STOP PRESS!

RECORDING OF LECTURES Please note that from now on (Lecture 4B on Thursday 14 August) recordings of lectures are available on WebCT. Previous lectures (up to and including Lecture 4A on Monday 11 August) will still be available from the Reserve Collection of the Library).

TEXT BOOK PROBLEMS Some students have been having difficulty buying the texts for the course, as the bookshop ordered copies on the basis of previous enrolments - around 120 rather than the current 210.

1. All copies of Heywood, Political Theory in the library have now been put on 2-hour loan in the Reserve Collection (Short Loan) at the Chifley Library.

2. Some additional copies (of my own) of Heywood, Political Theory and Political Ideologies are now also available for 2-hour loan from behind the desk (not on the shelves) at the Reserve Collection (Short Loan) in the Chifley Library.

3. Please note that earlier editions of Heywood are, for most purposes, fine for the purposes of tutorial readings for this course.

TUTORIALS There may still be places in the following tutorials - please contact the tutor if you would like to join one of these tutorials.

Monday 3pm HA 1207 (John)

Monday 4pm HN G064 (John)

Tuesday 4pm HA 1206 (Michael)

Thursday 10am HA 1188 (David)

Contact David at David.West@anu.edu.au

Contact John at john.shellard@gmail.com

Contact Adam at adam.packer@anu.edu.au

Contact Michael at michaelhlo@hotmail.com

SOME QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Do I need to buy the texts?

Yes! The texts for this course are Andrew Heywood, Political Theory: An Introduction, 3rd Ed. and Andrew Heywood, Political Ideologies, 4th Ed. The price for the 'pack' contain both texts is $86.45 for members of the Co-op Bookshop (RRP $95). These books contain most of the essential readings for this course. Theyare also useful reference books for politics and political ideas - you will find them useful for other courses in Political Science and International Relations. Other readings are contained in a very short reading brick of 'Additional Readings'.

How can I buy the Reading Brick?

The Reading Brick for this course will be available in the first week of Second Semester (price TBA). The Reading Brick can be paid for in the Manning Clark Foyer (first two weeks of Semester). You can then collect your Reading Brick from the School of Social Sciences Office.

Signing up for Tutorials

You will be able to sign up for Tutorials using the Faculty of Arts Tutorial Signup system from Week One of Second Semester. Go to http://arts.anu.edu.au/tutorials/ Please note that you can only access the system via an ANU computer.

STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES - Any student who may have a disability that interferes with their ability to study for this course should contact me (David West) in confidence as soon as possible.

CONSULTATION TIMES

During teaching weeks...

CONTENTS
 

1.  Introduction.
2.  Lecture Programme.
3.  Tutorial Programme.
4.  Lecture Outlines.
5.  Essays.
6.  Departmental Rules.
7.  Reading List (including GST Rebatable books)
8.  Useful Information.
9.  Useful Web Links

 

GO TO  David West's Home Page .
 
 

INTRODUCTION

Ideas in Politics explores some of the central ideas, values and debates in politics today. Some of the main discussions concern ideas of freedom, human rights, democracy, equality and justice – both nationally and internationally. There are also intense debates about gender, sexuality and the global environment. We shall consider to what extent Australia and similar societies are really free, democratic and just. An understanding of these issues and debates also helps us to make sense of key political ideologies like liberalism, conservatism and socialism, feminism and ecology. A major aim of this course is to develop intellectual skills of critical thinking, reading and discussion and strategies for the effective presentation of ideas.

Two lectures and one tutorial per week.
Lecturer: Dr. David West.

Required Texts
• The required texts for this course are Andrew Heywood, Political Theory: An Introduction, 3rd Ed. (Palgrave, 2004) and Andrew Heywood, Political Ideologies: An Introduction, 4th Ed. (Palgrave, 2007). You can buy both books as a pack for the special price of $86-45 for Co-op Bookshop members (RRP $95). It is essential that you buy both texts, as they contain the bulk of the readings for weekly tutorials.
• Some additional Tutorial Readings are contained in a very short Reading Brick, which you should also buy (price to be announced). The Reading Brick can be purchased in the Manning Clark Theatre Foyer (Weeks 1-2) and collected from the School of Social Sciences Office (COP2147).
• Web pages – Stop Press, weekly Lecture Outlines, relevant web-links and resources as well as this Course Guide will be posted here.

Return to Contents.
 

Proposed Assessment
• One 1,700-2,000 word Essay (45% of final mark) and an Examination (45% of final mark). In addition 10% of the final mark will be awarded for Tutorial work.
• N.B. only students who have submitted the first assignment and attended at least 8 out of 11 Tutorials will be permitted to take the examination.
• The mark for attendance is worth 5% of your overall mark (awarded on a pro-rata basis). Tutorial participation will be assessed by your Tutor (also worth 5%).
• Essay topics, rules and other advice are set out below.

The Examination will be held during the examination period. It will be 90 minutes in length with an additional 15 minutes study period. Students will answer two questions from at least 10 unseen questions. There will be at least one question for each of the topics from Weeks 2-13. Please see below some Guidelines on the Exam. You can access past exam papers via the Library.

