...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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...‘Liberalism is defined by the desire to minimise the role of the state’ Discuss. Liberalism as an ideology revolves around the idea of freedom for the individual. The reason for this is due to the liberal’s view of human nature; they see the human being as unique and rational; able to make decisions in their best interest. Although all liberals agree on individual freedom, when it comes to the role of the state they are split down the middle. On one side there are the classic liberals who believe in as little state intervention as possible, and on the other side there is the modern liberals who believe state intervention is necessary as it can develop people and create equal opportunity. When looking at a liberal view of the state it is necessary to focus on both modern and classic liberals and compare their ideas. Classic liberalism can clearly be defined by the desire to minimise the role of the state, this is also known as negative freedom. Whereas modern liberalism believes the state is necessary to develop individuals and create opportunity, this is known as positive freedom. The individual is important to both Classical and Modern liberals, as Mills stated, “Over himself, over his own body and mind, the individual is sovereign”. For liberals, the individual is the most important part of their belief and government should not restrict the individual. Instead of looking at society as a whole, they look at it as a group of individuals, all striving to be the best they...
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...To What Extent Have Modern Liberals Departed from the Ideas of Classical Liberalism? (45) Liberalism has been active throughout Europe since the early 19th century, although the UKs first experience of Liberalism put into practice was in 1868 under Gladstone’s Liberal government. Early Liberalist ideas concentrated largely around core values of freedom, individualism and a minimal state. However, revisionists have deployed a modern liberalism, which in many ways have departed from core themes of Classic Liberals. Classic Liberalism has a heavy focus surrounding the core value of freedom, which also overlap the core theme of a minimalistic state. However, the evolution of liberalism, has brought about a different perspective as to what extent freedom should be exercised and at what point the state have a responsibility to implement restrictions. Early liberals such as John Locke and Adam Smith supported a ‘negative freedom’ whereby individuals were left to make their own choices without interferences from the state. J.S Mill another classic liberal proposed a very simple principle known as the Harm Principle. The harm principle is a concept which acknowledges the need for government intervention only when one’s action is physically detrimental to another. This again defends the concepts of both ‘negative freedom’ and a minimalistic state. Locke proposed the idea of ‘Natural Rights’ which specified god given rights such as life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The idea of...
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...I) -individualism is the belief in the supreme importance of the individual over any social group or collective body. For classic liberals, this is heavily associated with attempts to contract or minimise the state with a view to widen individual freedom and strengthen individual responsibility. -modern liberalism, aka '20th c lib' is a branch of liberal theory that emerged as a response to the spread of poverty ignorance and disease in the post-industrial era, stressing the importance of egoistical individualism, negative freedom, enabling state and economic management. -due to such developments, classic liberals have accused modern liberals of abandoning individualism and embracing collectivism, which is the belief that collective human endeavour is of greater moral & practical value to individual self striving and that human beings have a social core. Collectivism is commonly associated with pushing the state forward, as the state is a mechanism through which collective energies are harnessed and collective ends achieved. A) -Modern liberalism have been accused of embracing collectivism because of the extent to which which they are prepared to support government intervention in social/economic affairs via an 'enabling/interventionist state'. Classic liberals understand freedom in negative terms, believing the absence of external legal/physical constraints as a condition for autonomy, but recognise that some authority is needed via a neutral arbiter amongst egoistical individuals...
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...Has liberalism betrayed its classical principles? Liberalism is a powerful modern thrust which is not just an ideology, but has become more of a western understanding. Liberalism emerged during the 19th century, following the French revolution i.e. the feudal period. The philosophy had set out principles in relation to the individual such as freedom, reason, justice, toleration and liberal democracy. A century later, there was the establishment of modern liberals. Modern liberalist ideas are similar to those of the classical liberals but, in some cases differ quite vigorously. It has been argued that modern liberals have betrayed the core, classical principles of liberalism. Classical liberals believe that the individual is largely self seeking and self reliant. These liberals believe in an atomistic society, which is the idea that society itself doesn’t exist and that individuals are out to satisfy their own personal needs. C.B. Macpherson described early liberalism as ‘possessive individualism’ where one owes nothing to society. Modern liberals on the other hand have a more optimistic view of human nature. They state that an individual must have social responsibility for one another, especially those who are unable to care for themselves. Modern liberals trust that there should be a unity amongst individuals to create an effective society where one is able to flourish to the fullness of their potential. They are in favour of social support rather than the classical belief...
