...‘A fear of democracy runs throughout liberalism.’ Discuss. Democracy means rule by the people, implying both popular participation and government in the public interest. Liberals have been ambivalent about the benefits of democracy. Very few liberals reject democracy, on the other hand no liberals accept democracy uncritically. Liberals do not believe that a balanced and tolerant society will develop naturally out of the free actions of individuals and voluntary associations. They fear the free individual may exploit others. Therefore; liberals believed that such protection can only be provided by a sovereign state, capable of restraining all individuals and groups within society, freedom can therefore only exist ‘under the law’. Hobbes and Locke both recognised the argument for a social contract agreement between individuals through which they form a state in order to escape ‘state of nature’ without this contract life would be ‘nasty, brutish and short’. Hobbes and Locke developed people coming together in a free compact/agreement to set up power over them a real contract constantly confirmed. Locke through a more continuous process people to express their opinion more regularly through elections, referendums and public opinion. All individuals would recognize that it is in their best interests to sacrifice a portion of their liberty in order to set up a system of law; otherwise their rights and indeed their lives would constantly be under threat. The state is created...
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...How far do you agree that the character of Charles 1 is most important in understanding the King’s decision to rule without parliament in 1629? By Andy Todd Charles 1 was a stubborn, austere and arrogant king. He was also shy, young and inexperienced when he took to the throne in 1925 at the age of just 24. He suffered from a stutter which is seen as one of the main reasons why he was known as a poor communicator. Tying in with his supposedly weak character was something which made him even more arrogant and stubborn. This was his belief in Divine Right; a theory that was drilled in to him by his father King James 1 which meant that the God had blessed him so he could be a completely autocratic ruler. However, it’s not possible to believe that it was purely Charles’s personality which led to him resorting to personal rule on March 2, 1629. Charles 1 was a very loyal person who was known to become very attached and very trusting of one or two particular people. This lead to him making the despised Duke of Buckingham is closest advisor, as the Duke had been very close to Charles’s father, Charles trusted him completely. However, the Duke led Charles into a disastrous foreign policy. In 1628, Sir Edward Coke stated that the Duke of Buckingham was ‘the cause of all our miseries’, ‘the cause of all evils the kingdom suffered, and an enemy to the public’. The Duke, in 1625, had led the Cadiz expedition to attack Spain. The army landed on the coast, got drunk, and had to be evacuated...
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...Edexcel A2 Political Ideologies 1 Liberalism A Short-answer questions 1 Distinguish between economic liberalism and social liberalism. • Economic liberalism means both classical liberalism and neo-liberal economic theory. • Its core idea is the notion of the self-regulating market, based on Adam Smith’s ‘invisible hand’ and the belief that the market tends towards long-term equilibrium. • Individuals are seen as rational, self-interested and largely self-sufficient; and market competition ensures choice and consumer responsiveness as well as efficiency and growth. • In line with the principle of laissez-faire, the state should leave the economy alone because state intervention is likely to have more economic disadvantages than advantages. • Economic liberalism is associated with negative freedom. • Social liberalism, by contrast, is modern liberalism, also sometimes known as welfare liberalism, associated with the belief that an unregulated market economy results in an unequal and unfair distribution of wealth. • The state, therefore, has important social responsibilities, especially in safeguarding individuals from the social evils that can cripple their existence: poverty, disease, unemployment etc. • Social liberalism is thus linked to a qualified form of welfarism: the desire to help people to help themselves, thus still reflecting a general liberal preference for self-reliance. • Social liberalism is associated with positive freedom...