LECTURE PROGRAMME
 
 

Lecture Times	Mon  2.00 p.m.	MCC T1
	Thursday 3.00 p.m.	MCC T2

• Lectures aim to provide a clear overview of the main topics of the course. Each topic (usually one week’s lectures and a tutorial) is explored further in the readings and tutorial discussion.
• A short outline (but not a full summary) of each topic will be available on the course website after the first lecture of each week.
• Lectures will be taped and available from the Library’s Reserve Collection (usually at least 2 days after lectures).

Part I. Introduction. Ideas in Politics

Week One (w/b 21st July)
1. Overview of the Course.
2. A Relaxed Introduction. Thinking about politics.

Week Two (w/b 28th July)
1-2. What is Politics? What is the Role of Ideas in Politics?

Part II. The Principles of Liberal Democracy

Week Three (w/b 4th August)
1-2. Do We Need a State? Hobbes vs. anarchism.

Week Four (w/b 11th August)
1-2. Against Tyranny. Human rights, ‘rule of law’ and the constitutional state.

Week Five (w/b 18th August)
1-2. The Moral Limits of the State. Locke and Mill on freedom of religion, thought and sexuality.

Week Six (w/b 25th August)
1-2. Classical Liberalism. Negative freedom, private property and capitalism.

Week Seven (w/b 1st September)
1-2. Democratising the State. The Principles of Liberal Democracy.

Week Eight (w/b 8th September)
Essay Submission Week: No Lectures or Tutorial
First Assignment due on Thursday 11th September 2008 at 4 pm

Part III. Challenging Liberal Democracy

Week Nine (w/b 15th September)
1-2. Politics and Power. Is liberal democracy really government of the people, by the people, for the people?

Week Ten (w/b 22nd September)
1-2. Politics and Money. Social justice – from welfare to equality.

Mid-Semester Break - September 27th – October 12th 2008

Week Eleven (w/b 13th October)
1-2. Oppression and Liberation. The politics of gender, sexuality and ethnicity.

Week Twelve (w/b 20th October)
1-2. Politics and Nature. Deep and shallow ecology.

Week Thirteen (w/b 27th October)
1-2. Socialists, Marxists and other Critics of Capitalism.

Marked essays will be returned no later than the last week of tutorials

Return to Contents.
 
 

LECTURE OUTLINES - 2008

1. Thinking about Ideas in Politics – A Relaxed Introduction

I. Introduction: The Domination of Politics by Economics

1. Elections in Australia (and other western societies) are dominated by economic issues and interests.
2. Dominant political parties reflect economic or ‘class’ interests. Liberals, Nationals, ALP.
3. Compare Democrats, Greens.

II. The Stranglehold of Economic Rationalism

1. Economic rationalism narrows the agenda of politics further.
2. Economics as a science – supposed to deliver reliable, objective, ‘value-neutral’ economic policies for ‘efficiency’, productivity, growth, etc.
3. Implies particular economic policies: privatisation, free markets, small government, low taxes, user-pays etc.
4. Also implies that economic efficiency is dominant value: leads to ‘managerialism’; economic ‘rationalisation’ of education, health, welfare etc.
5. But what about other values? – equality, community, happiness.
6. Whose interests does economic rationalism serve? Economic rationalism as an ideology.

III. Beyond Economic Rationalism – A Utopian Political Agenda

1. Idea of utopia; play on words – ‘a good place’ and ‘no place’ (Thomas More, Utopia, 1516).
2. Politics – the utopian or maximal agenda or ‘if only…’
3. World problems in the light of utopia or, Political Dreaming, Part I.
4. Australian problems in the light of utopia or, Political Dreaming, Part II.

IV. The Greatness and Misery of Politics

1. The role of economics, medicine, science and education in improving the world.
2. The (potential) ‘greatness’ of politics in improving the world: distribution of resources; pursuit of happiness, community etc.; ending war and conflict.
3. But politics is also difficult and may even dangerous. i.e. the ‘misery’ of politics.
4. The challenge for political thinking and ideas: being practical and feasible; being persuasive; avoiding dystopian outcomes.
5. Politics between utopia and apathy.

2. What is Politics? What is the Role of Ideas in Politics?

I. Introduction

1. We need to consider the nature of politics. And what is the role of ideas in politics?
2. The nature of politics is ‘essentially contested’.
• E.g. crime.
3. This means that even doing factual political science involves political ideas.
4. Basic distinction between
• politics as space or site and
• politics as a process.

II. The Narrow Definition of Politics

1. Institutionalised politics of Australian State:
• Constitution including head of state, government, parliament, law, judiciary, public service.
2. State enforces laws; determines distribution of resources and power.
3. Politics of those contending for institutional power or to influence political power: voters, political parties, pressure groups, interest groups, lobby groups.
4. Media, public opinion and public sphere: where political opinions are (in)formed in a democratic state; source of information and accountability.

