Social and Political Philosophy

Laissez-Faire Libreralism
1. Literally, "allow to do". A system trade and workforce which is unregulated by government.
2. Created by Adam Smith and David Ricarrdo and deployed by James Mill and his so.n in the "great debates over public policy"
  1. Utilitarian principle
3. Capitalism:economic system based on private ownership of the means of production in relatively few hands controling a large class of workers who work for wages and production which in turn produes a profit for the private owners:
Marxism
1. Marx claims that capitalism is irrational despite it's claim to be rational and that it is set up to benefit the rich minority and to repress the working majority.
  1. Material Base-productive elements of society.
    1. 3 layers of the material base
      1. layer 1- means /raw materials
      2. layer 2- forces- which consist of the factories, technology, and skilled labor
      3. ****Most Important Layer is:Layer 3- Social Relationship of Production- the realtionship between those controling production and those who do not.*2 classes of people are formed by capitalism:the ruling class (controlling class) and the underclass (the workers)
        Bourgeoisie
        middle class
        prolitriat
        urban wage earning workers (lower class)
        Elite ecocnomic class:
        master craftsmen
        alienation- workers will become alienated by their work under a capitalist society
2. 1. Capatilism is unstable and will eventually fall into economic crisis
  1. 2.profit is driven by exploitation of workers
    1. 3.workers will eventually overthrow capitalism by force.
      1. 4. a society that comes into existence afrer capitalism will be a socialist society
3. Overproduction do to greed and thus an economic fall will likely be the result of capitalism
4. Socialism- the economic system set up based on social ownership of means of production,rational planning of economic investments, roughly equal distribution of goods, and need based production rather than for private profit.
5. 4 Principal doctrines of Marxism
Social Contract Theory
1. The State
  1. has the right to make and enforce laws which are enforced if need be
  2. Anarchists deny that the state has the right to rule
  3. legitimate authority-the right to give commands that others have an obligation to obey, democratic states claim legitimate authority by electing their leaders who speak for the people
  4. sovereignty- the supreme political authoriyt, a right to rule which takes precence over all else
2. social contract-a voluntary unanimous group of people who form themselves into a united political community and obey the laws laid down by the government they collectively select.
3. popular sovereignty- ultimate political authority belongs to the people
  1. Problems :1a. How can we get all of the people together at one time to make and vote on laws? 1b.How can people obey laws they didn't make? 2.What to do if a disagreement occurs?
    1. Rousseau's solutions: The price for freesom is that you have to be involved in law making, and GENERAL WILL- if you don't agree with a law that the majority votes for you must change your position and accept it as the general will.
    2. Locke's solutions:Tacit consent: By living in a certain area you are agreeing to obeythe laws and the state which resides there, otherwise pack up and go.
  2. Rousseau
    1. believed that people have aright to make laws that are within the genera interest of the people this is good in theory bu not in practice, as people did not always obey the general will
4. Racial Contract Throry
  1. Charles Mills seeks to capture the fact that it was all white males who were involved in creating any of our nations classic social contract theories.
Pluralist Theory of State
1. LATHAM-The Group Basis of Politics- people join "interest groups" which were based on their individual interests which rally together and make changes to laws or get laws enstated
  1. This is the way things look in politics today.(lobbyists)
2. Problems: Only rich people with time on their hands can make enough noise to get anything like this done
3. Factions- another term for interest groups used by America's founding fathers who disapproved of them because they were for their own particular interests not those of the majority.
4. Pluralist theory says that in order to understand how political decisions are made, how power is wielded and who really governs you mus understand how groups are formed and they inteaact.

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Social and Political Philosophy

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	Created by mccurryby about 11 years ago