Liberalism

Evolution of Liberalism

Classic Liberalism

• Developed in Europe in the 18th century

• Encouraged analysis of traditional ideas and structures, institutions.

• Church, authority, Police powers etc.

• Distrust of state power ( rulers, monachs chosen by God)

Classic LiberalismGov’t involvement

• Least government involvement in society.

• Based on individual freedoms

• Government should not be involved in the lives of people

• Few laws, limited police powers

• No economic involvement.

Evolution of LiberalismUtilitarianism

• Utilitarianism created by John Stuart Mills and Jeremy Bentham.

• Ethics - A good or ethical action is measured by the amount of people it helps.

• Governments can be involved as long as its actions help more people than it hurts.

Evolution of LiberalismModern Liberalism

• Modern Liberalism is a combination of Classic and Utilitarianism

• Emphasizes individual rights

• freedom of choice and dignity of people

• Freedom of individual expression

Modern Liberalism

• Liberals view people as essentially good

• Strict rules are unnecessary as people will learn from their mistakes

• Supports new ideas, especially those that promote equality.

• Ex. Support Same Sex marriage because it promotes equality.

Modern Liberalism

• Government should provide opportunities for women, minority groups, poor.

• Believe human history as the development of progressive reforms such as the abolishment of slavery, equal rights for women.

2. Political PhilosophyPlato

2.Common Good

• Plato believed that people were at their best when they acted in the common good or all in society.

• The goal of people should be virtuous.

• The quest of people should be to grow and attain a supreme morality.

Common Good

• Argued material possessions provide a distraction from people achieving a higher state.

• When all the members of a society strive to become virtuous they will put the needs of others and society first.

• This will create a better society for the person to live in and will result in a happier life.

• When people put themselves first it causes conflict within society.

• They compete and stop caring about the common good.

• This leads to the downfall of society.

Who should Lead?

• Plato believed that society should be split into three classes.

• Philosopher Rulers, Guardians, and Producers (artisans)

• “The quality of human life can be improved if people learn to be rational and understand that their real interests lie in harmonious cooperation with one another, and not in war or partisan strife.”

Who Should Lead

• Philosopher rulers should be the leaders of society.

• Normal people are corrupt and self serving and only better themselves to gain more power.

• Philosophers get power from searching for the truth and bettering themselves morally and educationally.

• Riches do not matter to them.

• They would be identified in schools and removed from their families.

• Would not have families or Land as these would cause them to care more about personal issues rather than the state.

• Philosophers enjoy respect and leisure.

Guardian Class

• This group is the protectors of the state.

• They enjoy the physical aspects of life.

• Get honour and worth from protecting the city and other military honours.

• They have little interest in leisure or wealth, they want status and reputation.

Producer class

• Producers are artists, business people.

• They enjoy wealth and producing goods.

• They have families, and possessions but have no desire to rule or attain honour or knowledge unless it benefits their business.

• The three groups work for the mutually benefit of each other in harmony.

• Each class is working in the things they are best at.

• All interests will be served.

• Society is organized for the common good.

Machiavelli

• Author of The Prince

• First to separate politics and ethics

• Believed good politics is politics that succeeds.

• Good or bad does not matter as long as you win.

Machiavelli

• He argued that it didn’t matter if a ruler was ethical or good as long as the people believed he was good.

• Leaders should wear a mask and create an image to convince or fool the public.

• They should do whatever it takes to gain power including lie.

Machiavelli

• Machiavelli stated that it would be best to be both loved and feared. But since the two rarely come together, anyone compelled to choose will find greater security in being feared than in being loved.

6. Divisions of Government

• Modern Governments consist of three branches of government.

• Executive

• Legislative

• Judicial

Executive

• Executive is composed of elected individuals and chosen by the Leader to act as their advisors.

• In Canada this would be the PM and all of the Ministers i.e minister of Education, Health, Defence etc.

Legislative

• Voted into power during elections and usually belong to a political Party.

• This branch makes and approves laws and bills.

• In democracies they approve actions created by the leader of the executive.

• These are the Members of Parliament in Canada.

Judicial Branch

• Composed of Courts

• Usually appointed by executive

• Ensures the constitution is followed

• This includes Charter of Rights and Freedoms cases.

Types of Government Authority

• Traditional – Leaders are chosen by hereditary. Family usually associated with being divine.

• Usually Monarchy

Legal Authority

• Governments are also formed but have to abide by rules or a constitution.

• They must follow previously established rules such as term lengths, elections.

• The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms limits government powers.

• Agreement between the Government and the people.