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...------------------------------------------------- The relationship between Modern Conservatism (UK) and Classic Liberalism In the UK Margret thatcher was the true pioneer of modern conservatism. Thatcher had completely shifted the party to the right. This was known as the new right. The party had adopted many ideas off classic liberalism due to this it was fair to assume that Margret thatcher might have been a classic liberalist. Mainly down to the reason because its central theme is an extreme form of individualism. Both Margret thatcher and classic liberalists believed that humans are egotistical, self-seeking and largely self-reliant creatures. They both believed in negative freedom. Negative freedom to its most basic form means an individual is only free when the state leaves them alone to do whatever they wish. Thatcher said there is “no such thing as society.” She argued that individuals had to take responsibility for their own lives. She thought it was pointless to blame society for ones problems. She famously said that “it is our duty to look after ourselves and then also to help look after our neighbours”. The point thatcher was trying to get across was people would have less incentive to provide for families and communities if the government took on the responsibility. Instead government shouldn’t interfere but let natural self-reliance and charity to flourish. Classic liberalists differ from this they exaggerate extreme liberty as thy believe individuals don’t owe...
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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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...To what extent do Classical and Modern Liberals follow the same principles in their ideology? (45) Typically, liberalism is categorised into two separate components; Classical liberalism, which was fashioned during the 19th century and the more recent modern liberalism that emerged following the rise in industrialisation. Although both divisions of Liberalism unavoidably overlap in attitudes and principles regarding the theory behind the ideology, there are a number of notable differences when the two forms of ideology are analysed together. Some will say that both Classical and modern liberalists possess a number of parallel approaches towards this political theory and its key concepts. Therefore, it shall be my conclusion that, whilst both Classical and Modern Liberals follow the same ideology, they interpret it in a different way. Firstly, both strands of Liberalism believe in the necessity of some kind of a state, since life without a state, as Thomas Hobbes stated, would be ‘solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short’. Both views consider the existence of a state to be essential in order to protect individual rights. Since Liberalism, from a general perspective, considers humanity to be self-interested and egoistical. The importance of the state is emphasised since it ensures that individuals do not exploit other individuals rights (through acts of theft, harm etc.). Liberal analysists, Hobbes and Locke, particularly stressed the importance of creating a ‘social contract’...
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...Introduced by the intellectuals of the Enlightenment and given legitimacy by the economics of the Industrial Revolution, Liberalism in Europe developed and newly espoused the notion that man was free to choose to live his life and earn his way as he saw fit. Personal freedom was an inherent right, and that society would best be served by each individual being able to perform to the best of his ability, and that the needs of society as a whole would be better met by a population choosing to perform its function rather than a predetermined one. The Industrial Revolution made this possible by allowing one person to essentially perform the function of the Guild vis a vis quality control and design, and allowing creativity by allowing anyone to produce any product or service at will, departing from the rigidity of the Guild mechanism. Bringing his own product to the marketplace monetized the common merchant, and what would become the free market began to take shape. A free market allows for the marketplace to determine it’s own needs, and provides the opportunity for a person with the notion of fulfilling that need to do so necessarily creating competition, ultimately advancing society at it’s own pace, rather than having needs and roles dictated by a state with no requirement for an individual’s personal satisfaction, happiness or success. Classic European Conservatism ensures an ordered, stable society, provided by a government that is best able to determine and thus...
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...However, the ending of the film seems to favour liberals over conservatives. This film is a miniature of the rivalry between the people holding conservative values and those holding liberal values in the US. The film was first released in 1998 and gained a lot of critical acclaim, becoming a classic of the 1990s. The film Pleasantville is about two teenagers in the 1990s who find themselves in a 1950s sitcom. Through their actions the people of Pleasantville begin to experience strong emotions and consequently events in the town begin to deviate from the equilibrium. ! Gary Ross uses color to promote liberalism. The majority of the film is set in black and white and only certains people and objects that have colors. During the courtroom scene towards the end of the film, the audience in the courtroom starts with people having colors being the minority. As the movie progress, black and white characters get colors one by one until the mayor is the only one who still remains black and white. David, the protagonist of the film, in the end however forces the Mayor to turn into color as well. The color represents the idea of liberalism because the characters change into color once they find what is missing in their lives. David declares: “You don’t have the right to do this…but there are so many things that are so much better like being silly or sexy”. This suggests that any kind of authority does not have the right to shape people’s behaviours and every individual has the right of...
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...All ideologies therefore have the following features. They : A . offer an account of the existing order,usually in the form of a 'world view' B . advance a model of a desired future, a version of the 'good society' C . explain how political change can and should be brought about – how to get from a to b be able to explain the marxist concept of ideology p.6: First, ideology is about delusion and mystification: it perpetrates a false or mistaken view of the word, what Engels later referred to as 'false consciousness'. Second, ideology is linked to the class system. Marx believed that the distortion implicit in ideology stems from the fact that it reflects the interests and perspective on society of the ruling class. The ruling class is unwilling to recognize itself as an oppressor and, equally, is anxious to reconcile the oppressed to their oppression. Liberalism, which portrays rights that can only be exercised by the propertied and privileged as universal entitlements, is therefore the classic example of ideology. Third, ideology is a manifestation of power. In concealing the contradictions upon which capitalism, in common with all class societies, is based, ideology serves to hide from the exploited proletariat the fact of its own exploitation, thereby upholding a system of unequal class power. Finally, Marx treated ideology as a temporary phenomenon. Ideology will only continue so long as the class system that generates it survives. The proletariat, the 'grave...
