Liberalism

• The Renaissance (15th-16th centuries) showed a renewed interest in Classical Greek and Roman scholarship and values. Many thinkers broke free from religious orthodoxy and gained more confidence in human thought and creation.
• The Enlightenment (17th-18th centuries): A period of intellectual and cultural change in Europe, marked by the rise of reason and the rejection of religious control
• John Locke (1632-1704) was affected by his experience of the English Civil War and execution of Charles I. It influenced his beliefs by reinforcing the fact that Monarchs did not have divine power and their power should not go unchecked. It also revealed the importance of a government respecting the rights of its people and not violating the social contract. Revolution/conflict is the natural consequence of this.
• John Locke believed that every person is equal and given independence by God. This is the law of the state of nature.
• John Locke believed someone must sacrifice some of their natural freedoms in order to enter a lawful society where their property will be protected and they can live in peace.
• "Wherever law ends, tyranny begins."

  "Every man has a right to property in his own person. This, nobody has a right to, but himself" - John Locke
• Adam Smith theorised about a liberal economy in his 'The wealth of Nations'. He believed in a 'laissez-faire' approach to the economy where the government has no involvement and free agents are left to make their own decisions. The market has an 'invisible hand' and regulates itself which benefits everyone.
• Rousseau theorised about the idea of a 'social contract' whereby people give up their natural rights in return for the protection of the state. This state should uphold the rights and wellbeing of individuals to experience the closest thing to true freedom.
• Many early liberal thinkers were concerned about 'tyranny of the mob' under democracy. This was prevented via checks and balances (still used today e.g. Electoral college in U.S.A. gives states more power) and direct and representative democracy.
• Classical liberalism was compatible with democracy in some ways as it complements individualism and reinforces optimism about human nature because it presupposes an intelligent electorate.
• One practical application of early liberal ideology was the reign of William and Mary who came into power after the Glorious Revolution. This event confirmed Parliament's sovreignty over the crown in England and Scotland.
• The English Civil War was a conflict between the English Parliament and King Charles I, which ended with Charles's execution in 1649.
• Mary Wollstonecraft (1759-1797) was a classical liberal feminist and defender of the French Revolution. She wrote 'A Vindication of the Rights of Men" in 1790 in response to Burke's critique of the revolution however she attacked its failure to protect women's rights. She believed that the "mind has no gender" and that equality would benefit society and the economy.
• Wollstonecraft believed that sexual power was false and a barrier to rational thought. She became pregnant and then was abandoned by Imlay and then attempted suicide twice. However after this, she embraced motherhood and married Godwin during her second pregnancy despite her political opposition to marriage. They lived separately and she died when giving birth to her second daughter Mary Shelley.
• Robert Owen responded to the industrial revolution as a liberal by creating his own workers' village called New Lanark. Because of his belief that an individual is shaped by thrie environment, he improved the quality of education, created a healthcare fund and limited the working day to 10 hours.
• The Great Reform act of 1832 was created in response to the Chartist uprisings. It introduced workhouses and the Poor Law which criminalised poverty. It gave voting rights to workers with slightly more wealth, which created a divide and gave rise to the emerging middle class.
• Epicurus and the Hedonists argued that friendship, contribution to a community and society and a calm and free mind were all more important than romance, money and luxury.
• Utilitarianism uses hedonistic ideas and focuses on the moral consequences of an action, not whether the action itself is right or wrong, and actions that bring about the most pleasure for the greatest number of people.
• Jeremy Bentham created Act Utilitarianism in response to the rule based morality of his day. He believed that right and wrong should only be determined by our senses and "pleasure and pain" 1789
• John Stuart Mill was Bentham's grandson who was given an intense and strict upbringing. This led to a nervous breakdown which he recovered from by reading the poetry of Wordsworth and the philosophy of Aristotle. He believed in similar ideas about pleasure and pain but believed in intellectual 'higher pleasures' over lower pleasures.
• Mill advocated for the equality of the sexes because of his belief that an individual can judge their own welfare. Because of this he rejected the idea of the "angel in the home".
• Samuel Smiles published his work 'Self-help' because he believed responsibility for progress is with the individual.
• Thinkers like Frederick Douglas, an abolitionist, argued that a liberal democratic state did not improve life as it hypocritically relied on the work of slaves (or later, 'wage slaves'). "What to the slave is the 4th of July".
• T.H. Green believed the state should create conditions for individuals to act according to conscience but must limit liberties cautiously. Overreach could hinder personal moral growth, so the state should intervene only when a liberty clearly enslaves the individual.
• WW1 shifted Liberalism's focus toward collectivism and state intervention, as governments took on unprecedented roles in regulating economies and social life. The disillusionment from the war’s devastation led many to question liberal ideals of progress and rational diplomacy. Liberalism had to adapt, often incorporating elements of social welfare and state involvement to remain relevant in a changed world.
• John Rawls argued that societal position and social class give individuals innate advantages and disadvantages that determine their success. Therefore he argued that the negative freedom in Classical Liberalism exacerbated these inequalities.
• Mary Wollstonecraft expanded on Locke's ideas by arguing that property laws and 'hereditary honours' created a stagnant society where people could not rise by merit.
• Betty Friedan argued that during the 50s and 60s women lost the freedom they had gained by entering the workplace during WW2. In 1920, 47% of American women went to college, by 1958, only 35% of them reached higher education.
• Friedan created NOW (National Organisation for Women) in 1966 to 'bring women into full participation of the mainstream of American society now, exercising all the privileges and responsibilities thereof in truly equal partnership to men.'