III. Expanding the Scope of Politics

1. Social movements breaking the mould of institutionalised politics:
• 19th century working-class movements;
• 19th-20th century women’s movements.
2. Politics of economics and class movements:
• classical liberalism vs. social liberalism,
• social democracy and socialism on politics of money
3. ‘New’ social movement and politics of liberation and identity:
• issues of gender, sexuality, racism, religion;
• politics inside the family/ relationships/ churches/ ethnic communities
4. Politics of nature:
• human survival in the long-term;
• animal welfare/ rights of animals/ survival of species.
5. In other words, politics can be understood as all those agents and activities aiming to change (or maintain) the distribution of power and resources in society.
• Global context: relations between states/ across border
• National context: laws/ government affecting all of society
• Local contexts: local government; politics within the family and other institutions

IV. Two Kinds of Political Theory

1. Political science as empirical science of facts.
2. The role of political theory in the sense of concepts and theories - explaining political phenomena;
• Role of ‘great individuals’
• Role of economic developments (Marxism, materialism)
• Role of ideas and values.
• Role of war and conflict
3. Ideas as values or the normative evaluation of politics:
• what kind of political system should we have?
• the ‘good society’ and the ‘good life’
• freedom, equality, justice, democracy etc.

V. Introducing Normative Political Theory

1. Values, critique and political action.
2. Political values as ‘essentially contested concepts’:
• freedom, equality, justice.
3. Arguing about political values:
• arguments about value;
• arguments about meaning of values;
• arguments about compatibility and priority of values.
4. Importance of language and political ideas:
• Orwell’s 1984 and ‘Newspeak’
5. Contemporary examples of Newspeak: ‘collateral damage’, ‘ethnic cleansing’, ‘workplace flexibility’.
6. Justifying political values is not just about analysing concepts but arguing that they are valid:
• persuading other people;
• objectivism about values
• communitarianism about values
• subjectivism about values.

VI. Political Ideals and Nature

1. Politics and the distinction between society and nature:
• changeable society vs. unchangeable nature
• nature and nurture.
2. Plato, Aristotle and the origins of political philosophy;
• recognition of distinction between society and nature.
3. Exaggerating the scope of human nature:
• slavery
• sexual/ gender inequality
• selfishness
4. By contrast, utopian politics exaggerates the scope of human nurture:
• living together;
• communes and house-shares
• weakness of good intentions.
5. Once again, politics exists between utopian imagination and apathy (accepting features of society that can be changed).

3. Do We Need States? The State and Authority vs. Anarchism

I. Introduction

1. What is the state?
2. What is authority?
3. What justifies or legitimates the authority of the state?
4. Cf. legitimacy as a political fact about a society – do people actually support the regime?
• Australian
• Burma
5. Anarchism claims that no state is justified.

II. The State and Sovereignty

1. Max Weber’s (1864-1920) famous definition of the state:
…the state is a human community that (successfully) claims the monopoly of the legitimate use of physical force within a given territory.
2. State as ultimate authority:
• legislature, executive, judiciary, police, armed forces.
3. I.e. state is more than just the government, which is the decision-making branch of the state.
4. State as sovereign
• claiming supreme, undivided and unqualified authority.
5. Sovereignty – internal vs. external.
• internal – cf. civil war, stateless society, weak state
• external – cf. medieval Europe, colonial states, globalisation, humanitarian interventions

III. Power, Authority and Legitimacy

1. Sovereignty –
• legitimate or de jure
• de facto authority.
2. Power as the ability of one agent to influence or determine the actions of another agent.
• The state obviously has considerable power over its citizens.
3. But the state also claims authority or, in other words,
• the right to demand obedience from its citizens.
• Cf. having the ability to demand obedience.
• Cf. Criminal organisations, insurrectionary militia
4. Different kinds of authority and their different limits:
• parental;
• expert;
• legal.
5. Interaction between power and authority:
• Power is necessary for authority
• So state without power has no authority;
• Authority increases the power of the state.
• So state without authority has little power – Burma? Iraq?
6. What justifies the state or, in other words, why is the state legitimate?
• Origins of most states as illegitimate

IV. Hobbes’s Justification of the State

1. Thomas Hobbes’s (1588-1679) Leviathan (1651) presents a famous but also contentious justification of the state.
2. The state of nature as a hypothetical condition of society without any state.
3. Human nature as
• selfish, passionate and power-seeking.
4. Hence, the state of nature would be a ‘perpetual war’, so that the
• ‘life of man [is] solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short’ (Hobbes, Leviathan, ed. Oakeshott, p. 82).
• No ‘fruits of industry’ or culture
• Cf. Stateless societies
5. Hence, necessity of the ‘social contract’
• fundamental agreement of people in the state of nature to set up a state.
6. Hobbes’s argument as hypothetical not historical;
• i.e. that it is rational to found the state.
• Not that people actually got together to set up states
• which would obviously be false.
7. Hobbes as an important contributor to contract theories of the state
• cf. J. Rawls, A Theory of Justice, 1970.

V. But What Kind of State is Justified?

1. Hobbes’s authoritarian conclusions that
• any state, however bad, is better than no state
• Hobbes’s experience of the English Civil War (1642-51)
2. No state – civil war, stateless society
• e.g. Sudan, Somalia, Iraq.
3. So for Hobbes, the authority of the state must be unlimited.
• No limiting natural rights
• No limiting democratic rights

VI. Considering Anarchism

1. By contrast, classical anarchism is the view that no state is justified.
2. I.e. a society with no state is always better than one with some state
• ‘an-archy’ as ‘no rule’
• ‘mon-archy’ as ‘rule of one’
• ‘olig-archy’ as ‘rule of few’
3. Destructive states –
Pol Pot’s Cambodia, Nazi Germany, Stalinist Soviet Union
4. But could we live without a state?
• i.e. stateless society or a stateless world?
• states as domination by rich/ strong/ corrupt
• human beings naturally good, corrupted by states
5. Anarchism can also be understood as attempting to minimise the authority of the state.
• E.g. ‘minimal state’
• Cf. R. Nozick, Anarchy, State, and Utopia (1974)
6. So we need to ask
• what kind of state is legitimate and
• how much authority it should have over us.
7. How good, then, is Hobbes’s argument for the state?

