Lesson 3 Traditions of Political Theory: Liberal, Marxist, Anarchist, and Conservative Important Notes

Lesson 3 Traditions of Political Theory: Liberal, Marxist, Anarchist, and Conservative

 

The idea of political tradition is not static, it could mean anything from believing in a set of values - such as voting for one political party to a set of beliefs such as freedom of speech and expression. The major tenant of a political tradition however is represented by consistency although that might not always be the case. For example, the proponents of negative liberty believe that the state is inherently “evil” whereas proponents of positive liberty associate the state with a proactively positive role of the state.

 

Liberal Tradition

 

The liberal tradition of Political Science is derived from the Latin word liber which refers to a class of free people. The idea of Liberty represents the freedom of an individual which is consistent with the freedom of the society the individual inhabits. Liberalism works on the premise of constitutionalism and consent and the state under liberal tradition works under the principle of Laissez-Faire i.e leave the man alone. The pillar of liberalism is to protect the citizen from the tyranny of the government. Liberalism as a political alternative emerged after the breakdown of Feudalism in Western Europe. The idea of liberty and freedom, to break away from the hierarchical feudal division of power created radical shifts across Europe. The English civil war in the seventeenth century, French Revolution in 1789, and the American Revolution in 1776. All three of them were based on questioning the divine rights of monarchical powers which derived their legitimacy from an unelected aristocracy.

 

The development of Liberalism as a political tradition was also a result of industrialization happening in 19th century Europe. Industrialization offered economic mobility to a certain section of society that was previously not in a position to assert its rights. Liberalism thus opened doors for a “rising middle class” that was previously out of the decision-making processes. The context of liberal tradition as mention is eighteenth and nineteenth-century Europe.

 

The core tenants of the liberal traditions can be summed up as

 

Individualism

 

The liberal tradition puts the individual as the central unit of analysis, the individual is both, an entity with unique attributes and inner qualities specific to themselves and at the same level as other individuals. The idea that an individual should have the full autonomy to develop their potential to the maximum extent possible is an article of faith of liberal tradition. Special reference needs to be made to two thinkers here.

 

Freedom

The idea of freedom is the unifying force of the entire liberal ideology. Human existence is not fulfilled unless nourished by the idea of liberty. Freedom is the means to the ends of individuals. However, the liberal tradition does not endorse liberty which infringes the liberty of others in the social order. John Stuart Mill terms this as a harm principle where the liberty of one person does not harm the liberty of anyone else. He divides every action as “self-regarding” and “other-regarding”. Self-regarding action allows the individual to enjoy absolute freedom and the other regarding which can restrict the freedom of others or do them damage.

 

Reason

The liberal tradition gains its legitimacy from the idea of reason. Individuals are free or are at liberty because they are capable of thinking rationally and deciding on and pursuing their best interests. Liberals are strongly biased against the values of paternalism which is authority exercised from above and is modelled on the relationship between father and child. The second key of the reason is the idea of progress and advancement, the power of reason gives human beings the capacity to transform their lives and fashion their destinies. The third pillar for the case of the reason is Knowledge, it is only through knowledge that an individual can be free from superstition and prejudice.

 

Justice

Justice in a more general sense if giving an individual what they are due i.e what is entitled to them. The liberal idea of justice on the other hand represents different types of equality. The tenets of equality for liberals are based on the idea that individuals have equal moral worth. The second foundational principle is the idea of equal citizenship i.e each citizen is entitled to rights and liberties extended to the next citizen. Factors such as class, caste, gender, race, colour. Liberalism in this sense is “difference blind”. The idea of liberty enforces the principle of legality in the decision-making and electoral process where every citizen gets a vote and that vote has one value.

 

Toleration

 

A long with the ideas of justice, individualism, and freedom; is vital of toleration. Toleration is built on the fact that individuals may differ in endowments, opinions, gender, caste, religious inclinations sexualities, etc but they must be free to pursue their for liberal tradition stand. John Locke for example defended an individual right to pursue his or her religion without the interference of the state.

