A Level Politics: Ideologies Notes PDF

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AQA A Level Government & Politics notes for the Ideologies topic: Liberalism, Conservatism, Socialism....

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Ideologies Revision

AQA A Level

The Exam: Paper 3 Section A: Three 9 mark questions: Explain and analyse three ways… (Most certainly one from each core ideology). Section B: 25 mark extract question on one of the three core ideologies. Section C: 25 mark essay on other ideology (Nationalism). Key phrases to use to structure 25 mark extract question: Introduction: The extract explores the long-established and on-going debate about… The positon that the extracts author takes on this issue is… Whilst there are merits to this argument, the tensions within [insert ideology] has meant that other key thinkers have a different view… Provenance: The purpose of the extract is to educate and inform/ influence and persuade… Body: The main argument that [] makes in this extract is that… Their thinking can be explained through their belief that… There are strengths to their thinking… However there are also criticisms… The thinking of [] share some similarities… However, a key thinker who has viewed the issues in question differently was… Conclusion: To conclude… the thinking of [] best suits the issue in question… Ideologies:  Liberalism  Conservatism  Socialism

Ideologies Revision

AQA A Level

LIBERALISM Origins:  The Reformation 15th and 16th century – religious movement – protesters such as Martin Luther argued that individuals could undertake God’s working their own way – increased power of the individual against the Church.  The Enlightenment of 17th and 18th century – intellectual movement which rejected absolutist arbitrary government. Early liberalism argued that humans were born both free and morally equal and no one naturally had the right to rule over others – directly attacked absolute monarchy.  Mechanistic theory: argues mankind is rational and capable of devising a state that reflects their needs based upon by reason.  Coincided with the English Civil War and overthrow of King Charles I.  Influenced both the creation of an independent American Republic after 1776 and French Revolution 1779.  Grew significantly in the 19th century but can be traced back to the breakdown of feudalism and emergence of capitalism. How liberalists view human nature:  Optimistic view of human potential. Capacity to bring about progress and forge happiness because individuals are guided by reason or rationality. Humans can shape their own destiny, rather than accept the ‘will of God’ and ‘fate’.  Egotistical individualism – humans are innately egotistical and freedom-seeking. But rationality stops this leading to destructive selfishness.  Humans are rational creatures, normally able to understand and respect the wishes of other individuals and capable of resolving disputes through the medium of logic, discussion and debate. How liberals view society:  Belief in a ‘natural society’ where certain ‘natural rights’ are enjoyed. Life before the state was not “nasty, short and brutish” as Hobbes asserted but potentially pleasant, civilised and long.  Main purpose of society is to facilitate individualism.  Property is a natural right. How liberals view the economy:  Support an economy that puts private property at the heart of all economic arrangements – strongly associated with private enterprise and private ownership of economy.  Support capitalism – capitalism routinely described as economic liberalism. Endorsement of capitalism strongly linked to positive view of human nature. Defend a market based economy.  Adam Smith has asserted that if obstacles to free trade were swept away, the ‘invisible hand’ of market forces would guide traders towards success, and resulting wealth would ‘trickle down’ to everyone. How liberals view the state:  Liberalism accepts that within the state of nature, there would be clashes of interest between individuals pursuing their own egotistical agendas. Therefore a mechanism – a state – is required to arbitrate effectively and resolve competing claims of individuals.  Rejection of traditional, monarchical, absolutist or arbitrary rule with power concentrated in an individual. E.g. reject divine right of kings.  Government by consent and Social Contract: Believe government should have consent of the governed – be the servant, not the master of the people as Locke maintained. Agree to accept