4. Against Tyranny. Human rights, ‘Rule of Law’ and the Constitutional State.

I. Introduction: Aims of this Topic

1. Hobbes’s modern justification of the state as being in the interests of the people.
2. Compare view of state as justified by
(i) simply given/ part of nature.
(ii) ‘divine right’ or
(iii) ancient tradition or
3. Ensuring government for the people:
(i) Rule of law;
(ii) Constitutional government.
(iii) Government limited by natural rights (Locke).
4. Rule of law not a dry academic topic – the ‘war on terrorism’ and the ‘security state’.

II. The Rule of Law

1. Despotism of the pre-modern state:
• as ‘rule of master over slaves’;
• unlimited power;
• arbitrary power.
2. Rule of law as ‘government of laws not of men’ (Heywood, 154). Laws must be:
• consistent and general rules;
• impartial;
• public;
• not retrospective.
3. Norms of legal procedure:
• fair application of law;
• no arbitrary arrest (habeas corpus);
• legal representation;
• laws of evidence.
4. Advantages of rule of law:
• predictable decisions;
• absence of fear;
• impartiality or formal fairness.
5. Equality before/ under the law:
• from subjects to citizens;
• abolition of aristocratic privilege;
• monarch/ ruler/ government also subject to law.
6. Cf. Dicey’s criteria for rule of law (Heywood, pp. 154-5).

III. Constitutional Government

1. But the rule of law is not necessarily substantively fair or just:
(i) does not imply freedom;
(ii) does not imply democracy.
2. A further constraint on government involves subjecting the process of government itself to the rule of law or constitutional government.
3. Thus constitutional government implies laws governing
• how laws are made;
• who makes the laws;
• ‘the rules which establish and regulate or govern the government’
(Wheare, Modern Constitutions).
4. Constitutions:
• written vs. unwritten;
• entrenched (i.e. difficult to change the rules)
• e.g. Australian Constitution (1901)
5. But note that constitutional government is still not necessarily either liberal or democratic.

IV. Locke on Natural Rights and Rebellion

1. John Locke (1632-74)
• as advocate of government limited by natural or moral rights
• to justify England’s ‘Glorious Revolution’ of 1688 against James II.
2. Rule of law and constitutional government implies legal but not moral rights:
• Legal rights are rights embodies in laws.
• Moral rights are (argued to be) rights existing before/ without the law.
3. Natural rights as moral limits to the state and government:
• Limits to what a state can legitimately do
• Potential grounds for overthrow of the state.
4. Locke on natural rights in the state of nature:

The state of Nature has a law of Nature to govern it, which obliges every one, and reason, which is that law, teaches all mankind who will but consult it, that being all equal and independent, no one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty or possessions… (Second Treatise, Dent, Ch. II, par. 6, p. 119).

5. Basic elements of Locke’s contractarian account of government:
• optimism about state of nature;
• contract does not give up natural rights to the state (cf. Hobbes);
• state’s role only to clarify and enforce natural rights.
6. Natural rights and the justification of rebellion (see Tutorial Reading)
when the state violates or fails to protect natural rights.
7. Problem of justifying natural rights:
• Locke’s religious assumptions;
• Locke’s secular/ rational justification of property rights.

V. Disputing Human Rights

1. Natural, moral or human rights provide a basis for criticising sovereign states:
• e.g. Nazi Germany;
• former Yugoslavia; Iraq; Sudan etc.
2. Conditions of genuine civil disobedience usually involve appeal to human or moral rights:
• conscientious (not accidental, not criminal);
• altruistic, moral or political motivation (not self-interested);
• public action;
• acceptance of punishment;
• (usually) non-violent.
3. Examples of successful civil disobedience:
• Gandhi and Indian independence;
• Apartheid South Africa ;
• Martin Luther King and the Black Civil Rights movement in USA
4. Justification of civil disobedience:
• unjust political institutions
• no political remedy available within those institutions;
• peaceful civil disobedience better than violent revolution or terrorism;
5. Some problems with civil disobedience:
• violates the laws/ rule of law?
• risks political instability;
• a step towards violence or chaos?
6. More generally, civil disobedience and human rights raise problems of justification:
• different religions and moralities/ conscience is subjective;
• cultural differences – which rights, whose rights;
• changing ideas of human rights over time;
• problems of chauvinism.

5. The Moral Limits of the State. Locke and Mill on Freedoms of Religion, Thought and Sexuality.

I. Introduction

1. Last week we looked at Locke’s arguments for a limited state on the basis of our natural rights.
2. This week on implications of these limits in relation to religion, morality and individual freedom.

