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Summary Edexcel Politics Paper 1 - Liberalism Essay plans
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liberalism A* essay plans covering all you need to know in liberalism
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amongst elderly and media reflected this through opinion polls showing a decline in support -this immediately led May to U-turn on the policy - shwos how manifestos can have a
negative/ positive impact om VB - Conservative poll lead has been slashed in half since May
announced the policy.
SLAM - media is more important in spreading the policies of the manifesto and is what
people engage with and see the most. Important in selling party image - nick clegg 2010. If
the media is against you it can be hard to win - corbyn all media newspapers but one was
against him, harder to win.
LIBERALISM
Personally, the A level politics show on spotify - is worth getting the 2 pound
subscription for as i used that in the last few months of my revision for politics
instead of these notes as i found his plans to be better - he covers nearly every
question on every ideology so i would look into that too
However - all of these plans still never got me below an A and are good for background
knowledge - and to learn the quotes to adapt to your own arguments
HUMAN NATURE
1. Agree that we are born equal and are therefore deserving of the same civil and
human rights.
- The belief that nobody is born differently, there is no hierarchy. This is because all
strands of liberalism are informed by the doctrine of individualism, which means that
we are defined by the fact we are individuals, not defined by gender, ethnicity, social
class and other factors. Since we are all classified under the inclusive ‘individuals’
idea, everyone therefore is deserving of equal rights.
- Classical Liberalism: Locke ‘in races of mankind… there remains not one above the
other.’ Locke specifically believed that people had a right to ‘life, liberty and property’.
- Modern Liberalism: John Rawls called this ‘justice as fairness’ and that an equal
distribution of rights was an execution of ethical individualism.
- This is a fundamental agreement because it informs the majority of the other ideas in
liberalism. It acts as a bedrock agreement for the shaping of other key concepts.
They are also in full agreement with each other, so this is a strong agreement.
2. Humans are rational beings.
- This is because liberalism emerged out of the enlightenment as a reaction to
rejecting religious teachings, therefore on the basis of the fact humans are aware of
reason and fact.
- Classical Liberalism: the belief in Utilitarianism means that humans are aware of their
best interests, being motivated to pursue the actions that provide them with the most
happiness.
John Locke said humans are ‘thinking, intelligent and endowed with reason’.
, - Modern Liberalism: the belief that humans are rational to an extent they can make
good decisions for themselves and for the benefit of society as a whole. John Rawls
said humans can do this from ‘behind the veil of ignorance’.
- This is a fundamental agreement because it again informs the majority of other ideas
in liberalism. It acts as a bedrock agreement for the shaping of other key concepts.
They are also in full agreement with each other, so this is a strong agreement.
3. Human nature is capable to differing extent
- The strands of liberalism disagree how capable humans are, on the basis of them
being rational and worthy of rights, whether they are able to reach their full potential
in rationality, gaining rights, and a place in society- entirely by themselves.
- Classical Liberalism: egotistical individualism, the belief that humans are self
interested and look after themselves means that they are fully aware of their needs,
aims and methods- and are capable of reaching their full potential without any
intervention. John Stuart Mill’s harm principle argues that there should be no
interference apart from the prevention of harm. Apart from this, individuals are wholly
capable because their rational human nature allows for this.
- Modern Liberals: developmental individualism, the belief that humans can develop
their potential with the aid of the state, and are not entirely self established and self
interested. This became increasingly necessary with the changing nature of the
economy that made people subject to disadvantages out of their control. Rawls
‘social and economic inequalities are to be arranged… to everyone’s advantage.
Therefore human nature cannot overcome the inevitable disadvantages of some
individuals, and the state must intervene.
- This disagreement is stark and can be considered important in that regard, but it is
not significant or fundamental in dividing the movement because they remain able to
agree on the core concept and it is only the extent to which these details are agreed
on that disparages them.
STATE
1. State should exist, and exist on behalf of the people
- This agreement was facilitated on the basis of the french revolution, where too much
governmental power had resulted in political turmoil. This therefore meant liberals
wanted a state to exist to assure order, but only on the support of the people, in order
to wholly prevent uprising.
- Classical Liberals: They believed that the state had to exist to protect people’s
property, but only on the basis of their permission and consent. This therefore had to
be contained and upheld in a constitution, that would equally create a mutual
agreement between government and people, whilst restricting both of them to a
political balance that could not create revolution. John Locke called this a ‘social
contract’ in which the people and their representatives were in a written agreement.
- Modern Liberals: They also believed that the state had to exist alongside and in
representation of the public, equally as fearful of uprising. This was embodied in John
Rawls’ idea of mutual trust, in which the government had a duty to uphold the
interests of the public, because they had their support, and because they should wish
to keep it.
- This is a fundamental agreement because it acts as the bedrock idea for all other
debates around the role of the state. At the very least, the strands of liberalism can
agree on the basic principle of the fact that the state should exist, and on the basis it
should exist upon.
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