Exploring the roots of Liberalism Chapter 4

To what extent should we embrace an ideology? Key Issue To what extent should we embrace an ideology?

Is resistance to liberalism justified? Related Issue Is resistance to liberalism justified?

Chapter Isuue To what extent have various ideas and events shaped liberalism over time?

Question for Inquiry #1 In what ways have the aboriginal people contributed to the early development of Liberalism?

What are the Origins of liberal thought in Western societies? Question for Inquiry #2 What are the Origins of liberal thought in Western societies?

Key Skill Understanding cause and effect relationships and the historical significance of changes and events

Key Terms and Concepts Adam Smith Capitalism Class System Classical Liberalism Distribution of Wealth Haudenosaunee Confederacy John Stuart Mill Laissez-Faire Capitalism Liberal Democracy Liberalism Limited Government Mercantilism Modern Liberalism Monopoly Rule of Law Supply and Demand

History of Liberal Societies (Pg 95) Read the first to paragraphs on page 95 on your own

History of Liberal Societies (Pg 95) Liberalism has not had an easy road to get where it is today There have been revolutions, wars, protests and all sorts of civil disorder to get to where we are today This chapter will deal with those events and ideas

Aboriginal People and the early development of liberalism (pg 96) Liberalism has shifted and changed over time However, certain aspects always seem to be consistent with liberalism One example of an idea that is almost always associated with liberalism is individual rights and freedoms

The Haudenosaunee Confederacy (pg 97) Sometime referred to as the Iroquois Confederacy Formed between 1400-1600 Was a participatory democracy that involved 5 (later on 6) Haudenosaunee nations This was one of the first and longest lasting participatory democracy in the world

The Haudenosaunee Confederacy (pg 97) Each nation had an internal council and chief to deal with issues that affected that nation. The Grand Council had equal representation from each nation The Grand council would convene on matters that affected all of the nations in the confederacy

The Haudenosaunee Confederacy (pg 97) The goal of the confederacy was to live in harmony with all other nations involved This was a stark contrast to what was going on in Europe at this time where only nobles and the church had any power and there was no idea of democracy

The Great Law of Peace (Pg 98) The constitution of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy It was passed down orally from generation to generation Outline the path to harmony between the nations, outlined the division of powers between levels of governments Also outlined rights and freedoms, even equality rights for women Free speech Freedom of religion

The Influence of the Haudenosaunee (pg 98) Some believe that this confederacy was a major influence on the Declaration of Independence in the United States This would make it a major influence on the Canadian Constitution as well. Other historians believe that the Europeans had more influence on the constitution

Summary of the Aboriginal Influence on Early liberalism (pg 100) The Haudenosaunee people had individual rights and freedoms centuries before the western world It is believe by many that The Haudenosaunee Confederacy was a major influence on American and Canadian Liberalism

Summary of the Aboriginal Influence on Early liberalism (pg 100) The Great Law of Peace are based on collective values but also have a number of individualist and liberal ideas These liberal ideas include, elected leaders, leadership based on merit, and rules based on a shared constitution

Question for Inquiry #1 In what ways have Aboriginal people contributed to the early development of liberalism?

Origins of western democratic liberalism (pg 101) In the 1700 and 1800 the royal families had absolute power and wealth. Common people did not have the same freedoms we enjoy today Man were not allowed to own land, travel, not allowed to attend school.

Western European origins of liberalism (pg 101) Many ideas of liberalism practiced in the west today came from Europe Many countries in Europe in the 700 and 1800 had an absolute monarchy Even if the majority of citizens wanted a change in society the royalty would not be compelled to make changes.

Western European origins of liberalism (pg 102) By the mid 1700 people started to challenge the ideas of absolutism and start discussing individual rights Jean-Jacques Rousseau was on of those philosophers that supported civil rights, freedoms for individuals

Western European origins of liberalism (pg 101) People who believed in liberalism at this time believed that Individual freedoms and rights should be protected Nobody should be above the law What is good for individuals in the community can also be good for the community as a whole Government intervention should be limited to allow the most freedom of choice possible for the individual Individuals should be allowed to market and sell products with little government interference (free markets)

Liberal Ideas of Economic systems (pg 102) The industrial revolution changed every thing for people in the 1700 and 1800’s Questions about how the economy should be run started to be discussed. At this time mercantilism was the major economic model used by most countries.

