Liberalism basic outline

Focus on the individual
1. Individual is the most important
2. Human rights and liberties limit the state
3. Human nature
  1. People are rational
  2. Can make own decisions
  3. can think about things and base disisions on this
  4. can consider morals
4. best judge of what is best for self
5. All people are different
  1. Making own choices strenthen ability to reason
  2. have different needs, wans and disires
  3. Individual freedoms
    1. JSM - educations and engagement in politics increases mans abilty to rational desisions
6. Minimal state as a result
  1. week government
7. issues
  1. Not all people are rational
  2. Sometimes people do not understand their needs
  3. What about self harm- would government have a case to stop it
  4. Would a week government have enough power to meet its obligations
Social contract and concent
1. Government should be based on the consent of the people
2. Socail contract between the people and the state
3. State protects the rights of people
4. State acts as a judge between individuals during conflict to stop Violence
5. Issues
  1. No-one actually enters into a contract
  2. No option to opt out of this contract
  3. does state have power to stop violence
  4. What is harm? differs between people
6. Harm principle
Constitutionalism and the Rule of Law
1. Government should be limited
  1. by a sepiration of powers
    1. legislature
    2. executive
    3. judiciary
  2. By the constituation
2. two different forms of law
  1. The constituntion
    1. A higher form of law that stops the government harming the people
  2. The Law
    1. Stops people harming each other
3. Issues
  1. Seperating powers can lead to red tape and cause issues
  2. What is harm? everyone has different version
  3. Corruption
Freedom as Choice
1. Freedom allows rational individuals to pursue their intersts
2. linked with material choice
3. J.S Mills and others also introduced humanitarian elements
  1. Freedom of speech
  2. Freedom of religion
  3. freedom of though
4. Issues
  1. Freedom of speech can lead to harm
  2. Are people rational
Equality of Opportunity
1. Evolved with capitilsm
  1. This system promotes inequality
  2. view people as equal helps combat this
2. competition takes place based on equality
3. Allows people to become less equal and improve
  1. Not equal results
4. Issues
  1. Society is not equal
  2. Opportunity is not always possible
    1. different forms of Capital
      1. social
      2. Cultural
      3. economic
Social Justice Based on Merit
1. Gain rewards in relation to merit
2. see just procedures instead of just outcomes
3. issues
  1. Society is not equal so some people can progress further without merit
  2. Outcomes are important too
Tollerance
1.  Society should accept a variety of religious, moral and political opinions
2. All people deserve basic human rights
3. conviction of a pluralist society which accommodates a multiplicity of beliefs
Private and Public Life
1. public and private sphere
  1. seperated
  2. government can not be involved in the private sphear
  3. government can only interfere in cases of harm
2. issues
  1. What is harm
  2. where is the line between public and private

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Liberalism basic outline

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	Created by Nikki Wyles about 8 years ago