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Rise of Classical Liberalism
SOCIAL 30-2
Liberalism
 The word liberal comes from the Latin liber,
meaning free.
 Liberty = Freedom
 Liberalism has been applied to those who favour the
reform of government
 Liberalism is associated with being open-minded
and supporting freedom of speech and freedom
within actions
Seeds of Liberalism: Ancient
Athenian Democracy
 Assuming that liberalism is a belief in a
democratic process, then we can begin with
Athens
 Athens followed a form of democracy (a direct
democracy)
 However only 12% of the population could vote
 Women, slaves, and foreigners were not eligible to
vote
 This system of government survived until 300 BC
 Not quite liberalism as we know it… but it was a start
Historical development of ideas and events
that combined to form classical liberalism.
Renaissance and Reformation
 Renaissance: Rebirth of classical Greek and Roman
thinking
 Awareness
of individualism
 Growth of Secularism
 Humanism
 Reformation: Faith in the rationality of the
individual and not in the hierarchy within the
Roman Catholic Church
Europe after the Reformation
Humanism
 Humanism: Ideology that developed an
interpretation of history and beliefs about human
nature, the structure of society, all based on reason
rather than religion
 Humanists sought meaning and purpose in love,
beauty, art, and the development of self
The Age of Enlightenment
• Enlightenment thinkers believed in ideas that could
lead to freer and tolerant societies.
• These ideas were not widely accepted because they
challenged the established foundations of society.
Enlightenment Thinkers: John Locke, Thomas
Hobbes, Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Mill, Adam Smith, Charles de Secondat
baron de Montesquieu
Thomas Hobbes
 Was concerned with the problems of social and
political order: how human beings could live
together in peace and avoid the danger and fear of
civil conflict
 IMPORTANT: His ideas are born out of the
horrors of civil war and conflict!!! Hence a reason
why he supported a strong central authority.
 As a result of the civil war he saw human beings as
inherently selfish, and if left unchecked this
selfishness would result in chaos and harm to
everyone.
Thomas Hobbes
Leviathan
 Hobbes's goal was the security of all
individuals, which could be achieved if
they gave up their individual
sovereignty – the Leviathan
 The Leviathan could only justify its
power if it kept its subjects safe –
again the focus is back on the worth of
the individual.
 Contribution to Classical Liberalism:
 Supported the idea that individuals
should be free, but this could only
happen if individuals are safe and
secure; therefore, they must give up
their political rights in exchange for
safety.
 Believed in the concept of a Social
Contract
Hobbes: Main Ideas
 Main Ideas
 People are by nature selfish.
 In their natural state, people compete for everything,
leading to war and conflict, so people agree to a social
contract in which they give up their natural rights for the
sake of their own security. While there may be abuse of
government power, that is the price of peace.
 A strong central government is needed to maintain order.
 The "state" (Leviathan) is an artificial being made up of
men for their security.
John Locke
 John Locke, an English philosopher was the first to
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argue that individuals had innate rights of life, liberty
and property
Private property was important
Believed in a Social Contract
If the Contract was broken the people have the right to
rebel
Consent of the governed (government accountable to
the people)
John Locke
 The purpose of government is basically to
protect the people in their ‘life, health,
liberty, or possessions’. Locke believed
that government should be directly
accountable to the people.
 Locke believed that people should have a
‘private sphere’ that the government
could not interfere with – religion in
particular – the state should be tolerant
of all religions
 “Reason must be our last judge and guide
in everything.” Locke believed that
individuals had the right to use their
reason and logic to make their own
decisions.
Locke: Main Ideas
 All people have natural rights to life, liberty, and
ownership of property.
 People have a "social contract" or unwritten
agreement to entrust power in a government to
protect these natural rights. If a government fails to
protect these rights, it loses its right to rule and
citizens are entitled to set up a new government.
Charles de Secondat,
baron de Montesquieu
 Montesquieu was critical of the Church and the
divine right of kings
 Montesquieu believed in the worth of the
individual, the equality of individuals, and the
accountability of government.
 Supported the separation of powers – the
government divided in to three branches:
executive, legislative, and judicial
 Three branches were dependent of each other and
could not exceed the power of the other two branches
 People need to be involved in government – need for a
democracy
 Citizen must participate in and be aware of the law and
workings of government.
 “The tyranny of a prince in an oligarchy (rule by a few)
is not so dangerous to public welfare as the apathy of a
citizen in a democracy.”
Montesquieu: Main ideas
 He advocated an end to the class system that existed
in France (nobility, clergy, and the "common man").
 Classification of systems of government (such as
monarchies, in which power comes from honour;
republics, in which power comes from virtue; and
dictatorships (which he called "despotisms"), in
which power comes from fear)
 The separation of political power (executive,
legislative, judiciary)
John Stuart Mill
 John Start Mill put together many themes on
liberalism in his book entitled ‘On Liberty’.
 Interested in the protection of individual freedom
and the promotion of individual decision making as
the core of societal institutions.
 “The only purpose for which power can be rightfully
exercised over any member of a civilized community,
against his will, is to prevent harm to others.”
 A citizen should be able to act as he or she wants, so
long as his or her actions would not harm others.
Mill: Main ideas
 Everyone has the right to act as they please so long as
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they do not harm others (the harm principle).
Free speech
An end to slavery
Equal rights for women
Against laws that restrict freedom because of what
might happen
Jean Jacques Rousseau
 People are naturally good but have been corrupted
by society.
 People are naturally free and equal.
 Believed in direct democracy and the general will of
the people
 The ownership of private property leads to jealousy
and crime.
Classical Liberalism
Individual Rights
Humans are Reasonable/Rational
Economic Freedom
Private Property
Protection of civil liberties (by the government)
Limits on the government
Aboriginal Contributions to Liberalism
It has been argued that many of
the principles of liberalism
originated in traditional
Aboriginal societies.
In Canada, our Aboriginal
communities use liberal ideas
such as elected leaders,
government by consensus,
leadership on the basis of
merit, just punishment, and
concepts of equality and
equality before the law.
Great Law of Peace
The Great Law of Peace provided the
Haudenosaunee peoples with a
constitution that dates back to the
15th century.
The Great Binding Law, as it
sometimes is referred to, has three
main principles: righteousness,
health and power – all
characteristics of liberalism.
http://www.iroquoisdemocracy.pdx.edu/html/g
reatlaw.html
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