 

The Liberal State

The values of liberal tradition cannot be realized on their own, they require a mechanism and a political social order to be implemented. Here the idea of a liberal state creeps in, Liberals staunchly believe that both law and governance are necessary to prevent individuals from exploiting each other. The liberty of one person must not become a license to abuse another. Freedom must be therefore be exercised within the means of law.

The liberal state follows the idea of constitutionalism where the government derives its power and legitimacy from an agreed-upon set of laws and principles that are consensually agreed upon by the citizens. This prevents any potential tyranny by the government which also has to work within the constraints of a constitution. Another requiem of the liberal state is the idea of a liberal democracy which is based on the idea that competing interests of the society can be represented via the idea of political equality where each individual has a stake in the collective decision-making power.

 

The schools of the liberal tradition

 

Classical

The classical tradition comes into being during the transition of feudalism to capitalism predominantly in the United Kingdom and the United States of America and Classical Liberal tradition subscribes to certain ideas which differentiate it from Modern Liberalism: ideas of egotistical individualism i.e individuals are self-interested. The second concept is negative liberty, in which the individual is free of all restrictions; the third concept is that the state is a "necessary evil," as Thomas Paine put it, in that it is required to provide conditions for orderly existence but is evil in that it imposes a collective will on individuals.

 

According to Stanford Encyclopaedia Of Philosophy Tenant of Classical liberalism are:

Rights: For Thomas Jefferson and John Locke Natural rights are endowed on human beings by God and thus cannot be violated by anyone. Utilitarianism: Utilitarianism as a doctrine was developed by Jermy Bantam and J.S Mill. Bentham advocated a utilitarian social order which was based on “the greatest happiness of the greatest masses” here the values of pain and pleasure for Bentham were understood in the quantitative sense where each action had an equal worth. Mill modifies this idea where he deemed that every action differs qualitatively where it brings different degrees of pain and pleasure. Certain acts hold more pleasure or pain than others.

Economic Liberalism: Adam Smith and David Ricardo endorsed the idea of freedom of the market which was invariably linked to the freedom of individuals who are making voluntary economic association with each other. The forces of demand and supply are adequate to regulate these associations.

Social Darwinism: The idea of Social Darwinism is derivative of the theory proposed by Darwin in the origin of species by Darwin of the doctrine of the survival of the fittest. Here the individual will only survive based on his one merit and hard work. Neoliberalism or Neoclassical Liberalism: The idea of neoclassical liberalism was “counter-revolution” which was to halt or reverse the trend towards big government and state intervention. The idea of the market was supreme to the government and must be free from any political control.

 

Modern Liberalism

The idea of modern liberalism developed in the 20th century in the later stages of industrialization to address the spread of slums, poverty, ignorance, and disease. The idea of unrestricted freedom of individuals and a free market could not translate into an equally just society. Modern Liberalism was based on certain values which differed from the classical ones: The idea of Individuality- According to J.S Mill liberty did not just mean the absence of constraints but also a positive and constructive force where individuals take control of their destiny and achieve self-realization.

 

Social Liberalism was sought by the Modern Liberals where the minimal state was to be replaced by a welfare state which takes the responsibility for the social welfare of its citizens discharged through a range of social security, health education, and other services. The final tenant of modern liberalism is the idea of economic management. The modern liberals discarded the idea of Lassies Faire and instead replaced it with the Keynesian doctrine which is named after John Maynard Keynes who in his The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money (Keynes,1936) argued that government could manage their economies by influencing the levels of aggregate demand.

 

Marxist Tradition

 

Marxism as a school of political thought is a compilation or is inspired by the ideas developed by Karl Marx and to some extent Fredrich Engles in the 19th Century. Marxism can be largely divided into three disciplinary fields, an economic and political program, a theory of history, and philosophical anthropology.

 

Historical Materialism

Marx here established the idea of a historic bloc of society where the society is based on an economic base that dictates all social relationships in the society. It is the economic position according to Marx which determines one socio-political position in society. If the above paragraph is understood emphasizes toit establishes two major points of Marxian philosophy:

1. The basic structure of a society is its economic structure which consists of (a) the “material forces of production,” that is, the labour and means of production, and (b) the larger “production relations,” which refers to the social and political institutions that control production and distribution.