II. Religion and Politics

1. Religious or confessional state typically…
• enforces religious worship and
• laws derived from one particular religion;
• no clear distinction between state and religion
• no clear distinction between civil and religious laws.
2. Compare theocracy which involves the ‘rule of God’ or, in practice, ‘rule of priests’.
• Iran after Khomeini.
• Early New England colonies in 17th century America
3. N.B. relation between Islam and politics/ state is in fact complex
• More like relationship between Christianity and politics/ state
• Cf. Salwa Ismail’s chapter in A. Leftwich, What is Politics?)
4. Background of Locke’s Letter concerning Toleration:
• medieval and early modern Europe:
• Catholicism of ‘Christendom’ under rule of Pope;
• Protestant Reformation;
• Emergence of Protestant sects;
• religious conflicts and wars.

III. Locke on Toleration

1. Locke’s ‘Letter concerning Toleration’ (1689-92):
• argument for religious toleration;
• for secular state.
• Cf. US Constitution and no established religion.
2. Locke’s religious arguments for toleration:
• Christian virtue of toleration;
• against intolerant Catholicism;
• individual salvation – does not depend on actions of others;
• faith and salvation as unenforceable by law.
3. Locke’s political arguments for toleration:
• pragmatic argument from need for peace;
• intolerance, not diversity of religions, leads to disorder and conflict.
4. Leads to fundamental distinction between political or civil and religious matters:

Civil interests I call life, liberty, health, and indolency of body; and the possession of outward things, such as money, lands, houses, furniture, and the like. (‘Letter’, p. 393)

5. Comments on Locke’s argument:
• individualism;
• tolerance as indifference to the fate of others?
6. limits to Locke’s toleration:
• not Catholics – loyalty to the Pope.
• not atheists or ‘heathens’ – cannot be bound by oaths.
• not ‘heathens’ or colonised American Indians.

IV. From Locke to Liberalism

1. After Locke, gradual extension of toleration:
• No toleration of immoral or licentious behaviour
• Locke is happy to rely on the force of ‘opinion’.
2. Liberal distinction between public law and private morality:
• Not everything that is immoral should be illegal.
• Not everything that is illegal is actually immoral.
3. J. S. Mill’s utilitarianism:
• greatest happiness principle;
• potentially illiberal implications?
• Hence Mill’s arguments for freedom.

V. Mill, On Liberty (1859)

1. Argues for the utilitarian benefits of liberty – or liberty leads to happiness.
2. Argument for intellectual freedom:
• free enquiry necessary for production of useful knowledge.
• Suppression of knowledge by Catholic Church - Galileo
3 Argument for moral freedom:
• ‘experiments of living’ necessary for happiness.
• threat of oppressive public ‘opinion’ – ‘Victorian morality’
• Cf. Locke on necessity of ‘law of opinion’.
4. Happiness depends on ‘individuality’:
• as fullest possible self-development;
• requires freedom.
• You cannot know what will make someone else happy (the present paradox)
5. Law necessary only to prevent one individual inflicting harm on another – or Mill’s ‘harm principle’:

That the only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilised community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others. (‘On Liberty’, p. 72)

• Defines liberty vs. licence/ licentious behaviour.
6. In other words, law does not impose morality:
• self-regarding vs. other-regarding actions;
• private sphere of individuals
• against state paternalism.

VI. ‘Law and Morality’ Debates

1. Difficulties of applying Mill’s harm principle:
• liberty vs. licence;
• defining harm;
• acts of commission vs. acts of omission;
• direct and indirect harm.
2. Law and morality debate of 1950s-60s:
• Wolfenden Report (1957)
• on prostitution and homosexuality.
3. Liberal argument for sexual toleration:
• H. L. A. Hart, Law, Liberty and Morality (1963)
• privacy not morality of prostitution and homosexuality
• as ‘self-regarding’ actions.
4. Moral conservatism:
• P. Devlin, The Enforcement of Morals (1965)
• Moral cohesion necessary for social order
• Decadence and the ‘decline and fall’ of Roman Empire
5. Other law and morality debates – the uncertainty of ‘harm’:
• Pornography – direct and indirect harm?
• drugs and alcohol;
• paternalistic legislation – costs to the community;
6. Limits of liberal toleration, or what is intolerable:
• racism – cf. anti-vilification legislation;
• holocaust denial – illegal in Germany);
• incitements to violence or persecution of minorities.

6A. Jeremy Shearmur - In Defence of Liberal Capitalism

6B. Classical Liberalism. Negative Freedom, Private Property and Capitalism - A Critical Perspective

I. Introduction: Capitalism, For and Against

1. Jeremy Shearmur’s defence of classical liberalism and capitalism.
2. Today emphasis on some problems of capitalism.
3. Problems of capitalism to be explored in coming weeks of the course.

II. Capitalism Ignores Social Justice

1. Classical liberalism defends only negative freedom and rights.
2. Negative freedom is not the only conception of freedom:
• compatible with lack of power and resources;
• as freedom of the beggar on the park bench.
3. Effective freedom and positive rights imply social justice.
4. Social liberalism of 20th century:
• welfare provision (security, health, education)
• as necessary for freedom;
• equal opportunities;
• fair competition;
• redistribution of wealth and social justice.
5. Problems with charity:
• insufficient and unreliable;
• selective, arbitrary, prejudiced;
• sometimes conditional;
• demeaning.

