Ideologies
•Ideologies are not static nor
set in stone. They respond to
political events, as much as
they affect political events.
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History of modern
ideologies
Classical liberalism rose in the Enlightenment.
Important thinkers:
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John Locke
Adam Smith
de Montesquieu
Rousseau
The framers of the Declaration of Independence
and, later, John Stuart Mill
The U.S. is a classical liberal democracy.
Ideologies, continued
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Conservative thought arose in response
to the excesses of the French Revolution
of 1789. Important thinker: Edmund
Burke.
In the U.S., conservative thought also
blended with classical liberalism.
Ideologies, continued
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In the 19th century, socialism,
communism and anarchism were
responses to the economic distresses
brought by industrial capitalism.
Ideologies, continued
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Fascism and its most extreme form,
Nazism, developed in the early 20th
century as a reaction against the
perceived failings of liberalism,
conservatism, socialism and communism.
Ideologies, continued
• New ideologies emerge in response to new
needs. Developing out of (and in reaction
to) liberalism in late 20th century were:
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Environmentalism
Feminism
Absolute despotism
once had to be accepted
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Before classical liberalism, the dominant idea
was that God created political society, not
people.
Monarchs ruled through divine right.
If people suffered under a bad king, it was
God’s will. Disobeying a bad king was a sin;
killing a bad king was regicide.
Therefore, people had a duty to accept and
obey (view of Robert Filmer in Patriarcha).
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John Locke
View of the state of nature (pre-civil
society)
1. Human beings are rational, free & equal.
They are capable of running their own
lives.
2. They have rights to life, health, liberty and
possessions that no one should harm.
3. Yet there are no mechanisms (no police,
no courts, etc.) to ensure that the strong
do not prey upon the weak.
John Locke, continued
• To secure their rights, therefore, people give
up some freedom and form government. The
government’s purpose is to protect rights. It
is a type of contract.
• The people retain their sovereignty, and the
government is just a mechanism to help
them. The individual is superior to the
government.
John Locke, continued
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If government fails to protect those rights
and becomes tyrannical, then the
contract is null and void. The
government loses its legitimacy, and
people are free to make a new
government. [The Second Treatise on
Government]
Called a “right of revolution.”
Adam Smith
His famous work, The Wealth of Nations,
provides the theoretical basis for capitalism.
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What makes him liberal?
Adam Smith,
continued
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The emphasis on rationality, the ability of
individuals to make decisions to advance
their own self-interest. The idea that
government should leave people alone to
make their own economic choices.
In fact, individual selfish choices would
serve the common good through the
invisible hand of the market.
Classical liberalism – key
ideas
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Human beings are rational and equal
Small & limited government is best
Government rules with the consent of the
governed
Individual rights important:
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tolerance of dissent & freedom of conscience
free marketplace
ideal of political equality & democratic process
Why is the U.S. considered a
classical liberal government?
• Key classical liberal
ideas appear in the
founding documents,
particularly the
Declaration of
Independence.
Liberalism in the Declaration
of Independence
• All men are created equal. Ideal of political and
legal equality.
• They are endowed by their Creator with certain
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unalienable rights, ...among these are life, liberty
& the pursuit of happiness.
Governments are instituted to protect those rights.
Government derives its powers from the consent
of the governed. Political authority is in the
people, acting through representatives.
When a government becomes destructive of those
rights the people have a right to alter or abolish it.
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Locke & Smith on
Equality
Their view was that people in the state of
nature are equal in their rights, but not in
their talents or their wealth.
Economic inequality is not necessarily
unfair, since it is based on people’s free
choices.
Freedom to make choices is a higher
value than equality.
Evolution of liberalism
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The result was laissez faire capitalism.
Terrible economic & social conditions for
workers, including children. Government
powerless to act.
Led to rethinking liberalism. A good
society might need more than right
procedures. It also needed certain
outcomes.
Evolution, continued
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The philosophy of Utilitarianism emerged.
Governments should pursue policies that
create the greatest good (or utility) for the
greatest number of people.
This utility calculation would provide a
rational guideline for government policy.
Utilitarianism was a challenge to the status
quo. The demand that everyone count for
one, and one only, was seen as wrong to
the elitist society of Britain
Further developments
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After utilitarianism (which never caught on
in the U.S.), liberalism developed into
Social Justice or Modern Liberalism.
Modern liberalism is not fearful of
government power. Instead, government
power can be a force for good, limiting the
worst conditions of poverty, illiteracy,
racism, exploitation, etc.
The basis of progressive or liberal politics
in the U.S.
A different view of freedom
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T.H. Green (1836-1882)
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Freedom means the ability as well as the right to do
something. Expansive liberty.
