Chapter 2 Liberalism and Neoconservatism for Students PDF

POLITICS CHAPTER 2 Political ideas and ideologies  What Is Political Ideology? Coherent set of ideas Not sealed systems of thought; overlap with one another Central features: Existing power relationships Desired future… How political change can/ should be brought about… ...

POLITICS CHAPTER 2 Political ideas and ideologies  What Is Political Ideology? Coherent set of ideas Not sealed systems of thought; overlap with one another Central features: Existing power relationships Desired future… How political change can/ should be brought about… Origins of Political Ideology The transition from feudalism to industrial capitalism. The earliest ‘classical’ ideologies liberalism, conservatism and socialism developed as contrasting attempts to shape emerging industrial society.  Classical Ideological Traditions: Liberalism as meta-ideology The product of the breakdown of feudalism; emergence of capitalist society in Europe in the 19th century. Attacked absolutism (kıral hakimiyeti) /feudal privilege Advocated constitutional (anayasal), later representative (temsili) government. Meta-Ideology: A higher ideology that lays down the grounds on which ideological debate can take place; capable of embracing range of rival values and beliefs.  Liberalism Classical and Modern… Classical (19th century) Liberalism as a political doctrine Liberal economic creed; the virtues of laissez-faire Condemned government intervention The aspirations of a rising industrial middle class. Close linkage of Liberalism and Capitalism ever since Modern (20th century) Liberalism Social Liberalism Favourable to economic intervention; welfare reform Acceptance of state intervention (Keynesian model)  John Locke (1632–1704) Key thinker of early liberalism English philosopher and politician. Emphasis on ‘natural’ or God-given rights; rights to life, liberty and property An exponent of representative government and toleration, Locke’s views had an impact on the American Revolution. Important political works A Letter Concerning Toleration (1689) Two Treatises of Government ( 1965). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7-Abmn9lZY Liberalism Key Ideas Individualism Freedom Reason Equality Toleration Consent Constitutionalism  Key Ideas of Liberalism: Individualism Core principle of liberal ideology Importance of the individual opposed to any social group, collective body. The liberal goal: Construct a society within which individuals can follow 'the good' as they define it, to the best of their abilities.  Key Ideas of Liberalism: Freedom Individual freedom/ liberty Liberty is given priority over justice, authority. Belief in the individual; each person is able to act as he or she chooses. ‘Freedom under the law’ One person's liberty may be a threat to the liberty of others? Key Ideas of Liberalism: Reason Human reason and critical enquiry. Individuals as the best judges of their own interests. Belief in progress/resolving differences through debate and argument rather than war. Key Ideas of Liberalism: Equality Individuals are 'born equal’; in terms of moral worth. Equal rights and entitlements In the form of legal equality ('equality before the law’) Political equality (one person, one vote; one vote, one value). Individuals do not have the same levels of talent, willingness to work; do not endorse social equality Equality of opportunity; giving all individuals an equal chance to realize their unequal potential Principle of meritocracy; merit reflecting talent plus hard work. Key Ideas of Liberalism: Toleration The willingness of people to allow others to think speak and act in ways of which they disapprove. Toleration as the guarantee of individual liberty; means of social enrichment. Pluralism in the form of moral, cultural and political diversity Debate and intellectual progress by ensuring that all beliefs are tested in a free market of ideas. Key Ideas of Liberalism: Consent (rıza/ onay) Authority and social relationships should always be based on consent (willing agreement) Government must be based on the 'consent of the governed’ Liberals favor representation and democracy; liberal democracy. Political bodies formed through contracts entered into by individuals Authority arises 'from below’; grounded in legitimacy. Key Ideas of Liberalism: Constitutionalism Government as a guarantee of order and stability in society Government may become a tyranny against the individual (Remember Lord Acton…) Limited government 1. Fragmentation of government power; checks and balances amongst the institutions of government 2. Written constitution; a bill of rights that defines the relationship between the state and the individual. Lord Acton (British historian of the late nineteenth century): “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely”.  Liberalism Classical Modern Liberalism Liberalism Classical Liberalism Negative liberty Extreme form of individualism Human beings as egoistical, self-seeking, self-reliant creatures. Atomist view of society ‘Negative liberty’; non-interference/ no external constraints upon the individual. Atomism: The belief that society is made up of a collection of self-sufficient individuals who owe little or nothing to one another.  Classical Liberalism Minimal State Unsympathetic attitude to the state/ government intervention. Thomas Paine(18th century, American philosopher) The state is a ‘necessary evil’ ‘Necessary’: establishing order and security; enforcing contracts ‘Evil’: imposes a collective will on society; limiting the freedom and responsibilities of the individual. The classical liberal ideal: Minimal state; role that is limited to the protection of citizens from the encroachments of fellow citizens.  Classical Liberalism Free market Economic liberalism; Mechanisms of the free market; economy works best when left alone by government. Laissez-faire capitalism as guarantee of prosperity, individual liberty Allows individuals to rise and fall according to merit (ensuring social justice). Economic liberalism: A belief in the market as a self- regulating mechanism tending naturally to deliver general prosperity and opportunities for all.  Modern Liberalism Positive liberty Positive view of freedom/liberty. Freedom does not just mean being left alone… State intervention in the form of social welfare can enlarge liberty By protecting individuals from the evils of the market that destroy individual existence. Provided the basis for social/ welfare liberalism.  Modern Liberalism Big government Sympathetic attitude towards state intervention. ‘Big’ government rather than ‘minimal’ government. New forms of injustice in the market. Conditional support for government intervention Weak/ vulnerable; those not able to help themselves. Goal: Raise individuals to the point where they are able to take responsibility for their own circumstances.  