Ideologies

Ideologies

classical liberalism
1. people are naturally free and equal, so any restraints need to be justified, the state is seen as a necessary evil as it restricts people but the laws alow for freedom.
2. Locke: all people are born free and equal and according to the laws of nature we can't steal or harm anyone else, the laws of nature come from god but Locke claims they can be found rationally as well. a state is good as it can ensure there is even application of the laws of nature
3. Mill: based on the harm principle, i.e. nobody can administer harm to anybody else unless it is t prevent harm to others. he emphasises that individuals should be free from constraint and that rationally is discerning, and the pursuit of happiness as virtue, it is also an essential part of self-development and human progress. people should be tolerant opf others and let them pursue the good life in what ever way they see fit.
marxism
1. economic substructures (different modes of production and cooperation) determine the nature of each society. the super structure consists of social custems, laws, education, religion, culture ad the institution of the state, it evolves out of how people live their lives.
2. people are oppressed through capitalism and alienation, the liberal notion of rights is alienating as it suggests that people need laws to protect themselves from other people, so it alienates people from people, we find freedom through communal living. the state oppresses people with a false notion of equality with 'euality before the law' as it glosses over class differences.
3. key concepts: 1st equality is peopl's needs being met, not the same as liberals moral equality. the importance of welfare and fulfilling our species being is shown in the analysis of alienation. 2nd the imortance of meaningful creative work. 3rd community is important. 4th the hstorical development oif the modes of production in relation to society,
4. objections:
  1. the relationship between substructure and superstructure have been rejected as social reality has influence on our ideas
  2. the prediction of the inevitable fall of capitalism failed
  3. how can marx make claims about alienation without considering the personal views of the workers
conservatism
1. burke
  1. libery is good but not on its own it needs to be combined with other good things like law, tradition, etc. and developments in liberty need to be gradual and natural so that society and politics can adapt to them. changes can't be quick they need to be gradual and there should be no use of abstract concepts as they can't be related to society and cause confusion, principles need to be relervant to society, i.e. the use of traditions. the rights and liberties need to be specific to society and not universal
2. the role of government is to protect the organic process of change from interference and uphold rules of conduct.
3. core ideas of conservatism:
  1. rationality is arrogant as it often supports abstract, unprincipled knowledge, instead tradition should be valued as it contains the wisdom of past generations.
  2. individual self-development should always take place in the framework of inherited traditions and order and stability to the community.
  3. humans are not perfectable and there is little reason to support rationality and the idea that aloienation acts as a reason for why humans are the way they are.
  4. power should be accountable but not to protect individuals but to keep political order
  5. liberties should be understood as inherited liberties
4. objections
  1. the state doesn't have a continious identity as it changes throughout society, also traditions can be wrong and bias
  2. other political theories are not abstract like the theories suggests, they are instead looking to find an alternative system
  3. the organic growth concept doesn't help to solve social conflict if both sides appeal to tradition
    1. the conservatives can respond that the government should let social conflict get sorted out naturally as deliberately imposing a situation makes it worse
anarchism
1. why do they oppose the state
  1. the state claims authority and soverighnty over a geographical region
  2. the state is compulsory
  3. the state has a monopoly on power
  4. state is a distinct body seperate from religion and society.
  5. the state violates and undermines liberty, it steals from the people in the form of tax
  6. even though the state provides useful functions these can be provided by private bodies or the community
2. why has it not been achived yet?
  1. humans have not yet reached a point of self-interest or self-realisation where working in an anarchist society seems best
  2. we have not yet achieved the moral character for an anarchist society
  3. humans have been effected by the moral conditions in which they live
3. godwin
  1. argued for the principle of private judgement which states that only one's own judgement can impose a duty on oneself, we must decide what justice requires and how to bring it about, government is incompatable woth the principle of private judgement due to itslaws
  2. act utilitarianism provides an objection to the state as it argues that through laws our personal development can be stumped
  3. the greatest good comes from the development of our own reason and private judgement.
    1. objection. utilitarianism claims that to seek the greatest good we need to live under a state till people freely judge to seek the greatest good.
4. individualistic anarchism
  1. each person is soverign over their body and property and no one can impose an obligation or duty on one another, the only legitimate relationship is a volunarily entered contract. social institutions can be replaced by the market which will provide servce for everyone.
  2. objections: 1st its not clear that respecting someone's autonomy will be good for me so why should i do it. 2nd what wil happen when 2 people belong to different agencies. 3rd individual soverignty conflicts community and family ties
5. collectivist/communist
  1. bonds of solidarity,sympathy, affection, cooperation and mutual aids are the proper bonds of society and are promoted with communal living.
  2. the individualistic idea that people are soverign over themselves is an effect of capitalism
  3. the state can be replaced by the extention f existing institutions

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