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...Tom Chapman A2 Political Theory DATE \@ "d MMMM y" 20 September 2015 A Fear of Democracy Runs Through Liberalism A2 Political Theory A fear of Democracy runs through Liberalism. Do Liberal individuals fear the hand of the state and the will of the people? Are Liberals fearful of what the ruling majority may impose on them or are they perfectly happy bending the knee to the authority of the state and the decisions of the masses, if only to preserve their own civil liberties and rights? To assess if this is the case or not we must first understand a rather complicated question; what is Liberalism? Liberalism can be traced back to the decline of Feudalism in the 18th Century and the revolutions of both France (1789) and the USA (1765) where we saw two states try to shake off the ruling class and enter a new era of enlightenment where there was, generally, consensus ruling. Liberalism then comes to the fore front of Political thinking around the period of the Industrial Revolution in Britain and Europe in the 19th Century which led to many people rising through the ranks and creating a form of social mobility linked with Liberal ideas of self rule and governance. It’s this Industrial Revolution period where we see Liberalism take it’s first form - what we now call classical Liberalism. Classical Liberals believe in the idea of negative freedoms where by each person is able to both thrive and fail in society, this goes hand in hand with the idea of maintaining state intervention...
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...ideologies. 5. What does philosopher Thomas Hobbes believe in? 6. What does philosopher John Locke believe in? 7. What does philosopher Jean-Jacque Rousseau believe in? 8. Draw out a spectrum including the words individualism, collectivism, Hobbes, Locke and Rousseau. 9. Where was liberalism “born”? 10. What is meant by a liberal democracy? 11. What is meant by social contract? 12. What do the Magna Carta, French Revolution and Declaration of the Rights of Man, and American Revolution and Declaration of Independence/Constitution have in common? 13. Who is Adam Smith and famous book did he write? 14. Who is Karl Marx and what famous book did he write? 15. Draw out a spectrum with the words individualism, collectivism, Adam Smith and Karl Marx. Issue 2: Is resistance to liberalism justified? 16. What is liberalism? What are the major characteristics of liberalism? 17. What was mercantilism? Where did this occur, and between which countries? 18. What is meant by laissez-faire capitalism? 19. Why did capitalism emerge out of a response to mercantilism?...
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...Comparison of Political Parties The United States lives in a republic government, which is molded around a democracy. Within a democracy, there is a constitution which allows the citizens freedoms and rights. Within a democracy, the people have the choice in who represents them for an allotted time period. During this time those elected to office, make decisions on behalf of those who they represent. The purpose of this paper is to discuss three quotes given that are provided by three political parties, this paper will identify which party those quotes derived from. Next this paper will discuss the differences between conservatism, classical liberalism, and socialism. Unlike a democracy, conservatism, classical liberalism, and socialism have three different outlooks on the operation of how the government should operate. The first quote is; “We believe in the power and opportunity of America’s free-market economy. We believe in the importance of sensible business regulations that promote confidence in our economy among consumers, entrepreneurs and businesses alike” (CCRCC, 2012). The quote comes from the national Republican Party. The second quote; “our way we need to modernize and reform our economy for the long term, to deliver fairness at home, more competitiveness abroad, and strong regional growth” this quote comes from President Barrack Obama, which is related to the Democratic Party (Whitehouse, 2012). The third quote is; “Individuals should be free to make choices for...
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...LIBERALISM QUESTIONS – A2 (UNIT 4) Short Answers 1. Why do liberals support constitutionalism and consent? (Jan 02) Constitutionalism is a belief in limited government brought about through external (usually legal) and internal (institutional) checks on the exercise of power. Consent is the idea that govt power should be based on the agreement of the governed, usually expressed through regular and competitive elections. Liberals support constitutionalism and consent because they fear that govt may become a tyranny against the individual, based on the assumption that power is inherently corrupting and concentrations of power will lead to absolute corruption. This assumption is rooted in the liberal view of human nature: as individualism implies self- interest, those with power over others are apt to abuse it for their benefit and at the expense of others. Liberal constitutionalism is expressed through support for various external and internal devices, such as codified constitutions, bills of rights, the separation of powers, federalism or devolution, and so on. Liberal support for consent is evident in support for electoral democracy in general and, more specifically, sympathy for referendums and proportional representation. 2. Distinguish between negative freedom and positive freedom, and explain the implications of each for the state. (Jun 02) Negative freedom is the absence of external constraints upon the individual, usually understood as non-interference...
