Liberalism
Core ideas and princples
Individualism
Individualism -- this is the idea that the individual is more important than any one soical group.
People should not be treated as means to an end, but ends in on themselves.
There is some disgreement and individualism can be interpreted 2 ways:
Egostical individualism/atomism (a view held by classical liberals) -- this is the view that people are self-seeking and self-relient. This form of individualism regards society as just a collection of indepedent individuals.
Developmental individualis (a view held by modern liberals) -- this is the idea that individual freedom is linked to the desire to create a society in which each person can grow and florish.
Tolerenance is an important idea within liberalism and it is the idea that people should be willing to accept values, customs and beliefs with which one disagrees.
Tolerence is important as it is required for people to respect other peoples individualism.
Freedom
Negertive freedom -- this is the freedom from interfence by other people. I.e freedom from external constraints.
Positive freedom -- having the capacity to act on one's free will and realise personal potential.
Liberals believe in liberty/freedom, but that this is not unlimted and that people don't have the freedom to deprive other people of freedom.
John Staut Mill argued that there are two types of acts:
Self regarding acts -- these are actions that will only impact you and these should not be restricted.
Other regarding acts -- these are actions that will not only impact you and these can be restricted to protect others.
Liberals believe the state has a role in protecting freedom, John Locke said "the end of law is not to abolish or restrain, but to preserve and enlarge freedom ... where there is no law, there is no freedom.".
This links to the idea of limited government.
Governemnt is needed to protect people's rights.
This is the most important of all liberal values.
Tolerence is underpinned in the Voltaire quote "I desest what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it."
John Stuat Mill argued that society needed a 'free market of ideas' so the best ideas could be debated and flourish, Mill argued that this 'free market' was threatend by democracy and the assumption that the majority is right.
Limitted governemnt
Limitted government -- this is the idea that the government is prevented from acting as it wishes by checks and balances and seperation of powers.
Liberals accept the need for government as it is needed to protect people's rights.
John Locke said of governemnt and law that "the end of law is not to abolish or restrain, but to preserve and enlarge freedom ... where there is no law, there is no freedom.".
Liberals believe in a bill of rights that sets out what each citizen is entitiled to within the state, this helps prevent the expansion of government's power.
Liberals support the idea of federalism as it helps ensure that when government must act, it is done closer to the people. This further weakens any one section of governemnts power.
Liberals believe in a social contract between the citizens of a country and the government.
Social contract -- this is the idea that people agree to give up some rights in exchange for security.
Classical liberals argue that this idea of limited government should extend into the economic sphere as they embrace laissez-faire capitalism.
Laissez-faire capitalism -- this is an economic system organised by the market, where goods are produced for exchange and profit (i.e pure, free market capitalism).
Reason and rationalism
Rationalism -- instead of relying on customs, tradiations or superstions, people try to explain the world using reason and research.
Liberals view history in terms of progress with humans becoming more advanced.
Equality and social justice
Equality of opportunity -- this is the idea that everyone should have equal chances in life to rise and fall.
Liberals accept different outcomes because people have different skills and abilities, those that can make use of their skills should make use of them and suceed.
Liberals also support foundational equality.
Foundational equality -- this is the idea that individuals shoudl have the same legal rights as everyone else.
The meritocracy is key to liberalism. It links to the idea of reason because to achieve the best results the only rational approach is to pick the best people.
Modern liberals support some intervention in the economy to ensure that inequality isn't execessive and on one is prevented from achieving freedom due to poverty.
Liberal democracy
Since the 19th century most liberals have supported the conecpt of liberal democracy, this involves:
Free elections.
Limitatons on the power of the state.
Civil liberties and toleration of different view points.
Social contract -- this is key to the idea of liberal democracy and is the idea that people agree to give up some rights in exchange for security.
This was important before the birth of democracy and early liberals like Locke argued that people have a right to revolt against government should it break the social contract.
Some liberals have feared the idea of the tryany of the majority that could lead to attacks on minoity rights and the infringement of some people's individualism.
John Staut Mill argued that to curb the infleunce of the uneducated masses (who may not vote rationally) the illterate should not be able to vote and the well educated should be able to vote more than once.
Direct opposition to democracy is not present in liberalism today (either in modern liberals or classical liberals around today).
Power tends to corrupt, aboslute power corrupts Lord Acton