abortion, smoking marijuana)
Protecting rights of defendants in criminal cases
Restricting power of police to gather evidence, extract confessions
Liberal?Liberal?
Yes and NoClassical liberals (e.g., John
Stuart Mill) and modern libertariansoppose governmental intrusion into
private sphereModern welfare, welfare-state, or
reform liberalsfavor state intervention
Liberalism definedLiberalism defined
Derived from Latin word liber, meaning “free”
Championed freedom of individual from unjustified, unnecessary restrictions or restraintsMiddle Ages = religious worship and
economic activity
Rise of LiberalismRise of LiberalismDemise of feudalism Increasing trade, commerce
Merchant capitalist break down barriers to tradeProtestant Reformation papal, priestly
power Individualism, new ideas
Individual sovereign, endowed with natural rights, life and liberty
State should serve individual, not other way around
Liberal revolutions of 17th and 18th = England, 13 colonies, France
Worry of CriticsWorry of CriticsHow can order be maintained in a society whose members are freed from traditional religious and economic restraints?
Would not such “masterless men” ride roughshod over each other?
If older restraints no longer sufficed, what was their substitute?
Thomas HobbesThomas Hobbes
Leviathan (1651)Perfect liberty = “state of nature” grave danger, insecurityLife “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish,
and short”To bring solitary individuals into
civil relations of cooperation, harmony required agreement – compact, social contract
John LockeJohn Locke
Social contract only means by which individual liberty and social order could be reconciled◦Specify rights of individuals◦Limit government’s right to restrict actions and activities of citizens
IndividualismIndividualism
Hobbes and Locke agreed civil society rests on consent of rational, self-interested individuals concerned with protecting lives and property
Defenders of individualismIndividual sovereign ruler of his/her
own person core of LiberalismFreedom viewed through
individualist lenses
Primacy of libertyPrimacy of libertyLocke = every person possesses
right to “life, liberty and property”Jefferson (Declaration of
Independence) = “life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness”
Primacy of liberty; second only to life
Model of freedom as triadic relation◦(A) agent◦(B) barrier or obstacle◦(C) aim or goal
AgentAgent
Individual ◦Not class, caste, rank, or order to
which he/she belongs◦Isolated, self-governing sovereign
Freedom = absence of restrictions◦Unencumbered by obstacles or
barriers
Barriers or ObstaclesBarriers or ObstaclesRestrictions, limitations (laws, rules,
regulations, restrictive customs, traditions) that arbitrarily inhibit, impede, limit, or hinder actions, movements, choices of individuals, particularly in private or personal sphere of thought and conduct◦ Sharp distinction between public and private
spheresSphere of private belief (especially
religion) liberty absolute◦ State has neither right nor authority to tell
citizens what to believe, how to worship
Goals or AimsGoals or Aims Various – freedom of religion,
travel/emigrate, vote, run for public officeRights of individuals to pursue their goalsPursuing and promoting one’s self-interestFree of feudal ties and other restrictions,
most individuals “naturally ” promote own well-being◦ pursue “right to life, liberty, and property”
Two social institutions to protect and promote rights – Free market and Liberal state
Free MarketFree MarketIndividuals pursue interests in competition
with othersPre-liberal moral codes condemned self-
interested behavior as sinful, unjustBernard Mandeville and Adam Smith
believed “selfish” behavior rational and socially beneficial◦ “Private vices” (Mandeville) have way of
becoming “public benefits” in long runAdam Smith, The Wealth of Nations (1776)
◦ “Invisible hand” of market◦ natural “propensity to truck, barter, and
exchange”
The StateThe State“More visible hand”Scope and power should be minimal,
severely limited restricts freedom of citizens◦ “that state governs best which governs
least”Role limited to making, enforcing laws
needed to promote public and private dealings (e.g., contracts)
Protect individual rightsAct where free market does not,
cannot
Two sides of LiberalismTwo sides of Liberalism
Liberalism (late 19th and 20th centuries)
Disagreement about how much “free market” can achieve, how well it can provide socially necessary services
Two sides of Liberalism – economic and ethical – in tension