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POLI 243 Lecture 3
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Lecture 3 - Jan. 11th, 2019Liberalism
Andrew Moravcsik, “Taking Preferences Seriously: A Liberal Theory of International Politics”
Moravcsik
- For liberals, the configuration of state preferences is of utmost importance in world
politics.
- Morgenthau and Waltz criticized liberalism by contrasting its purported altruism with
realism.
- Moravcsik argues that “the basic liberal insight about the centrality of state-society
relations to world politics can be restated in terms of three positive assumptions
concerning, respectively, the nature of fundamental social actors, the state, and the
international system.” (515)
- According to Moravcsik, there are three major variants of liberal theory: ideational
liberalism, commercial liberalism, and republican liberalism.
- Fundamental premise of Liberal IR theory: “that the relationship between states and the
surrounding domestic and transnational society in which they are embedded critically
shapes state behaviour by influencing the social purposes underlying state preferences”
(516)
Liberalism’s Origins
- Not designed to answer the question of war.
- Dates back to the early 1700’s/1800’s
- It is important to recognize that most states practiced Mercantilism
- Mercantilism emphasized the importance of gold/silver(money). A system of policies
designed to maximize the amount of gold and silver that rulers kept.
- Based on the conception that there is a limited amount of wealth.
- In order to win wars/acquire new land, rulers hired mercenaries. These mercenaries
would be paid in gold and silver.
- Liberalism criticized mercantilist practices of the late eighteenth century.
- Adam Smith writes The Wealth of Nations - A ttacks mercantilism on multiple levels.
- On one level, it examines the trade policies promoted by mercantilism.
- The British treated their colonies through mercantilist policies, so that the trade
relationship was one-sided (i.e. all gold and silver ends up in Britain’s hands).
- This was what caused the US to desire independence from Britain
- On another level, Smith argues that mercantilism is the wrong way to be thinking about
wealth.
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