Ideologies Revision

AQA A Level

the states authority and restrictions in return for protection and promotion of natural rights, individualism, tolerance, justice, equality of opportunity, meritocracy.  Constitutional/limited government: governments should govern by pre-arranged rules and procedures cemented in a formal constitution which prevents the erosion of natural rights.  Fragmented government: dispersal of state power and checks and balances designed to prevent power from being concentrated.  Formal equality: all individuals have the same legal and political rights in society. Emphasis on rule of law. Strands of liberalism: The essence of early classical liberalism (c.1700s) was…  Revolutionary potential  Government by consent and state driven by representatives – required vigorous argument and sometimes even revolutionary upheaval.  Rejection of absolute monarchical power and divine right of kings.  Locke’s philosophy associated with England’s Glorious Revolution 1688 and American Revolution 1775.  Negative liberty  Crucial ‘natural rights’ vital to self-determination and self-reliance.  Freedom as the absence of restraint – individuals to assume they were naturally free to do something until something or someone put a brake on their actions.  Individuals were potentially autonomous, atomistic, and self-reliant.  Minimal state  Limited state should co-exist with the minimal state.  Governments should not just be limited in terms of how they can act but also in what they would do.  Dispersal of political power, separation of power, checks and balances.  Laissez-faire capitalism  Adam Smith argued that capitalism via the ‘invisible hand’ of market forces had limitless capacity to enrich individuals and society as wealth would ‘trickle down’ with a laissez faire approach.  Advocated the end of tariffs and duties. Later classical liberalism (c1800-1850) evolved…  The Industrial Revolution changed the environment and challenged early classical liberalism with increasing class consciousness.  Jeremy Bentham suggested the state would need to be more proactive to ensure the ‘greatest happiness to the greatest number’ which would inform legislation and government policy. Government to be elected by and accountable to the ‘greatest number of voters’.  Samuel Smiles feared individualism was threatened by socialism. Acknowledged that industrialised societies made it harder for individuals to be self-reliant however argued that in seeking to overcome obstacles, individuals would be more fully developed.  Herbert Spencer reinforced Smiles and took it further – natural selection, social Darwinism and survival of the fittest.

Ideologies Revision

AQA A Level

 However, John Stuart Mills eclipsed Smiles and Spencer updating Locke’s case for representative government into a case for representative democracy which would seek to aggregate the various opinions within society and produce a broad consent of all.  But, Mill was concerned that most voters were ill-equipped to choose ‘intelligent’ representatives and so argued that universal suffrage must be preceded by universal education, hoping this would developmental individualism.  Developmental individualism: advancement of individual potential – focused on what individuals could become rather than what they had become.  Once widespread education had been secured, Mill argued democracy could further liberal values. Modern liberalism (late 1800s-present)… From the late 1800sthe pursuit of individual liberty and how exactly one could reach their potential took a new and radical direction…  Positive liberty/social justice  ‘New liberals’ re-examined core principles and reached radical conclusions about liberty, individualism and society.  Argued that nature of modern economies and society meant individuals increasingly subject to socio-economic forces beyond their control, making it impossible to seek selfdetermination and self-realisation.  Argued that social justice as well as legal justice needed for individuals to fulfil their potential.  Positive freedom: helping others to help themselves – cooperative and altruistic – individuals need ‘enabling’.  Enlarged and enabling state  Only a larger state could repel the new, socio-economic threats to freedom and individualism.  Justified a substantial extension of the state in the name of the individual – more laws, spending, taxation and public bureaucracy.  Strongly linked to collectivism, e.g. the Beveridge Report 1942 provided the bedrock of the welfare state, predicted the five giants (poverty, unemployment, poor education, poor housing, poor healthcare) threatened freedom and potential but could be overcome by state provision (e.g. NHS).  Equality of opportunity not outcome.  Some individuals to sacrifice their earning (tax) but could be persuaded this is a good and necessary thing – government by consent.  Constitutional reform and liberal democracy  Passion for ongoing change.  In UK, such liberal demands for reform have included; written codified constitution; devolution; electoral reform; and House of Lords reform.  Support for liberal democracy – completing the link between core liberal values and universal adult suffrage e.g. in the UK liberal PM 1918 oversaw enfranchisement of most women and men irrespective of property ownership. Lowering of voting age to 18 in 1969.  Shown little interest in direct democracy for fear that referendums and initiatives threaten the tyranny of majority – regard Brexit result as an example of this.  Seemed willing to even dilute representative democracy – support for HRA and enthusiasm for EU.  Social liberalism

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Update to classical liberalism stress on tolerance – especially of minorities. From mid 1900s onwards, modern liberalism became linked with calls for greater racial and sexual toleration. Solutions to these lay in further legislation, state regulation and sometimes ‘positive discrimination’. Securing greater equality of opportunity. Associated with President Kennedy’s Equal Employment Opportunity Committee sought to use affirmative action. In the UK, Race Relations Act 1976 and Sex Discrimination Act 1975.