III. Capitalism Distorts Culture

1. Capitalism and the distortion of culture:
• advertising or the ‘hidden persuaders’ (V. Packard).
2. Promotion of profitable but harmful or useless products and activities.
3. Promotion of way of life:
• materialism, consumerism and
• competitive individualism.
• need not lead to happiness.
4. Autonomy and positive freedom as
• doing what you really want to do
• what’s in your real interests.

IV. Capitalism Ignores and Distorts Democracy

1. Classical liberalism argues for freedom not democracy:
• negative freedom does not imply democracy
• or political freedom.
2. Early liberalism (e.g. Locke) for freedom and rights
• but not democracy;
• liberal democracy as later development.
3. Slow emergence of democratic thought:
• Thomas Paine, Jeremy Bentham,
• James Mill,
• John Stuart Mill.;
4. Neo-classical liberalism sometimes even hostile to democracy:
• Hayek on liberty (c.f. Tutorial Reading);
• Nozick on ‘demoktesis’ (Anarchy, State, and Utopia).
5. Democratic state seen by neo-liberals as threat to freedom.
• ‘Tyranny of the majority’
• Demands of the poor for welfare, economic redistribution etc.
• But what kind of freedom?
6. But capitalism also a threat to freedom and democracy:
• money (illegally) corrupts;
• money (legally) buys influence.

V. Economic Rationalism Re-visited

1. Non-provision of public goods:
• infrastructure;
• welfare;
• penal system etc.
2. Capitalism promotes single public good of efficiency:
• And then only with government regulation;
• Produces exchange value, not use value.
3. Public value of community:
• equality, social harmony, peace.
4. Public value of nature and environment.
5. Neoliberalism and political action:
• minimal state;
• undermines public commitment and responsibility

7. Democratising the State. The Principles of Liberal Democracy.

I. Introduction

1. Up to now we’ve explored idea of freedom or liberty and liberal thinkers.
2. This topic concerns democracy or ‘rule of the people’.
3. It is the other major component of liberal democracy.
4. Raises the question of how democracy relates to freedom:
• In harmony?
• In conflict?

II. Distinguishing Liberty and Democracy

1. Negative freedom of classical liberalism as being left alone:
• limits the scope of government activities;
• liberalism emphasises liberty – limited state
• compare communitarianism, socialism, totalitarianism etc.
2. Democracy means ‘rule of the people’:
• concerns source of government decisions or who decides
• democracy implies people make decisions
• compare monarchy, aristocracy, dictatorship.
3. Varieties of democracy:
• direct democracy
• face-to-face direct democracy vs. plebiscitary democracy;
• indirect or representative democracy:
• representation vs. delegation.
• varieties of representation
• geographical, characteristic, ideological
• different systems of voting
• winner-takes-all vs. proportional representation (PR),
• party lists vs. single transferable vote
4. Possibility of liberty without democracy:
• i.e. limited but undemocratic government;
• Hobbes on republican Lucca vs. despotic Constantinople:

Whether a Commonwealth be Monarchical, or Popular, the Freedome is still the same.

• Locke and early liberals not democrats;
5. Possibility of democracy without liberty:
• democratic but intrusive state.
• democratic totalitarianism
6. Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-78) and collectivist democracy:
• Social Contract (1762);
• idea of the ‘general will’;
• being ‘forced to be free’.
7. Contemporary liberal democracy:
• combines negative liberty and representative democracy;
• historical origins of combination in Western societies.

III. From Liberalism to Liberal Democracy – A. Protective Democracy

1. Different models and justifications of democracy: C. B. Macpherson, The Life and Times of Liberal Democracy; D. Held, Models of Democracy.
2. Protective democracy of utilitarians and radicals:
• J. Bentham (1748-1832), Plan of Parliamentary Reform (1822)
• James Mill (1773-1836), Essay on Government (1819-23).
3. Based on liberal individualism:
• liberal rights;
• market economy;
• goal of maximising utility.
4. Democracy as essential for the protection of liberal society:
• for efficient, honest, impartial government;
• democracy for the sake of accountability
• ‘keeping the b*sta*ds honest’
5. Class theory:
• protecting free market/ commercial society from interference
• containing power of aristocracy;
• containing power of working class.

IV. From Liberalism to Liberal Democracy – B. Developmental Democracy

1. J. S. Mill (1806-73):
• On Liberty. (1860).
• Considerations on Representative Government (1861)
2. J. S. Mill’s more positive view of freedom:
• self-development;
• individuality.

the end of man… is the highest and most harmonious development of his powers to a complete and consistent whole.

3. Democracy as developmental:
• essential for the development of citizens – it…
… would make people more active, more energetic; it would advance them “in intellect, in virtue, and in practical activity and efficiency”.
• encourages responsibility for public good;
• education for uneducated working classes.
4. J. S. Mill’s view of the dangers of democracy:
• destructive interference in commercial society
• ‘tyranny of the majority’
• ignorant working masses
• dull and intolerant middle classes
5. Representative democracy as compromise:
• indirect democracy to ensure elite representation of masses
• plural voting for more educated and affluent
• proportional representation to ensure representation of (educated) minority
6. Combining best of aristocracy and democracy:
• rule of elites;
• development of people;
• democratic accountability.

