F.A. Hayek argued that there can be no freedom of press "if the instruments of printing are under government control, no freedom of assembly if the needed rooms are so controlled, no freedom of movement if the means of transport are a government monopoly" (Liberalism pp).
As Thomas Paine wrote in 'Common Sense,' "Government even in its best state is a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one..." (Sturgis pp). Thomas Jefferson focused on creating an independent citizenry capable of maintaining the democratic republic, and he found his key in the yeoman farmer, believing "that the self-sufficient landowner possessed the ability to cultivate himself and therefore treasure his freedom" (Sturgis pp).
William Godwin, author of 'Political Justice' 1798, and hailed by many as the father of English anarchism, blended previous forms of classical liberalism into his belief in "the self-perfectibility of man and the law of progress reflected Enlightenment emphasis on reason and evolution" (Sturgis pp).
Godwin's wife, Mary Wollstonecraft, paved the way for classical liberal feminism by expanding natural rights theory to apply to women with her 1792 work 'Vindication of the Rights of Women' in which she names "women as co-inheritors of the individualist tradition with men" (Sturgis pp).
Perhaps John Stuart Mill, 1806-1873, is the single best window into classical liberalism, representing the crossroads of English, French, and German strains of thought (Sturgis pp). The son of James Mill, utilitarian and author of the first English textbook of economics, "Mill represents the English classical liberal tradition of independence by warning against the tyranny of opinion that silences other voices and calling for a form of intellectual toleration"(Sturgis pp). Mill shows sympathy for the French tradition of self-rule by creating an ethical sphere of privacy in his theory,...
Classic Liberalism Tradition Classical liberalism tradition comes from a tradition of thinkers who developed an ideology, rather than a political system. Although many say that classical liberalism stopped after the nineteenth century, libertarians argue that is no interruption in the classical liberal tradition. Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Karl Marx offer a critique of various aspects of the Classical Liberal Tradition argument. Jean-Jacques Rousseau Jean-Jacques Rousseau was somewhat supportive of the liberalism tradition, which argues
Liberalism as an ideology has a long and complex history in politics as well as philosophy. In essence the liberal tradition refers to a system of thought or ideology which emphasizes the concept of freedom and personal liberty as the purpose of government. This also implies the ability to desist and the right of opposition to established systems and rules and governance which may be seen to infringe on the
Values Liberals tend to emphasize individual rights over governmental authority and to leave the economy alone, unless it needs help. More and more, the economy has been controlled by conservative elements and this has tended to squelch free trade and put too many regulations on imports, while allowing special interests avenues of squeezing more revenue out of the citizens by legalizing higher interest rates, putting tariffs on imports, freezing influx of
Strauss on Moral Relativism The Shifting Sand of Moral Relativism Current political and social thought which is built on the foundation of moral relativism can no more chart a path for a nation to follow out of confusion into an enlightened and orderly society any more than a blind man can describe an elephant, or a child can pilot a 777 airliner. The tools, talents, skills, and abilities of moral relativism are
American Religious History Defining fundamentalism and liberalism in Christianity is hardly an exact science, especially because prior to about 1920 there was not even a term for fundamentalism as it exists today. While present-day fundamentalists often claim descent from the Puritans and Calvinists of the 17th and 18th Centuries, Puritans were not really fundamentalists in the modern sense. They were not in conflict with 20th Century-style liberals and supporters of evolution
Scientific Approach and Political Ideology1) Is a scientific approach to the study of politics possible? Explain your REASONING carefully and in detail.The scientific study of politics seeks to explain and predict the behavior of political actors and institutions. Political science is an empirical discipline that draws on data from experiments, surveys, and textual analysis to develop and test theories about political behavior. While the scientific study of politics has yielded
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