The essence of neo-liberalism…  By the end of 1900s, term was used to describe political thinking in countries like US and UK.  Seeks to update the principles of classical liberalism within a 20th and 21st century setting.  Criticises modern liberalism, accusing it of betraying individualism and a sell out to socialism and conservatism.  Neo-liberals re-advertised the merits of negative freedom and minimal state, calling for politicians to ‘roll back the frontiers of the state’.  Have demanded reduction in public spending, often facilitated by privatisation of public services and much less state regulation of the economy which would allow lower rates of taxation and gradual replacement of ‘dependency culture’.  Friedrich Von Hayek: argued neo-liberalism was the third strand of liberalism, not conservative. Favoured radical change, not conservative stability, and passionate as most liberals in respect of constitutional reforms that checked the executive government. Criticised the Beveridge Report for fostering ‘state paternalism’ and ‘dependency culture’.  Neo-liberals have routinely been described as conservatives; views are thought to be reactionary rather than progressive (seeking to restore economic arrangements of 1800s); and ideas have played a key role in development of New Right Conservatism – Thatcher and Reagan. Liberalism today…  Much optimism post 1990…  Collapse of Soviet Union 1989.  Emergence of new capitalist states in Eastern Europe.  Worldwide spread of economic liberalism e.g. illiberal states such as China and Russia embraced market forces and capitalism.  UK and USA seemed to be assuming an even more liberal character.  State sponsored tolerance of diverse lifestyles e.g. UK same sex marriage 2013.  New Labour in UK embraced economic liberalism by revising Clause IV.  Concern for improved constitutional government became a recurrent feature in UK post 1997.  Challenges to liberalism today…  Terrorism, e.g. 9/11 in US, and 2005 in UK. Emerging threat of terrorism blatantly challenges most basic liberal values – nature of response to terrorism also threaten values.  Among certain religious communities in western states there is growing support for radical faith based politics which defies toleration.  Globalisation brought problems, e.g. increased migration backlash.  Increased support for UKIP, Trump – populist political movements – BREXIT.  Financial crash 2008 and economic crises in Eurozone post 2013.

Key thinkers:

Ideologies Revision

AQA A Level

John Locke:  Father of Liberalism.  Influence on America’s Revolution.  Believed minds are born blank and vulnerable to ideas placed into minds by people around you, your environment and surroundings. Therefore believed strongly in an education system. Mary Wollstonecraft:  Early classical liberalist.  Believed that the Enlightenment’s optimistic view of human nature and rationalism should apply to both males and females.  Argued that the state denied women their individual freedom and formal equality.  Argued states were also limiting their stock of intelligence, wisdom and morality by denying women’s rights.  Also believed formal education should be made available to men and women in order for them to realise their potential and think rationally to recognise the absurdity of illiberal principles such as the divine right of kings. John Stuart Mill:  Late classical liberalist.  Regarded as one of greatest English philosophers.  Also a politician and campaigner who developed ideas posited by Locke, Wollstonecraft and others.  Bridge between classical and modern liberalism – transitional liberalism.  Belief in ‘negative freedom’ (absence of restraint) linked to Mill’s ‘harm principle’.  Tolerance was especially important to Mill – to ensure new ideas emerged and bad ones exposed.  Saw liberty as not just a ‘natural right’ but as an engine of ongoing human development – always room for development – developmental individualism.  Mill feared that a democratic had the potential to create a ‘tyranny of the majority’. John Rawls:  American philosopher.  Modern liberalist.  First to restate the idea that the core liberal principle of ‘foundational equality’ meant individuals needed both legal and social equality.  Could be provided with an enabling state, public spending and progressive taxation – redistribution of wealth which was not a surrender to socialism (as Friedrich Von Hayek had suggested).  Original position and ‘veil of ignorance’: if we knew nothing about where we would be born and brought up, what society would we wish for? Allows people to think more objectively about the desired society. Used this theory to justify the expansion of the state.  Human nature was rational and empathetic which would lead to individuals choosing a society whereby the poor fared better than in the present society – in line with government by consent.  There would still be inequality of outcome. Betty Friedan:  Linked to development of feminist ideology. Like Wollstonecraft, argued that gender was a serious hindrance to females – illiberal attitudes in society fostered and nurtured via ‘cultural channels’ (school, media, religion, etc.) – ‘cultural conditioning’.  Disdained violence – progress was possible via legal equality.