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...What are the Main Challenges to Liberalism in the Current Global Order? Introduction: Liberalism: dominant ideological force shaping western political thought. Identified with western civilisation itself. Lib v. Popular inter-war period by idealists who believed warfare was an outdated way of settling events. Heywood- the central theme of liberalism in all its forms is harmony Peace is normal Faith in HN Democracy is necessary Outline what Neo-Liberalism believes in1) peace and security2) Economy – capitalism, no government intervention, invisible hand, free trade, absolute advantages, relative advantages. David ricardo. 3) Democracy Democracy and the USA ( link USA with liberalism) Ability of USA to steer world order is diminishing All about state capitalism: Rising powers are wanting a greater share of the spoils → challenging liberalism and thus USA → russia and china veto UN involvement in Syria Newly powerful states are starting to advance their own agendas for the world order: weaker US will find it harder to defend liberalism Todays rising states are large non-western developing countries. Brazil/China/India HOWEVER: Most people believe India/Brazil likely to support liberalism e.g. India has a commitment to interdependence. India is a joiner – it wants to be included e.g.recently pushed for a permanent seat on the UN security council Economy The recession has bolstered this narrative. The economic crisis started US- tarnished American model...
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...Vincent Serrecchia Professor Cruz Latino Politics 28 February 2012 Debate Paper #2 According to Webster’s dictionary, the definition of liberalism is as follows, “a political philosophy based on belief in progress, the essential goodness of the human race, and the autonomy of the individual and standing for the protection of political and civil liberties.” The first known use of liberalism in our society was in 1819, and from then on it has always claimed to stand for the greatest social good. As for liberalism being incompatible with identity politics, I disagree. I believe identity politics is compatible with liberalism. Liberalism is considered democracy free while identity politics focus on the self-interest and perspectives of self-identified groups. My first experience with a Latino politics debate wasn’t exactly positive because it made me nervous knowing I had to express my views towards the question that was assigned to our debate. At the beginning of the debate I was a little nervous to speak my opinion because I felt that I did not know enough about the Latino culture, as well as having a hard time understanding the readings. I was afraid that what I was about to say could come off as offending to some of my fellow classmates and, in defense to that, it would cause another debate. However, after having the opportunity to listen to the first debater give their opinion on the question, I felt more comfortable to speak my opinion without the risk of...
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...weapons/capabilities, but there is no solid evidence. Weapons proliferation today is on the move, more than a dozen countries had started weapons programs in the past, but all were stopped prior to full-up capabilities coming online. Today several states and sub-national groups to include Iran, Iraq, Libya, North Korea and the Al-Queda are pursuing clandestine nuclear weapons programs. (2) These counties want prestige, the added security, domestic control and diplomatic bargaining power that comes with possessing WMD. They want a place on the “World stage” and are using the avenue of weapons proliferation to gain the power needed to get them on that stage. In order to control Weapons Proliferation, policymakers must engage in liberalism based governing, providing the greatest possible international cooperation. Secondly, as a prerequisite to obtaining that cooperation, they must act to strengthen international norms, or rules of acceptable...
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...though can be driven by diverse and sometimes contradicting ideologies. Liberal Democracy in its broadest sense combines the values of individual freedoms and communal participation in governance. Though the definition of liberal democracy is also very intangible and has a wide history of interpretation in Australia which has strongly influenced its current form and application(Hirst 2002, pp. 231-232). So how Australia’s liberal democratic system put into practice its underlying ideologies and does it truly enhance the rights and freedoms of its citizens. Definition of Liberal Democracy The wider populations general understanding of the concept of liberal democracy can also change overtime as the interpretation of the idea becomes vaster. Liberalism in its earliest form is now described as classical liberalism and promotes individual freedom with minimal intervention from government. This form of liberalism tends to assume that anyone can become successful if they work for it. (REFERENCE) Democracy is a concept bracing an overarching ideal of having the ability of communal participation of stakeholders regarding the direction of governance. The historical use of the term democracy is perhaps also the way of describing its meaning. Heywood identifies four contrasting models of democracy being; classic democracy; protective democracy; developmental democracy and people's democracy. Classical democracy involves direct participation of all citizens in decision making through mass...