Liberal Ideas of Economic systems (pg 102) Under mercantilism the workers would produce goods. These goods would be sold and the royalty would keep the profit. This created a class system. Upper class – Wealth landowners Middle class – Business owners, exporters, professionals Lower class – labourers, factory workers etc.

Adam Smith and the wealth of nations (pg 103) The Wealth of Nations was a booked that challenged the mercantilism system One of Smith’s largest criticism was that the old system did not distribute wealth evenly throughout society A more equal distribution of wealth could only come of people were given the choice of what to produce, what to buy and what cost to sell at

Adam Smith and the wealth of nations (pg 103) Another criticism was that the nobility would play favourites and allow certain business people to extract resources for sale. This created monopolies in the economy Monopolies are when one, or very few companies control all of the flow of a certain good in the economy. A monopoly would result in no competition and poor products Smith believed that competition was essential in an economy because it would encourage us to become better and smarter.

Adam Smith and the wealth of nations (pg 103) Smith believed that if there were many companies making products they would compete with each other to get the people to buy their product. Good merchants would make lots of money and poor one would go out of business.

Adam Smith and the wealth of nations (pg 103) Smith believe that companies would be forced to make products that people wanted and people would be moved to buy better products. He called this movement the invisible hand and that this invisible hand would improve the prosperity of the nation and the well being of the nation as a whole.

Adam Smith and the wealth of nations (pg 104) With this system people would be motivated to improve. There motivation would come from self interest, greed and competition This would make society as a whole much better He believed that the invisible hand had to move freely for this to happen to its full extent

Adam Smith and the wealth of nations (pg 104) Smith would have been against ideas such as Trade embargos Tariffs Sales taxes Government run monopolies Misuse of public funds

Adam Smith and the wealth of nations (pg 104) It is important to note that Smith did see a use for a limited role for the government To protect the security of individuals Protect private property Enforce laws that protected individual rights Maintaining public works

Adam Smith and the wealth of nations (pg 104) Smith believed that people should be rewarded based on merit and not by the lot in life they were born into Self improvement was the key motivator for people working hard and improving which is also good for the economy An economic system that rewards based on merit it often called a meritocracy

Capitalism and Liberalism (pg 104) Due to the ideas of Adam Smith and other liberal economists, and with the effects of the industrial revolution, economies all over the world began to evolve and change. The old mercantile system was fading away in favour of economic liberalism, often called capitalism

Capitalism and Liberalism (pg 105) In capitalism individuals are free to sell their labour and benefit from the profits. Individuals profit from their own work The role of the government is to protect the individual rights and private property of people During early capitalism it was not the job of the government to interfere with the trade of goods or labour

Capitalism and Liberalism (pg 105) One of the major events in the emergence of liberalism was the move away from mercantilism to capitalism Look at the Table on page 105 for a comparison of mercantilism and capitalism

Capitalism and Liberalism (pg 105) There is a natural cycle to the economy When the economy is good they call it a boom When the economy is bad they call it a bust The cycle is referred to as the boom and bust cycle, or the business cycle.

Capitalism and Liberalism (pg 105) It was believe by many economic liberals at the time of Adam Smith that the government should not interfere in the business cycle French economists called this laissez-faire capitalism

Capitalism and Liberalism (pg 105) Liberal economics writers were part of a movement called classical liberalism Classical liberalism is based on the writings of philosophers such as Adam Smith John Locke

Classical liberalism (pg 105) Classic liberalism above all believe that individual rights and freedoms should be upheld and are the most important aspects of a society Classical liberalism however focused mostly on economic liberalism for merchants and not so much of the rights of the ordinary people

Classical liberalism (pg 105) Why do you think classic liberals would want the government to stay out of the economy?

Classical liberalism (pg 105) Why do you think people today would want the government to intervene in the economy?

Liberal ideas on political systems (pg 106) During the Renaissance (14th to 17th century) people started to focus more on the individual The focus on the importance of the individual helped inspire revolutions in both the United States and France (1789-99)