Ideologies Revision

AQA A Level

 Rejected radical feminist arguments that the state was patriarchal and forever under the control of the dominant gender. In line with liberalism’s positive view of human nature.  Used Mill’s harm principle to defend laws criminalising sexual discrimination.  Explained that interventionist agencies e.g. EEOC, were still consistent with liberal states original aim of protecting and advancing natural rights.

CONSERVATISM Origins:  Reaction to the politics of the Enlightenment 1685-1815.

Ideologies Revision

AQA A Level

 The Whig Supremacy – liberal thinking. Any crititque of the Enlightenment seemed outdated and associated with defence of monarchism and divine right of kings.  By 1792, French Revolution saw horrific and shocking consequences. Public beheading of King Louis XVI and ‘the Terror’ – 1000s citizens persecuted and executed in the name of progress – genocidal violence.  This paved the way for conservatism warning of dangers of revolutionary change. Edmund Burke criticised the French Revolution and is considered the Father of Conservatism. How conservatives view human nature:  Pessimistic view – stress human frailty and fallibility.  Believe human nature is fixed and constant and the job of politician is to accommodate, not alter this reality.  Thomas Hobbes: human nature is ruthlessly selfish, calculating and competitive. Without formal authority there would be life of hatred and war.  Edmund Burke: more optimistic than Hobbes as believed that humans were capable of kindness, altruism and wisdom as long as actions were rooted in history, tradition and teachings of the Christian Church. Humans are naturally communal and find comfort in small communities – ‘little platoons’.  Michael Oakeshott believed humans were fragile and fallible but also benign and benevolent. Framed by routine, familiarity and religious principles.  Robert Nozick and Ayn Rand: stressed human nature’s yearning for individual freedom and subsequent capacity for enterprise and innovation, driven by self-interest. Must be contained in order to provide order and stability. How conservatives view society:  Deny any possibility of a utopian society.  Defined by a variety of themes conducive to stability, security and orderly change.  Localism: see society as a collection of localised communities which provide individuals with security, status and inspiration.  Organicism: society is not something that can be contrived or created, but emerges gradually and organically – human life is subject to complex forces beyond the scope of reason – society can never be wholly predicted.  Empiricism: deal with society in a practical, evidential fashion with no clear view of how society may evolve in years to come – sharp contrast to nominative view taken by progressive ideologies. Conservative society aims to ‘stay afloat’ rather that sail towards some specific destination which may prove illusory.  Tradition: customs and habits provide security. History and experience shape whatever changes become necessary – change and reform must be slow, not drastic and respectful, not contemptuous of the past.  Hierarchy: see society as less egalitarian because imperfections of humanity lead to inequality – the wiser, stronger and more opulent establish a hierarchy of power and privilege naturally but there is a compromise with paternalism and nobles oblige. The stronger have a natural/organic responsibility for the weak.  Judaeo-Christian morality: strong attachment to religion, particularly the Old Testament – belief in original sin. Strong emphasis on marriage. Religious principles e.g. spiritual rewards of altruism and compassion help bind individuals together and curb imperfections.  Property: respect for property closely tied to its support for tradition and continuity – often inherited, providing degree of stability in shaky, and imperfect world. Connection between property and paternalistic society – to discourage revolution property owners should have some concern for less fortunate as they have a stake in society to protect.

Ideologies Revision

AQA A Level

How conservatives view the economy:  Pro-capitalist, however, support for capitalism is nuanced – ...