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...Government Essay Question - Do political parties in New Zealand follow this Ideology? Choose three specific policy commitments each from different New Zealand political parties and discuss the extent to which the policies reflect a clear ideology. It is important for New Zealand parties to have a clear ideology and policies since the 2014 election is coming up. Ideology typically refers to a series of political beliefs, ethical ideals or principles. Do these New Zealand parties follow these ideologies through their policies? There are parties which have different ideologies in which they follow through their policies, such as the Green party and the Labour party. Although, some parties such as the National party do not necessarily follow some principles of the ideology The Green party abides by an environmentalism ideology. The ideology of environmentalism is a relatively new ideology in a political sense, due to recent uprising of concerns about the harm done to the natural world due to economic production (Heywood, A. (1997). The Green party’s policy of banning the commercial release and growth, development and field-testing of genetically engineered trees, follows the environmentalism ideology (Browning, S. 2011). Producing genetically engineered trees will have the potential have unforeseen impacts on our forests; the wider environment and health of organic ecosystems (Browning, S. 2011). However, genetically engineered trees could also benefit the environment in...
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...Realism and Liberalism Political realism believes that politics, like society in general, is governed by objective laws that have their roots in human nature. In order to improve society it is first necessary to understand the laws by which society lives, the operation of these laws being impervious to our preferences. Realism, believing as it does in the objectivity of the laws of politics, must also believe in the possibility of developing a rational theory that reflects, however imperfectly and one-sidedly, these objective laws. It believes also in the possibility of distinguishing in politics between truth and opinion – between what is true objectively and rationally, supported by evidence and illuminated by reason, and what is only a subjective judgment. Realism is a theory within international relations which predicts states will act in their own national interest in defiance of moral consideration. In general, this belief results from an observation of human nature and the perception of people as selfish and fiercely competitive. Realism regards the international arena as anarchic, governed by no authority overriding sovereign states. International institutions such as the United Nations are not afforded significant credibility from a realist perspective. Rather, influence is perceived to be held predominately by major powers such as the United States, whose dominance is a product of military and economic strength. Realists hold the primary interest...
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...It effectively supports a view of collectivism – the idea that society, as a whole, should be treated as one economic unit, and that ‘the economy’ should therefore be in its hands. During the 1980s, Labour was arguably the farthest left that it has ever been. During this period, Labour was of an ideology of Social Democracy. Social democracy is a form of socialism which aims to reform the capitalist system to reduce social inequality and promote social justice. The core values of the social democracy can be seen in the old Clause IV which supported equality, redistribution of wealth, social justice, nationalisation, full employment and welfare for all, which were heavily socialist leanings. Its main means of upholding these values were through a mixed economy, Keynesian demand management to support employment and the redistribution of wealth via the welfare system. By the 1970's this system of running the country had led to stagflation, and Keynesianism had failed in the eyes of many. The Conservative Party was later elected with a New Right agenda under Thatcher, and the electorate consensus following their periods in office was that her free-market neo-liberalism was the best so far at generating wealth. Due to the recovery that the UK’s economy made under Thatcherism, Labour was hard pressed to change its policies or suffer electoral defeat – and it took the 1980s for this to happen. During this time, Labour suffered crippling electoral defeat due to its perceived far-left...
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...International Relation and European-Asian studies A Dialogic Approach to Intercultural Communication ------------------------------------------------- Cosmopolitan Liberalism Tallinn 2015 Cosmopolitan Liberalism By political cosmopolitanism we mean the idea of overcoming the fragmentation of the world into an anarchy of states by constructing a global public order within which states are subsumed. The new liberal cosmopolitanism argues that this new global public order can and must be based upon liberal principles. Liberal cosmopolitanism in its current form is a radicalization of Anglo-American liberal internationalism. It shares a whole series of commitments with the latter: one humanity, liberal values and cognitive frameworks, individual liberal rights, liberal-democracy, the promotion of peace through international economic liberalism, the development of liberal universalist international law and institutions. Liberal Cosmopolitanism differs from Liberal Internationalism in three key goals: * The subordination of the states to a global order of governance, protecting the liberal rights of individual citizens from state authorities, even through coercive action where necessary. * The transformation of state sovereignty from an absolute right into a licence extended to the state by the global community on the condition that the state behaves in an at least minimally liberal way towards its citizens. * The emergence of cosmopolitan citizens...
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