Autocratic Authority

• This is a government achieved by the use of force.

• Ideological or religious beliefs form the basis of support.

• Usually have to be supported through military and the elite.

• Laws are imposed from above.

Autocratic Authority

8. Political Leadership and Change

• There are many ways leadership changes in society.

• Elections

• Hereditary and Designated Succession

• Coups d’Etat

Elections

• Most orderly way of having leadership change.

• Most modern systems have one person one vote.

• Uses the party system

• Everyone that is a citizen may run for office

Fraud in Elections

• Throughout history there have been limits to true democracy.

• Literacy tests used as a way to keep African Americans from voting. (it was illegal for them to be taught to read)

• Women were not given the vote in Can until 1919.

• Threats at the polls

• 2000 U.S Elections between Gore and G W Bush so close

• had to be determined by the supreme court

• Came down to state of Florida where Bush’s Brother was governor.

• Led to many protests

Hereditary and Designated Succession

• Used in Monarchical Systems tradition or cultural rule determines next leader.

• Rulers are believed to be gods or chosen by god

• Leadership usually given to oldest son.

Hereditary and Designated Succession

• Autocratic authority governments designate successors

• Fidel Castro handed over power of his country to his brother Raul

• Kim Il Sung gave power to his son Kim Jong-Il. North Korea had to mourn the father’s death for three years.

Coup D’Etat

• Means “blow against the state”

• Overthrows an existing government to establish an autocratic government

• Usually involves violence.

Coup D’Etat

• Takes place quickly supported by a military.

• Fidel Castro and Che Guevara in Cuba.

Political and Social Ideologies

• Political Ideology is an organised collection of ideas and values that describes a political system, movement or way of thinking.

• Political Spectrum An imaginary scale that places your opinions in regards to Left wing, Center, Right wing.

• Social Spectrum – aims to measure human rights and other societal issues.

• Scale goes from Libertarianism to Authoritarianism.

• Libertarianism – belief in total individual freedom without rules.

• Authoritarianism belief that individuals have a duty to follow established rules.

7. Conservatism

• Believe that traditional values are the building blocks of society.

• Traditional institutions hold society together and puts people in orderly roles.

• Traditional family - Religion

• Role of women - Immigration

• Crime - Social issues

Something to think about

• What issues would challenge these traditional values and what would be the conservative response?

• Traditional family - Religion

• Role of women - Immigration

• Crime - Social responsibility

• Traditional family – Same sex marriage

• Role of Women – were against women working as threat to family

• Religion – abortion, euthanasia laws

• Immigration – other cultures moving to Canada threaten the stability of society

• Others should assimilate to our culture.

• Criminals should be punished severely

Social Responsibility

• Conservative stresses individual responsibility

• “gov’t should act as a police officer but not a babysitter.”

• If adults make bad decisions they should look to themselves not gov’t for help

• No gov’t intervention

• Gov’t should stay out of the economy and people’s lives.

• Oppose social programs like welfare, EI, high taxes, gov’t health care, gov’t schooling.

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5. Marx’s View on Capitalism

• Communism was a theory by Karl Marx as a way to organize society fairly.

• Marx saw that capitalism creates classes in society.

• Bourgeoisie are the owners

• Proletariat are the workers

• These two classes will continually be in conflict.

Marx’s View on Capitalism

• Bourgeoisie own all the capital (factories, tools etc)

• They also get all the profits.

• They can reinvest the profits in the company or remove it and pay themselves.

Marx’s View on Capitalism

• Proletariat – These are the workers and get paid a wage.

• They get no share in Company profits.

• At the mercy of the Bourgeoisies.

• The goal of the Bourgeoisie is to reduce the costs of production and pay as little as possible.

Marx’s View on Capitalism

• Workers are dependant on the owners for their basic needs.

• Wage Slavery

• People are only of value if they can be used in work.

• The products they produce is not reflected in their pay

Marx’s View on Capitalism

• As technology advances the need for people decreases.

• This leads to unemployment and needs not being met.

• People forced to accept lower wages and poor work conditions.

Marx’s View on Capitalism

• Companies will be in direct competition.

• Self defeating system.

• As companies get more profit they buy other companies and take them over.

• Share of wealth gets more concentrated in the hands of the few.

Results of Capitalism• 80% of the world’s wealth is in the hands

of the top 10 countries.• Bill Gates is worth 47 billion has more

money than 140 countries.• Rich dominate politics 240 million spent on

the last presidential race.• Gap between rich and poor increasing.• Michael Jordan’s advertising contract with

Nike was more than all the worker’s salaries combined