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Liberalism (Liberal thinkers (Modern (James Madison, John Stuart Mill, T.H…
Liberalism
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Core themes
Key Doctrines
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Freedom: rational individuals are deserving of economic, social and political freedoms
Rationalism
the belief that knowledge flows from reason and logic rather than from tradition, custom or faith
Humans should also be able to resolve disagreements through peaceful discussion and debate without resorting to violence
Implications of rationalism:
- individual freedom
- representative democracy
- tolerance
- international peace and harmony
Individualism
Each individual is of primary importance, is unique in his or her character and attributes and yet is as important as every other individual
a belief in the primacy of the rights and interests of the individual over any group, society or state
Liberals therefore believe in foundational equality: that every individual, despite having different skills and talents, is of equal moral worth and is deserving of the same fundamental human rights
Freedom
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supreme importance of the rational individual leads logically to an overriding commitment t to individual freedom
'Life, Liberty and property.' - John Locke
'Over himself, over his own body and mind, the individual is sovereign.' - J.S. Mill
Views on equality
- Foundational equality - equally worthy and deserving of human rights
- Formal Equality - legal equality, rule of law, voting
- Equality of opportunity - divide over this between modern and classical. Classical negative freedom, modern posititve freedom
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