John M. Keynes (1883-1946) Modern liberals abandoned their belief in laissez-faire capitalism, as a result of Keynes’ insight: Growth and prosperity could be maintained only through a system of regulated capitalism, with key economic responsibilities being placed in the hands of the state. Conservatism Emerged in the late 18th, early 19th century. Reaction against the growing pace of economic and political change symbolized by the French Revolution. Resisting the pressures caused by the growth of liberalism, socialism, conservatism emerged as a defense of traditional social order. Edmund Burke (1729–97) Dublin-born UK statesman and political theorist, the father of the Anglo-American conservative tradition. Critical of the French Revolution; it’s abstract principles; liberty, equality and fraternity Wisdom resided in experience, tradition and history. View of government: it could prevent evil but rarely promote good. Free market economics on the grounds that it reflects ‘natural law’. Key ideas of Conservatism Tradition Pragmatism Human imperfection Organicism Hierarchy Authority Property  Key Ideas of Conservatism: Tradition The desire to conserve the tradition The accumulated wisdom of the past; preserving institutions and practices. Respect for established customs and institutions that have endured through time. Tradition has the virtue of promoting stability and security; social and historical belonging Key Ideas of Conservatism: Pragmatism Action should be shaped by practical circumstances, goals; ‘What works’ Infinite complexity of the world; the limitations of human rationality. Abstract principles and systems of thought are distrusted; instead faith is placed in experience, history. Key Ideas of Conservatism: Human Imperfection Pessimistic view of human nature Human beings as limited, dependent, security-seeking creatures morally corrupt; greed and the thirst for power. The roots of crime and disorder reside within the human individual (rather than in society). Strong state as the maintenance of order; the enforcement of strict laws, and stiff penalties. Key Ideas of Conservatism: Organicism Society as an organic whole, living entity. Natural necessity, with its institutions (families, local communities, the nation…) contributing to the health and stability of society. Shared (traditional) values and a common culture are vital to the maintenance of the community and social cohesion.  Key Ideas of Conservatism: Hierarchy Social position and status are natural and inevitable in an organic society. Differing roles and responsibilities; employers and workers, teachers and pupils, and parents and children. Hierarchy and inequality do not give rise to conflict… Society is bound together by mutual obligations and duties. The responsibility of the privileged to care for the less fortunate. Key Ideas of Conservatism: Authority Authority exercised from above, providing leadership, guidance and support for those who lack the knowledge, experience, education to act wisely in their own interests (authority of parents over children). Authority as the source of social cohesion Freedom coexists with responsibility; acceptance of obligations and duties.  Key Ideas of Conservatism: Property Property ownership gives people security; independence from government encourages them to respect the law, the property of others. Property is an exteriorization of people’s personalities; ‘see’ themselves in what they own: their houses, their cars… Property ownership involves duties as well as rights. Paternalistic Conservatism ‘compassionate conservatism’ ideas of hierarchy and duty Disraeli’s One-Nation principle (early writings of Benjamin Disraeli (1804-81) UK being divided into 'two nations: the Rich and the Poor’, Fear of social revolution Self-interest of the privileged to recognize that ‘reform from above’ to prevent ‘revolution from below’. Duty is the price of privilege; responsibility to look after the less well-off in the broader interests of social cohesion. Paternalism: An attitude or policy that demonstrates care or concern for those unable to help themselves, as in the (supposed) relationship between a father and a child. Paternalistic Conservatism and Economy Rejected the two ideological models of economic organization: 1.laissez-faire capitalism 2.state socialism/central planning… Blend of market competition and government regulation ('private enterprise without selfishness’ - H. Macmillan) The balance between the state and the individual can be adjusted pragmatically according to 'what works'.  Paternalistic Conservatism Social Market Christian Democracy; developed in the 'social market' philosophy of the German Christian Democrats (CDU) Market strategy Embraces the virtues of private enterprise and competition It is social; prosperity should be employed for the broader benefit of society.  The New Right Represents counter-revolution against the post-1945 drift towards state intervention and the spread of liberal or progressive social values. Traced back to 1970s – born out of failure of Keynesian social democracy Neoliberalism (economic strand) Neoconservatism (social strand) The New Right Emergence of the New Right In the 1980s; Thatcherism and Reaganism. General shift from state- to market- orientated forms of organization. ‘Neoliberalism' and 'neoconservatism’. Political and ideological tension between them Combined in the goal of a strong but minimal state.  The New Right: Neoliberalism Writings of free-market economists Friedrich Hayek and Milton Friedman. Unregulated market capitalism will deliver efficiency, growth and widespread prosperity ‘Private is good; public is bad’. Strong individualism; expressed in Margaret Thatcher’s famous assertion ‘there is no such thing as society, only individuals and their families’. Key thinker: FRIEDRICH VON HAYEK (1899–1992) Austrian economist and political philosopher. Awarded the Nobel Prize for Economics in 1974. Believer in individualism and market order; critic of socialism. The Road to Serfdom (1948) as a pioneering work that attacked economic interventionism. Writings fused liberal and conservative elements, and had an impact on the emergent New Right. The Nanny State Neoliberal critique: The nanny state as a culture of dependence, undermine freedom of choice in the marketplace. Faith is placed in self-help, individual responsibility and entrepreneurialism.  The New Right: Neoconservatism Return to traditional values of family, religion, nation. Authority as guaranteeing social stability; generates discipline and respect; Shared values and common culture generate social cohesion… Concern of neoconservatism; multicultural and multi- religious societies; as conflict-ridden, unstable. Skeptical about the growing influence of supranational bodies such as the UN and the EU.