Two types of freedom:
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Negative freedom: freedom from government
intervention (e.g., Bill of Rights). – often associated
with Classical Liberal thinking
Positive freedom: freedom of/to: requires
government to intervene in social & economic
spheres (e.g., education, health care, housing).
Later associated with Modern Liberal thinking
A different view of freedom
• A newer line of liberal thinkers saw
government as being responsible for creating
the conditions for freedom.
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This view implies an active and interventionist
government.
Take an unemployed and homeless woman for
example. Classical liberals would consider her
free because government does not restrain
her. But is she really free to make rational
choices?
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An activist view of
government
Jane Addams (1860-1935)
Founded Hull House to
serve the poor in Chicago in
1889. Pushed for laws to
improve working and living
conditions for the poor.
Promoted government
action in education, better
sanitation, & women’s right
to vote.
Evolution of Modern
Liberalism
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Key thinker: J.S.
Mill (1806-1873)
He worked with his
wife & intellectual
partner Harriet
Taylor Mill (18071858)
John Stuart Mill
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English political theorist
Wrote On Liberty in 1859
Also wrote a book in favour of women’s
rights
He is considered a bridge between
classical liberalism and modern
liberalism
On Liberty
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Mill argued in favour of freedom of
thought and discussion.
"We can never be sure that the opinion
we are endeavouring to stifle is a false
opinion, and if we were sure, stifling it
would be an evil still."
The value of freedom
of thought
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The opinion may be true. We are not
infallible.
The opinion may be partly true, and the
truth can only emerge after free and full
debate.
The opinion may be false, but debate is
still valuable because it keeps our views
from becoming dead dogma or rigid
biases.
On Liberty
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Throughout this book, Mill exhibits a deep
concern with tyranny, both political and social.
What is social tyranny?
On Liberty
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“The tyranny of the prevailing opinion and
feeling, ... the tendency of society to
impose... its own ideas and practices as
rules of conduct on those who dissent
from them, ... to prevent the formation of
any individuality not in harmony with its
ways.”
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Social tyranny &
conformity
The individual has a sovereign right over
his or her self, body and mind, a right to
be free of societal interference in our
lives.
Does that mean that society can NEVER
interfere in our choices?
If not, when can it? What is the guiding
principle?
From “On Liberty”
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“The sole end for which mankind are
warranted, individually or collectively... in
interfering with the liberty of action of any
of their number, is self-protection."
From “On Liberty”
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Society can interfere, but for one reason
only: to stop harm to others. Society may
protect itself and other individuals.
But society may NOT interfere in order to
protect us from our own bad choices.
So, is does a behaviour affect others? Or
only ourselves?
Can society interfere?
• A 75-year old man who is slowly and
painfully dying of cancer decides to end his
life.
NO
Can society interfere?
• An NDHS student reads Mein Kampf and
thinks that Adolph Hitler had some great
ideas.
NO
Can society interfere?
• Two adult gay men decide to set up a
home together.
NO
Can society interfere?
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That NDHS student who likes Hitler’s
ideas organizes an anti-Semitic rally
outside the home of a rabbi at 2 a.m.
Can society interfere, according to Mill?
Can society interfere?
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YES
Why?
A. In conduct, the individual “must not make
himself a nuisance to other people.”
B. This conduct might lead to an act of
violence. Mill gave the example of publishing
the view that corn dealers starve the poor,
which is a protected activity, versus a speech
before an excited mob outside the home of a
corn dealer, which is not.
Can society interfere?
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A 14-year-old decides to drop out of
school in order to get a job.
Can society interfere? Why or why not?
YES.
WHY?
People who are under the legal age of adulthood
are excluded; society may regulate them for their
own good.
Can society interfere?
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Two men are boating on Dried Meat Lake
without life jackets.
NO
Can society interfere?
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Two men are boating on Dried Meat Lake
without life jackets and they are drinking
heavily.
YES.
WHY?
THEY POSE A RISK TO
OTHERS
Can society interfere?
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The two men are now on shore,
somewhat sober. One man, who can’t
swim, slips into the water and drowns.
The other man just stands and watches.
YES.
WHY?
WE ARE ACCOUNTABLE FOR OUR FAILURE
TO ACT TO STOP HARM.
Mill and Foreign Policy
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Would Mill have agreed with U.S. military
intervention to throw out a dictator and
help establish a democracy?
Mill and Foreign Policy
• “I am not aware that any community has a
right to force another to be civilized. So
long as the sufferers by the bad law do not
invoke assistance from other communities,
I cannot admit that persons entirely
unconnected with them ought to step in...”
• What do you think?