Political Science 1020E Lecture Notes - Brian Barry, Ascribed Status, Toleration
18 Nov 2013
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Document Summary
All liberals aim to promote individual liberty (freedom) Liberal states: religious toleration, freedom of the press, abolition of servile social status, getting rid of status distinction that ensure that people are born into a bad status. Liberal ideas (related to above^: no religious dogma can be reasonably held with certainty, every doctrine should be open to critical scrutiny, fundamental equality of all human beings: inequality is an artifact. Human beings are rational and self-interested fair competition and equal opportunity individuals should be free from legal barriers, customs, and conditions to live as they choose. Religious conformity: state and catholic church get together to form orthodoxy (people should believe the correct thing) Ascribed status: status fixed at birth feudalism, connected to the idea of ascribed status. Challenging ascribed status: church wasn"t the only thing that wasn"t ascribed status, should have opportunity to move up or down the social ladder. Against church corruption: buying yourself into heaven .
