Economics Dictionary of ArgumentsHome
| |||
|
| |||
| Liberalism: Liberalism in political philosophy is a set of beliefs that emphasize individual liberty, equality, and the rule of law. Liberals believe that individuals should be free to live their lives as they see fit. See also Libertarianism, Communitarianim, Individualism, Freedom, Society, Democracy._____________Annotation: The above characterizations of concepts are neither definitions nor exhausting presentations of problems related to them. Instead, they are intended to give a short introduction to the contributions below. – Lexicon of Arguments. | |||
| Author | Concept | Summary/Quotes | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Julian Lamont on Liberalism - Dictionary of Arguments
Gaus I 233 Liberalism/Lamont: A. Content: 'Liberalism' or a 'liberal position' usually indicates an emphasis on individual liberty. That is, government institutions are thought by liberal philosophers to work in the interests of individuals, as opposed to groups defined by ethnicity, geographic location, community identity, gender, or class. Individualism: The rights and obligations defended by liberals are held by individuals. Usually, these include political institutions which protect a set of civil liberties, such as free speech, freedom of thought and of religion, freedom of association, a free press, due process under the law, etc. Neutrality: Liberals usually also believe that the freedom of individuals entails that government institutions be 'neutral', in the sense that the government is not in the business of promoting or discouraging particular views, religions, lifestyles, or conceptions of the good, except where this is required to protect the basic liberties of individuals (Hampton, 1997(1): 170—81; Nussbaum, 1999(2)). Distribution: Within this framework (...), liberals divide on questions of distribution. a) Classical liberals generally favour minimal government involvement in the marketplace, or in other distributive institutions, such as those that distribute education or health care. These theorists commonly argue for their positions by reference to the value of individual liberty, and they see government interference as a threat to, rather than a protector of, liberty. b) Welfare liberals, at the other end of the spectrum, view markedly unequal distributive outcomes as, among other things, a threat to individual liberty. They argue for government involvement in the marketplace and in the delivery of important resources such as health care or education, in order to limit the degree of inequality that might emerge from the unhampered pursuit of individual liberty (Hampton, 1997(1): 172). B. Methodology: (...) 'liberalism' sometimes refers to a kind of methodology whereby arguments are crafted largely a priori, abstracting away from the particular history, culture, or empirical conditions associated with a particular society. Such arguments might appeal to human nature, universal characteristics of persons, or a priori reasons, and might even idealize, referring to ideal conditions or ideal persons which are only hypothetical but nevertheless generate an ideal principle to guide our necessarily imperfect institu- tions (Buchanan et al., 2000(3): 371—82). 'Contractarianism', 'rights-based' theories, and 'utilitarianism' are all, in different ways, examples of justifications of this type. Neutrality: The ideals that liberals specify are proposed as constraints on the development and operation of cultures; they are viewed as a way to ensure that cultures develop freely and justly. They do not, for the most part, employ a methodology that takes distributive ideals to arise from specific cultural practices, or historical struggles specific to a community. In this respect, communitarians and post-modern theorists have objected to the methodology of liberalism as abstract, individualistic, universalistic, and anti-democratic (MacIntyre, 1984(4); Mulhall and Swift, 1996(5); Sandel, 1982(6); Walzer, 1983(7)). >Communitarianism/Lamont. 1. Hampton, Jean (1997) Political Philosophy. Oxford: Westview. 2. Nussbaum, Martha C. (1999) Sex and Social Justice. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 3. Buchanan, Allen, et al. (2000) From Chance to Choice. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 4. MacIntyre, Alasdair (1984) After Virtue: A Study in Moral Theory, 2nd edn. Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press. 5. Mulhall, Stephen and Adam Swift, eds (1996) Liberals and Communitarians. Cambridge: Blackwell. 6. Sandel, Michael J. (1982) Liberalism and the Limits of Justice. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 7. Walzer, Michael (1983) Spheres of Justice. Oxford: Martin Robertson. Lamont, Julian 2004. „Distributive Justice“. In: Gaus, Gerald F. & Kukathas, Chandran 2004. Handbook of Political Theory. SAGE Publications_____________Explanation of symbols: Roman numerals indicate the source, arabic numerals indicate the page number. The corresponding books are indicated on the right hand side. ((s)…): Comment by the sender of the contribution. Translations: Dictionary of Arguments The note [Concept/Author], [Author1]Vs[Author2] or [Author]Vs[term] resp. "problem:"/"solution:", "old:"/"new:" and "thesis:" is an addition from the Dictionary of Arguments. If a German edition is specified, the page numbers refer to this edition. |
Lamont, Julian Gaus I Gerald F. Gaus Chandran Kukathas Handbook of Political Theory London 2004 |
||
> Counter arguments against Lamont
> Counter arguments in relation to Liberalism
