POLSCI 1G06 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Positive Liberty, Negative Liberty, Invisible Hand

• School: McMaster University
• Department: Political Science
• Course: POLSCI 1G06
• Professor: Todd Alway

Document Summary

Liberty is about the individual, it is about freedom. Freedom implies a different set of political considerations than democracy. Different versions of liberalism have been influential in different points in time. There are significant variations in liberal thought: dominant in the 19th century, it emerged in the 17th century, in a context where government is feudal, where people aren"t viewed as being equal. It emerges with a message: if you want to talk about government, you have to start with the individual; the equality of individuals: given this idea, it is there for a limited purpose. People form a government to protect their individual equality and freedom. It needs to be limited in such a way that it won"t infringe upon the rights of others: adam smith: domain of government: The state provides collective intervention, i. e. welfare. Gives individuals more opportunity as a whole. Neo-liberalism: dominant from 1980"s to today.