L11: Revolutionary Changes in Political Life: Liberalism Agenda Objective: 1.To understand the key tenets of liberal thought. 2.To understand and reflect meaningfully about how these key ideas are rooted in liberals’ conception of liberty, equality, and government. Schedule: 1.What Do You Think? 2.Small group work on Liberalism 3.Whole class discussion Homework: 1.Read excerpts from Metternich and Burke. See unit schedule for comprehension questions. Due L12 Orange = Fri 9/19 Yellow = Fri 91/19

What Do You Think? How do you define freedom/liberty? How do you define equality? What do you believe is the purpose of government?

Introduction/ Historical Context

The Dual Revolutions Lead to the Development of New Political Philosophies Political Philosophy –Branch of philosophy that deals with fundamental questions about politics such as: What is freedom/liberty? Is it important? What is equality? Is it important? What is the purpose of government? Over the next two classes we will look at two political philosophies that emerged in the wake of the dual revolutions: –Liberalism –Conservatism

Liberalism Today we will explore the political philosophy of liberalism. We will arrive at an understanding of its key beliefs/principles by exploring how liberals understand the concepts of liberty and equality and what they see as the purpose of government. To guide us in the process we will engage with a classic liberal text, On Liberty, written by John Stuart Mill in 1859.

The Tenets of Liberalism

Developing & Refining Our Understanding of Liberalism Group Work –Read the excerpts from On Liberty. –Discuss the following questions with your group: How does Mill define liberty? Why does Mill think freedom of speech is so important? What does this suggest about why he thinks liberty is important? Given your understanding of how Mill views liberty, how do you think he understands equality? What does Mill think is the purpose of government? Whole Class Discussion