V. Debating Liberal Democracy

1. Liberal democracy as limited government combined with representative democracy.
• Liberty requires democracy (previous arguments)
• Also that democracy requires liberty.
2. Democracy requires liberty for genuine government by the people:
• freedom of information
• freedom of opinion and discussion
• freedom of organisation, multi-party democracy
3. But libertarians argue that democracy threatens liberty:
• Democracy leads to welfare and high taxation - as theft;
• F. Hayek (1899-1992), The Road to Serfdom (1944);
• arguments for limiting democracy (again):
• votes for over-40s only!
• independent reserve bank for monetary policy/ ‘sound currency’
4. Authoritarian democrats act as if liberty unduly limits democracy:
• Tampa and refugees (Howard government)
• responses to terrorism in the name of security of the people
• urgent responses to poverty/ land redistribution
5. Problems of democracy:
• tensions between liberty and democracy
• short-term thinking – BUT climate change, ‘peak oil’ etc.
• ignorance, apathy, self-interest of voters
• as ‘dictatorship on the basis of mass emotionality’ (Weber)?
6. Globalisation undermining the democratic nation-state:
Habermas, The Post-National Constellation

TUTORIAL PROGRAMME

• You will be able to sign up for Tutorials using the Faculty of Arts Tutorial Signup system from Week One of Second Semester. Go to http://arts.anu.edu.au/tutorials/ Please note that you can only access the system via an ANU computer.
• • Tutorials are an essential part of the course. They are a great opportunity to discuss ideas and raise questions related to each week’s topic and readings. Tutorial questions (listed below) are intended to stimulate further discussion on the topic. But it is even better if you can come up with your own questions.
• 10% of the final assessment is based on Tutorial attendance and participation. Please note that the mark for participation is not based on your level of knowledge or ability but on your preparation and willingness to participate in tutorial discussion. Asking questions is as important as expressing opinions.
• It is also essential, of course, that you do the reading! Essential readings for tutorials are contained in the required texts for this course (see above) or in the Reading Brick (marked ‘*’ below).

WEEKLY TUTORIAL TOPICS

Part I. Introduction. Ideas in Politics.

Week One (w/b 21st July)
No Tutorial
Tutorial Reading
Begin tutorial readings for Week Two (below).

Week Two (w/b 28th July)
Introduction to the Course. Questions about the course? Questions about assessment?
1-2. What is Politics? What is the Role of Ideas in Politics? How far does politics extend into our lives? Is it true that ‘the personal is political’? What are political ideas, values and ideologies? Do ideas make a difference in politics? Does language make a difference in politics?
Tutorial Readings
Heywood, A. Political Theory: An Introduction, Ch. 1 and Ch. 3, esp. ‘Politics’, pp. 52-64.
*Orwell, 1984, (Penguin, 1954) ‘The Principles of Newspeak’, pp. 246-51.
Further Reading
Heywood, A. Political Ideologies: An Introduction, Ch. 1.
Leftwich, A. What is Politics? The Activity and its Study (Polity, 2004).

Part II. The Principles of Liberal Democracy

Week Three (w/b 4th August
1-2. Do We Need a State? Hobbes vs. anarchism. What is the state? Is having any state, however bad, always better than no state? What would life be like without a state, i.e. anarchy? What is Hobbes’s argument for the state? Can you think of any objections to Hobbes’s argument?
Tutorial Readings
Heywood, A. Political Theory: An Introduction, Ch. 3, esp. ‘The state’, pp. 75-88; Ch. 4, esp. ‘Sovereignty’, pp. 90-97 & Ch. 5, esp. ‘Authority’ and ‘Legitimacy’, pp. 129-151.
*Hobbes, T. Leviathan (Blackwell, 1955), Ch. 13, pp. 82-3 & Ch. 17, pp. 109-13.
Further Reading
Heywood, A. Political Ideologies: An Introduction, Ch. 6, ‘Anarchism’.

Week Four (w/b 11th August)
1-2. Against Tyranny. Human rights, ‘rule of law’ and the constitutional state. What is the ‘rule of law’? What is the difference between tyranny and a constitutional state? Is a constitutional state necessarily liberal and democratic? What is civil disobedience? Is it ever justified to break the law for political or moral reasons?
Tutorial Readings
Heywood, A. Political Theory: An Introduction, Ch. 6, esp. ‘Law’, pp. 152-62 and ‘Justifying law-breaking?’, pp. 178-83 & Ch. 7, esp. ‘Rights’ and ‘Obligations’, pp. 184-204.
*Locke, J. (1689) Second Treatise of Government, Ch. 16, §§175-7 & Ch. 19, §§222-6.
*Thoreau, H. D. (1849) ‘On the Duty of Civil Disobedience’(Harper Row), pp. 254-5.
Further reading
Rawls, J. A Theory of Justice (1971), §§55-9.

Week Five (w/b 18th August)
1-2. The Moral Limits of the State. Locke and Mill on freedom of religion, thought and sexuality. Should the state tolerate different religions? Should the state tolerate what the majority think is immoral behaviour, e.g. certain kinds of sexual behaviour? Should the state be paternalistic, i.e. protect people from themselves, for example by banning ‘recreational’ drugs or forcing people to wear seatbelts?
Tutorial Readings
Heywood, A. Political Theory: An Introduction, Ch. 6, ‘Law and liberty’, pp. 159-62 & Ch. 9, esp. ‘Freedom’ & ‘Toleration’, pp. 252-72.
*Locke, J. (1689) ‘A Letter Concerning Toleration’ (Penguin), pp. 392-96.
*Mill, J. S. (1859) ‘On Liberty’ (Dent), Ch. 1, pp. 72-5.
Further Reading
Heywood, A. Political Ideologies: An Introduction, Ch. 2, ‘Liberalism’.
Devlin, P. A. (1959) The Enforcement of Morals, esp. Chs VI-VII.
Hart, H. L. A. (1963) Law, Liberty and Morality, esp. Ch. I.

