POSC 100 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Classical Liberalism, Positive Liberty, Justice As Fairness
Document Summary
Liberalism: classic-welfare-neoliberal: freedom negative/positive, autonomy of the individual, emphasis on the individual most important concern, democracy representational government, freedom to choose, freedom to vote, equality. The fundamental liberal principle: freedom is normatively basic,the onus of justification is on those who would limit freedom (i. e. can political authority be justified and if so how?) Hobbes and locke answer: the social contract. Hobbes vs. locke: hobbes"s liberty is simply the absence of restraint, whereas locke"s liberty takes the form of actionable rights, hobbes understood equality in naturalistic rather than moral terms. Unlike hobbes"s laws of nature, locke"s laws have a theological moral basis we have a natural duty to preserve ourselves, a duty owed to god, who created us. Social rights/positive liberties: social and economic conditions with which the social elements of citizenship is concerned are prerequisites for the effective exercise of political and civil rights.