2. A superstructure arises from this economic base, consisting of legal and political "forms of social consciousness" that correspond to the economic foundation. One's political and social ideology, consciousness, and location are all determined by one's economic base, which Marx refers to as a class. The economic foundation of social order lies at the heart of Marx's whole school of thinking.

 

The idea of class thus becomes the referent unit of Marxian analysis where Marx states that “The history of all existing society is the history of class struggle”. History for Marx goes in a dialectical form where there is a Thesis, Synthesis, and Antithesis. The progression is enabled by the struggle between the two classes which gives rise to a new structure of society that is based on the resulting economic order. The class struggle, therefore, is expressed in a dialectical nature. Two classes are opposed to each other through various points in history: The owners of the means of production which is the bourgeoisie and the workers which are the proletariats. Historical materialism explains the progressive nature of the history of class struggle. Primitive communism, in the hunting-gathering stages there was no private property hence there were no classes. Ancient history had a class of slave owners who were the oppressing class and slaves who were the oppressed class.

 

Alienation

Alienation comes from the Latin work Alienare which means to remove or take away. For Karl Marx, it is a social or political process. He uses the term entfremdung which translates into estrangement which is separation or detachment from things to which they are naturally tied to. Entfremdung represents the situation of separation from social affairs and estrangement of their human nature i.e species essence as a result of living in a class-based, class-conscious stratified society.

Workers in a capitalist order are compelled to sell their labor to the capitalist and lose control over it and their labor becomes simply a means to the end of capitalists. They also have no control over the product of their labor. Their labor itself which is their life activity does not belong to them. They get estranged from their labor and the product of their labor. Henced the workers become alienated from their own self and own nature and also alienated from other human beings as well as their work. Alienation for Marx is of four types:

 

1. Objectification is the alienation of a worker from the product of his or her own labor

2. Self-Alienation is the alienation of a worker from his or her own self and activity where the labor is simply producing for the ends of a capitalist profit. The worker is merely a clog in the capitalist machine. Labour does not add value to his being but is simply a means to survive and thus is alienated from himself or herself

3. Species-Alienation Man according to Marx is not an atomistic individual but has an inner life or spiritual being which is based on previous history. According to Marx, it is labor that distinguishes man from other lower animals. Man can only produce when he is free and the production conforms with the ordains of nature. A condition which is not allowed by capitalism hence man is alienated from his species being

 4. Alienation from other people - If a person is alienated from his or her species being, they would be alienated from their fellow beings.

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State and Revolution in Marxist Tradition

 

Apart from liberal state theory, Marxist state theory is arguably the most well-known. Marxist ideology not only questions the fundamental conceptions of the liberal state but also emphasizes that it enslaves the majority of men in society to organizational achieve its goals and that it must be abolished or crushed for common men to be free.

They've classified society's evolution into four categories: ancient communist society, slave society, feudal society, and industrial society. There was no state in the original communist society since private property did not exist. The private property system served as a possible catalyst for the emergence of the state. Where the anti-state came to exist as a defence to private property. For Marxist State will wither away with a communist revolution. People will be able to move to a radical transformation of their position through revolution after they have become conscious of their loss, alienation, as a universal inhuman predicament. This revolution will pave the way for the return of liberty and the foundation of communism.

 

Anarchism

The word Anarchy comes from the Greek word Anarkhos which means “without rule”. It was first used in a negative sense during the French Revolution to discredit the protesters.

Anarchism as a political tradition has been unusual in the sense that its philosophy has not succeeded in winning power at least national level.

Core Themes: Against the State

 

Anarchists’ central belief is the opposition to the state or any form of government and law. Anarchists endorse the idea of a stateless society in which free individuals manage their affairs by voluntary agreement without compulsion and coercion. Anarchism as a doctrine is wanting on two accounts: the first is the assumption that Moral assertion is stronger in anarchism than analysis and explanation. Anarchism focuses more on the fact that human beings are morally good and are drawn to freedom and autonomy, than on analysing how to challenge the system of state oppression.