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...To what extent do liberals disagree over freedom? (15) Liberals believe that each human being is an individual who is rational. Therefore implying that each individual should have freedom. However the extent to this freedom causes a divide within liberals, as shown by Isiah Berlin who distinguished between ‘negative’ liberty and ‘positive’ liberty. Liberals disagree over the extent and nature of freedom. ‘Negative’ liberty supported by classic liberals implies that individuals should be free from constraint, free from external restriction and a lack of interference allowing for freedom of choice therefore a need for the rolling back of the state. This firm belief in individualism-as humans are rational, leads to the classic liberal belief that individuals can flourish without state intervention as human beings are self-interested creatures who are self-reliant and therefore create an atomistic society. This freedom supported by classic liberals allows individuals to act as they wish whatever the consequences as the consequences can’t be said to limit freedom (as that would be against their belief of complete freedom) but are bad luck, not caused by the state therefore the objects that interfere with the classic liberals ideas of freedom include state legislations not natural occurrences that can’t be stopped. Therefore they believe in the silence of the laws to ensure freedom. Modern liberals on the other hand who believe in ‘positive’ freedom have a different idea of the...
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...George Obiyo Varieties of Capitalism A synthesis essay on Washington Consensus, Ways of achieving a fiscal discipline, Fundamentalism (arguments against), Difference in European Liberalism and A post Washington consensus with empirical evidence on economic development. A) Washington consensus was a term created in 1989 by an English Economist John Williamson which focused on 10 relatively specific forms of economic policy that could help to promote developing countries that are in economic crisis. It was based in Washing D.C USA by institutions such as the US Treasury Department, World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF). Williamson three main idea were based on the Macroeconomic discipline, the development and expansion of market forces around the domestic economy and the high degree of economic openness in and around the world. The ten policy reforms centers on: 1. Fiscal Policy – Constructive monetary discipline while avoiding a high rate of deficit : with a high deficit it could lead to balance of payment crisis with relatively high inflation that in most cases only affect the poor class as the rich are able to transfer their money overseas 2. Public Expenditures Priorities – The government should be neutral by eliminating or reducing in terms of non-merits subsidies and give more focus to pro-growth and pro-poor way policies example sectors like health, Education and infrastructure. Where health can close the gap between inequalities as the poor can cheaply...
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...services facilitating selling process Expand consumer demand for products Encouraging consumption and fostering economic growth * Helps new competitors enter the market = advances competition, which results in the lowering of prices that consumers pay for goods and services Effects on Consumer Choice * Differentiation * Brand Loyalty Effects on Competition * Barriers to entry * Economies of scale Effects on product costs and prices * Advertising as an expense that increases the cost of products * Increased differentiation 2. Information Role * Commercial Speech must * Presents information to help consumers make decisions regarding the purchase of products and services * Ads tells us what is new, available, where, when and the price * Tell us about a products (alleged) quality and specifications 3. Entertainment Role * Ads have become an intrinsic part of modern society * Although we may condemn its objectives, as an aesthetic experience we enjoy ads in the same way we enjoy pop culture texts E.g. Very little of the content in soft drink commercials provides info about the products themselves * Soft drink ads do not focus on flavor or quality or unique packaging. They seek to provide consumers with little entertainment breaks 2. Major Advertising Critique Approaches Does Advertising make people buy things they don’t need? Does advertising encourage...
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...Liberalism and The consequences of World War II Ayomide A Adaranijo History 3100; Diplomatic History Dr. Oreste Foppiani Although the term liberalism, in the political sense, became very popular in the early 1970’s, actions that would qualify as liberalism had begun to take place since, at the latest, after the Second World War, and probably before that time. The aftermath of the Second World War was the beginning of wide spread international cooperation, and the period immediately after the war signified the beginning of international organizations and the beginning of political and economic cooperation amongst the most powerful countries at the time. Because of the effects of the war, most countries had no other choice but to cooperate with each other in order to recover from the economic downturn after World War II. This period after the war marked the beginning of a series of actions that would eventually lead to the globalized and interdependent political economy that we have today. At the end of the Second World War, most of the former super powers (Great Britain, France, Italy, Germany) were in ruins. The only two true winners of the war were the United States and the Soviet Union. However, the United States was the only country to come out of World War 2 with a stable and efficient economy as well as an intact army and the capacity to produce nuclear weapons (this was very crucial at that time). With most of the world’s economy in jeopardy, the leaders of these...
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