The state
Agreements:
+ All liberals believe that the state should exist, but they see it as a
necessary evil whose power should be limited
A02) All liberals agree with the principle of limited government
(nightwatchman state) and that the state should protect natural rights.
Limiting the state also protects rights by ensuring that the state doesn’t
excessively interfere in civil society, whilst upholding the rule of law.
A03) Limited gvt is a key liberal principle and significant area of
agreement, ensuring the protection of individual rights.
+ All liberals agree that states are man – made (mechanistic)
A02) the state is an artificial device, rather than something which has
naturally arisen over time. Liberal states are designed with inbuilt checks
on state power.
A03) this is an important area of agreement as it allows liberals to make
the case for state reform, often to limit the power of the executive or
extend rights
+ Social contract – All liberals see the state to be in a contractual
agreement with its citizens
A02) a state is formed when individuals agree to give up some liberty in
return for something only a state can provide – security and rights
protection. Government is only legitimate when people have given their
consent to be governed. Consent can be withdrawn if people feel the state
no longer governs in their interest.
A02) ‘any political society is nothing but the consent of any number of
freemen’ Locke
A03) significance of the social contract = obligation of the state to
maintain the consent of the people.
Disagreements:
Minimal vs enabling state
All liberals are wary about the state becoming over – bearing and eroding
rights, but modern liberals argue it can also have a positive, enabling
, capacity. Feminists like Wollstonecraft and Friedan argued that state
intervention in education could combat gender inequality and
enable women to reach their full potential.
Rawls also departed from the classical ‘small state’, arguing instead for a
larger role of the state in the economy and society.
‘only education has saved and can continue to save American women
from the great dangers of the feminine mystique’ Friedan
‘what is needed now is a national education programme’ Wollstonecraft
The relationship between the state and individual rights
The division surrounding minimal vs enabling state is largely due to the
emphasis of the different types of individualism. Classical liberals
emphasise the benefits of egoistical individualism – the free, self – seeking
individual maximising their status and worth, thus resulting in an
advocation of negative freedom (with an absence of state intervention)
Modern Liberals contrastingly emphasise the benefits of developmental
individualism – individual development assisted by an enabling state –
thus also advocating for positive freedoms – freedoms also assisted by
the state.
The economic role of the state – nightwatchman vs enabling
Classical liberals advocated for a nightwatchman state to assign the
state with key economic roles, but other than this the invisible hand of the
free market would supply goods and services. Seeks Free markets for
incentivised individuals with negative liberty to innovate, as this would
create a more efficient and beneficial economic outcomes and a
meritocratic economic order. Little state intervention in the economy.
Modern liberals viewed the classical model as leading to inequality,
arguing for increased state intervention in the economy. This would
create better social and economic outcomes through more equal
opportunity and increased social mobility.
Economy:
Agreements
+ All liberals are in favour of capitalist free markets and the
accumulation of material rewards (particularly property)
A02) because individuals are rational, they will make choices that will
maximise their success in the marketplace
Agreements:
+ All liberals believe that the state should exist, but they see it as a
necessary evil whose power should be limited
A02) All liberals agree with the principle of limited government
(nightwatchman state) and that the state should protect natural rights.
Limiting the state also protects rights by ensuring that the state doesn’t
excessively interfere in civil society, whilst upholding the rule of law.
A03) Limited gvt is a key liberal principle and significant area of
agreement, ensuring the protection of individual rights.
+ All liberals agree that states are man – made (mechanistic)
A02) the state is an artificial device, rather than something which has
naturally arisen over time. Liberal states are designed with inbuilt checks
on state power.
A03) this is an important area of agreement as it allows liberals to make
the case for state reform, often to limit the power of the executive or
extend rights
+ Social contract – All liberals see the state to be in a contractual
agreement with its citizens
A02) a state is formed when individuals agree to give up some liberty in
return for something only a state can provide – security and rights
protection. Government is only legitimate when people have given their
consent to be governed. Consent can be withdrawn if people feel the state
no longer governs in their interest.
A02) ‘any political society is nothing but the consent of any number of
freemen’ Locke
A03) significance of the social contract = obligation of the state to
maintain the consent of the people.
Disagreements:
Minimal vs enabling state
All liberals are wary about the state becoming over – bearing and eroding
rights, but modern liberals argue it can also have a positive, enabling
, capacity. Feminists like Wollstonecraft and Friedan argued that state
intervention in education could combat gender inequality and
enable women to reach their full potential.
Rawls also departed from the classical ‘small state’, arguing instead for a
larger role of the state in the economy and society.
‘only education has saved and can continue to save American women
from the great dangers of the feminine mystique’ Friedan
‘what is needed now is a national education programme’ Wollstonecraft
The relationship between the state and individual rights
The division surrounding minimal vs enabling state is largely due to the
emphasis of the different types of individualism. Classical liberals
emphasise the benefits of egoistical individualism – the free, self – seeking
individual maximising their status and worth, thus resulting in an
advocation of negative freedom (with an absence of state intervention)
Modern Liberals contrastingly emphasise the benefits of developmental
individualism – individual development assisted by an enabling state –
thus also advocating for positive freedoms – freedoms also assisted by
the state.
The economic role of the state – nightwatchman vs enabling
Classical liberals advocated for a nightwatchman state to assign the
state with key economic roles, but other than this the invisible hand of the
free market would supply goods and services. Seeks Free markets for
incentivised individuals with negative liberty to innovate, as this would
create a more efficient and beneficial economic outcomes and a
meritocratic economic order. Little state intervention in the economy.
Modern liberals viewed the classical model as leading to inequality,
arguing for increased state intervention in the economy. This would
create better social and economic outcomes through more equal
opportunity and increased social mobility.
Economy:
Agreements
+ All liberals are in favour of capitalist free markets and the
accumulation of material rewards (particularly property)
A02) because individuals are rational, they will make choices that will
maximise their success in the marketplace