Anti-Statism

 Sebastien Faure in his treatise Encyclopaedia anarchist which consists of four-volume defined anarchism as ‘the negation of the principle of Authority’. Authority according to anarchists is opposed to absolute freedom and unrestrained political equality. Authority according to anarchists gives one person the right to influence the behaviour of others, enslaves, oppresses, and limits human life.

The basis of this critique lies in how anarchists view human nature. They believe the almost utopic human nature can be easily influenced by or corrupted by political power or economic inequality. As a result, a state that is the repository of sovereign, obligatory, and coercive authority is nothing short of a concentrated form of evil.

 

Utopianism

 Unlike the social contract theorists which believe that man in the state of nature is short nasty and brutish, anarchists believe in the natural goodness, or at least potential goodness, of humankind. From the perspective of anarchist’s state is not required to create a harmonious social order, it will arise spontaneously and naturally.

 

Anti-Clericalism

Anti-clericalism for anarchists is stemmed from a similar distaste for authority that they show towards the state. Religion itself has been seen as a source of authority in general. The idea of God required complete submission to a higher authority. This submission must be unconditional and unquestioned. Religion does not leave any space for free will or individual autonomy and thus anarchists find themselves at odds with religion.

 

Economic Freedom

Besides the anti-state state attitude, Anarchists hope to transform the social and economic system. Bakunin states “Political power and wealth are inseparable”. When anarchism initially developed as a political camp it grounded itself in the workers’ movement which was driven by socialist principles. However, for anarchists, the ruling class was not understood in simply economic terms. It was anyone who had access to wealth, power, and privilege in society.

 

Roads to Anarchy

 

Revolutionary non-violence

 The 19th century saw a period where anarchist leadership tried to provoke the masses for insurrection and revolt. Michael Bakunin for example led to a constitutional brotherhood, the Alliance for Social Democracy in anarchist risings of France and Italy. But more or less Anarchist uprisings failed to gather long-term momentum since they support spontaneous action rather than the careful organization.

 

Direct Action

Short of a revolutionary assault on existing society anarchists have employed tactics of direct action. Direct action may change from passive resistance to terrorism. Anarcho-Syndicalists for example refuse to engage in electoral politics instead exert pressure on employers by boycotting their products, sabotaging machinery, and organizing strike action. From anarchists’ point of view, direct action has two advantages. The first is that it is uncontaminated by the process of government and machinery of the state.

 

Non-Violence

Anarchists like Godwin and Proudhon regard violence abhorrent principle. These latter anarchists have often been attracted to the principles of nonviolence and pacifism developed by the Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy and Mahatma Gandhi. The principle of nonviolence has appealed to anarchists for two reasons: First, it reflects a respect for human beings as moral and autonomous creatures. As a political approach, nonviolence has proven appealing. Mahatma Gandhi emancipated India with the use of Satyagraha based on principles of truth and non-violence.

 

Conservative Tradition

Conservatism as a term with political connotation was first used in the United States of America to imply a pessimistic state of affairs. The group of people who were opposed to the French Revolution was also deemed to be conservatives. In the United Kingdom “Conservatives” came to be known as “Tory” which became one of the two political parties in the UK.

The problem with understanding conservatism is first it is easier to understand what they oppose. A second problem is the fact that defining conservatism runs at the risk of irritating conservatives themselves. They prefer to think of conservatism as a state of mind rather than a well-defined ideology. To understand what conservatism is it the following tenets of conservatism are required to be understood:

Core tenants of Conservatism

 

Tradition

The major pillar of conservative tradition is its defence of tradition which could be religious faith or social order or even a form of authority such as monarchical tradition. There are also instances when all three snowballs into one as was the medieval English society. Edmund Burke defined a social order based on all three- in terms of religion he stated that society was shaped by “the law of our creator”. Similarly, a society for Burke is a partnership between “those who are living, those who are dead and those who are to be born”. A tradition for conservatives is the repository of the wisdom of the past.

