Академический Документы
Профессиональный Документы
Культура Документы
Revision
Revision Notes
Liberalism
Core Values of Liberalism
Liberty
o Political/Revolutionary Liberty
Self-determination
No longer central to liberal thought
o Individual Liberty
Over-powerful govts enemies of liberty; govt too
paternalistic
Utilitarianism Bentham
Absence of constraint J.S. Mill
o Negative vs. Positive Liberty
Negative: Absence of constraints
Positive: Individual freedom, equality of opportunity
T.G. Green society as organic, made of self-interested
individuals
Tolerance
o Locke: Every man may enjoy the same rights that are granted to
others
o Modern sympathetic to influence of social/economic circumstances
Equality
o Equal Rights
Bentham and Mill reject natural rights
Humans born unequal
o Equality of Opportunity
Classical liberals society free of restraints (negative)
Booths cycle of deprivation
Pluralism
Government
o Govt by Consent
Continuous consent
Free elections
Referendums
o Limited Govt
Consent not sufficient safeguard
o Constitutionalism
Arbitrary power
Democracy = tyranny of majority
Power concentrated
o Liberal Constitution
Defines limits to jurisdiction of govt and rights of citizens
Distributes power
Includes arrangements for amendments
Justice
o Legal justice equal application
o Social justice requires intervention of state
o Inequality natural; free society social outcomes just
Revision
Issues in Liberalism
Democracy
o Rousseau diff. between will of people and general will
o Liberals suspicious tyranny of majority
o Ways to resolve paradoxes:
Constitutionalism
Pluralism
Govt by consent
Individual liberties protected
Representative and responsible govt
Referedums
Liberalism and State
o Mill: State intervention = inhibit innovation, enterprise and dynamic
progress
o Social Darwinists individual guardian of own property
o Neo-liberals fight dependency culture
o Control of potential power:
Constitutionalism
Rule of law
Independent judiciary
Decentralisation
Liberals and Tolerance
o Early liberal principle freedom of expression
o Should extreme views be tolerated?
o Cultural variations multiculturalism tolerated as long as it doesnt
threaten culture
Liberalism in the UK
Conservatism
Core Values
Human Nature
o Pessimistic original six
Unit 3 Introducing Political IdeologiesPage 2
Not Liberal
Sovereignty of
Parliament
PM prerogative
FPTP
Unelected institutions
Revision
Revision
Individualism
o Conservative individualism (positive liberty)
o Reaction against collectivism
o Implies economic stability, low taxation, private property
Liberal Freedom and Conservative Individualism
o Liberal absence of freedom
o Conservative ability to pursue own happiness
Property and Rights
o Classic liberals property important part of fulfilled life
o Conservatives lay aside rights in some circumstances
Criticism of Thatcher
o Laissez-faire = excessive levels of borrowing (unsustainable)
o Underclass ignored despite growing prosperity
o Legacy of deprivation from lack of support of welfare state
o Lacked morality; highly individualistic
Socialism
Core Values
Unit 3 Introducing Political IdeologiesPage 4
Revision
Equality
o Equal rights birth right
o Equality of opportunity
o Fundamentalists: Equality of outcome
o Ultimate goal of Marxists: Absolute equality
o Equality of welfare all entitled to minimum standard of living
Class Conflict
o Revolutionary: conflict unsolvable under capitalism
o Non-revolutionary: form governments operating in interests of
working-class
o Democratic: modify capitalism excessive controls/state
intervention
o Social democracy: state works in national interests
Social Justice
o Marxists: capitalism cannot create just distribution
o Moderate: concentrated on measures such as interference in wage
system, trade union rights and distribution through taxation
Collectivism
o Industrial workers organised into trade unions
o Healthcare NHS
o Key industries nationalised
o State education
Common ownership
o Marxism: All property is common no private enterprise
o State socialism: Means of production and distribution publicly
owned
o Syndicalism: Industries owned and run by workers
o Cooperative Movement: Produces distribute goods
o Democratic socialism: Welfare publicly owned. Some industries
nationalised
o Social democracy: Welfare publicly owned, little nationalisation
Types of Socialism
Utopian Socialism
o Based on optimistic and romantic view of human nature
o Return to simpler forms of production and social order
Marxism
o Hegelian Philosophy
Dialectic: history a logical progression
Alienation occurs when peoples perception of world differs
from reality
o Social class
o Role of state
Marx: management committee of ruling class
Only revolutionary parties independent of ruling class and
state
o Nature of capitalism
Based on individual self-interest, draining human creativity
o Development of capitalism
Revision
Issues in Socialism
Role of Revolution
The State
o Marxism: state is expression of class rule
o Utopian: Not vehicle for socialism; small communities way forward
Revision
Marxism in Practice
Russian Revolution
The Soviet Union and Eastern Europe
o Problems: underdeveloped proletariat and surrounded by hostile
nations
o Soviet Union failed to deliver economic prosperity
o Soviet people subject to new ruling classes: party bureaucracy and
state security
China
o China was nearly completely agrarian: farms became collective
o 1966-69: Cultural Revolution peasants challenge authority
o Following Maos death, regime allowed limited free markets
Frankfurt School and Critical Theory
o Cultural hegemony capitalism exploits consciousness and
economics
o Marcuse: Totalitarianism inevitable outcome of liberal society
Contemporary Marxism
o North Korea: Dictatorship in which state controls the economy
Anarchism
Core Values
Sovereignty of individual
o Bakunin: Social solidarity is the first human law, freedom is the
second law
Nature of liberty
o Optimistic moral/enlightened existence = take others into account
o Internal restraint
Godwin: Private judgement
Bakunin: Natural laws
Critique of state
o Oppressive
Malatesta: the tax collector, the soldier and the gaoler
o Removes freedom - subjects us to artificial laws
Revision
Corrupting
Bakunin: Nothing is as dangerous for a mans morality as the
habit of governing
Response to consent theory
o Cannot give up liberty; birth right
o Always majority and minority
o Cannot be binding on future generations (continuous consent)
Opposition to property
o Proudhon: all property is theft, yet it is a necessary evil
o Libertarians: property acceptable as long as justly obtained
Critique of capitalism
o Libertarians : free-market
o Contemporary anarchists: international capitalism exploiting poor
nations
o
Types of Anarchism
Anarcho-communism
o Dissolve state voluntary, self-governing communities
Direct democracy
Collectivisation
Self-sustainable
Anarcho-individualism
o Stirner: Humankind driven by egoism
o Cooperative capitalism
No state
Freedom from law
Exchange on labour value
Anarcho-capitalism
o Capitalism entrenched, must be adapted
o Dispute settled by private arbitrators
o Accept self-interested nature of mankind
Mutualism
o Bridges gap between anarcho-communism and anarchoindividualism
o Without small entrepreneurs owning own means of production, lose
independence
o Money replaced with labour notes, free credit for all
Anarcho-syndicalism
o Industrial democracy: industry self-governing (direct democracy)
o Radical syndicalists: governing industries able to arrange society
without state
Nihilism
o All forms of social order unjustifiable denial of individual liberty
o Recommend free exercise of egoism and unfettered use of terror
o Society impose itself on state
Contemporary anarchism
Issues in Anarchism
Revision