 

Human Imperfection

Conservatives vouch for the notion that human beings are both imperfect and unpredictable. Human beings according to conservatives are firstly psychologically limited and dependent creatures who fear instability and isolation. They are drawn to what is “known”. They desire security which compels them to go for a social order which ensures stability in an unpredictable world. They subscribe to the Hobbesian view of human nature which is inherently selfish and greedy.

 

Organic society

As explained in the previous section human beings are security-seeking creatures, dependent on each other. According to anarchists, this makes them incapable of living without a society. The social order exists to nurture the individual. Society is what gives human life meaning. Freedom for anarchists cannot be understood in negative terms rather freedom is a willing acceptance of social obligation and ties by individuals who recognize their values. Freedom for conservatives is thus doing one’s duty Conservatives subscribe to the belief of organicism which is that society is like an organism or a living entity. With a society like an organism, the whole is more than the collection of parts.

 

Hierarchy and authority

Conservatives have long claimed that hierarchy and inequality are unavoidable aspects of every society. This implies that they believe that achieving real social equality, such as in terms of position, money, or power, is an unattainable goal. There is some overlap between Conservatism and Liberalism in this regard. While Liberals see inequality as a compromise that must be accepted to accommodate differences in likes or talents among people, Conservatives see it as something deeper that is essential to society's functioning - in other words, something that should be understood positively.

 

Property

Property is a notion that conservatives place a high value on. They think that having private property or assets offers several advantages. Conservatives, like many Liberals, accept the notion that property ownership is a manifestation of merit; that is, a person's ability to build a significant amount of property or money is a result of his desire to work hard throughout his life and put his abilities to good use. Many Conservatives, on the other hand, maintain that property ownership has broader social and psychological benefits.

 

Types of Conservatism

 

Authoritarian Conservatism

Authoritarian conservatism comes from the tradition which has favoured authoritarian rule, especially in Europe. Joseph De Maistre was one of the staunchest defenders of the French monarchy and the toughest critic of the French revolution. In his text the Du Pape endorsed the idea that above the earthly rule there exists a higher spiritual authority of the Pope.

 

Paternalistic Conservatism

Paternalistic conservatism can be traced back to the Anglo-American tradition inspired by Edmund Burke who espoused that if the change is natural and inevitable then it must not be resisted. The characteristic of this style of conservatism is cautious, modest and pragmatic. The values of conservatism can only be preserved under practical circumstances.

 

Christian Democracy

After World War II many Christan democratic parties adopted interventionist policies. The most significant of these parties were the Christian Democratic Union in West Germany and Christian Democratic Party in Italy. After the war, many conservatives abandoned their authoritarian stands and adopted the paternalistic social traditions of Catholicism. Catholic theory focuses on social groups rather than individuals and social harmony and balance rather than competition.

 

Libertarian conservatism

Libertarian conservatism, sometimes known as conservative libertarianism, is a political theory that blends conservatism with libertarianism, with the libertarian side of conservatism representing the conservative wing and vice versa. Libertarian conservatism promotes maximum economic liberty and little government control of social life, similar to laissez-faire classical liberalism, but with a belief in a more socially conservative worldview emphasizing authority, morality, and responsibility.

 

New Right

Theorists believe that the free market is effective in achieving economic and political liberty. The works of Hayek and the American economist Milton Friedman contain the core concepts of the new right ideology. The new right is 'new,' but not in the sense that their ideas have never been heard before. Indeed, they are heavily influenced by Adam Smith and closely resemble the concerns of nineteenth-century liberal philosophy. When compared to the ‘old right’s preoccupations with tradition, moderation, and support for the post-war political consensus, they can only be described as ‘new’.

 

Important Question

How does the positive conception of liberty differs from the negative conception of liberty?

What are the different stages of class struggle according to Marx?

What is the criticism of anarchist tradition? How do anarchists propose to reach their goals?

What are the different schools/branches of conservatism?

Differentiate between the Liberal and Marxist ideas of the state.

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