Week Six (w/b 25th August)
1-2. Classical Liberalism. Negative freedom, private property and capitalism. What is ‘negative freedom’? Does freedom imply a right to private property? Are there any limits to this right? Is private property essential for a productive society or could property be owned collectively?
Tutorial Readings
Heywood, A. Political Theory: An Introduction, Ch. 11, pp. 316-44.
*Smith, A. (1776) The Wealth of Nations ‘The system of natural liberty’ in Arblaster, A. & Lukes, S. The Good Society, pp. 31-33.
*Hayek, F. (1960) The Constitution of Liberty, Ch. 1, pp. 11-21.
Further Reading
Heywood, A. Political Ideologies: An Introduction, Ch. 3, ‘Conservatism’.

Week Seven (w/b 1st September)
1-2. Democratising the State. The Principles of Liberal Democracy. What is democracy? What is the difference between direct and indirect or representative democracy? Are there any problems with democratic systems of government? Is it possible to have democracy without freedom? Could there be a liberal state that was not also democratic? Are there any tensions between freedom and democracy in a liberal democracy?
Tutorial Readings
Heywood, A. Political Theory: An Introduction, Ch. 8, pp. 220-51.
*Plato (427-347 BC) The Republic (Cornford), Ch. 31, pp. 282-3.
*Mill, J. S. (1859) ‘On Liberty’ (Dent), Ch. 1, pp. 67-9.
Further reading
Macpherson, C. B. The Life and Times of Liberal Democracy (1979), Parts I-IV.
Held, D. Models of Democracy (1987).

Week Eight (w/b 8h September)
Essay Submission Week: No Lectures or Tutorial
First Assignment due on Thursday 11th September 2008 at 4 pm

Part III. Challenging Liberal Democracy

Week Nine (w/b 15th September)
1-2. Politics and Power. Is liberal democracy really government of the people, by the people, for the people? What is the difference between political authority and power? What, according to Lukes, are the three dimensions of power? Who has most power in Australia? Do the people really govern in Australia? Could Australia be more democratic than it is now?
Tutorial Readings
Heywood, A. Political Theory: An Introduction, Ch. 5, esp. ‘Power’ & ‘Authority’, pp. 121-41.
*Lukes, S. Power: A Radical View (Macmillan, 1974), pp. 11-25.
Further Reading
Macpherson, C. B. (1979) The Life and Times of Liberal Democracy, Part V, ‘Participatory Democracy’.
Held, Models of Democracy, ‘Participation, liberty and democracy’, pp. 254-64.

Week Ten (w/b 22nd September)
1-2. Politics and Money. Social justice – from welfare to equality. What is the difference between effective and negative freedom? What is the difference between ‘positive’ and ‘negative’ rights? What is social justice? Do citizens have a right to social welfare? Is Australia a genuinely just society?
Tutorial Readings
Heywood, A. Political Theory: An Introduction, Ch. 7, esp. ‘Citizenship’, pp. 204-19 & Ch. 10, pp. 284-315.
*Tawney, R. H. (1931) Equality (4th ed. 1952), ‘Liberty and equality’, pp. 181-92.
*Green, T. H. (1881) ‘Positive Freedom’ in Arblaster & Lukes, The Good Society, pp. 224-6.
Further Reading
Heywood, A. Political Ideologies: An Introduction, Ch. 4, ‘Socialism’.
Marshall, T. H. ‘Citizenship and social class’ in Sociology at the Crossroads (Heinemann, 1963), Ch. 4.
Norman, R. Free and Equal, esp. Chs 3-4.

Mid-Semester Break - September 27th – October 12th 2008

Week Eleven (w/b 13th October)
1-2. Oppression and Liberation. The politics of gender, sexuality and ethnicity. What is positive freedom? How is it different from negative and effective freedom? Can you be poor and still free? Can you be free and still ‘oppressed’ because of your gender, sexuality or ethnicity? What is cultural oppression and who, if anyone, is oppressed today? How can social groups liberate themselves from oppression?
Tutorial Readings
Heywood, A. Political Theory: An Introduction, Ch. 9, esp. ‘Liberation’, pp. 273-84.
*Ball, T. & Dagger, R. Political Ideologies and the Democratic Ideal, Ch. 8, pp. 201-225.
*Wollstonecraft, M. (1792) A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (Dent, 1970), ‘Author’s Introduction’, pp. 3-7.
Further Reading
Heywood, A. Political Ideologies: An Introduction, Ch. 8, ‘Feminism’.
Wittman, C. (1969-70) ‘A Gay Manifesto’ in Blasius, M. et al. We Are Everywhere, pp. 380-8.

Week Twelve (w/b 20th October)
1-2. Politics and Nature. Deep and shallow ecology. Why is nature a political issue? What is the difference between ‘deep’ and ‘shallow’ ecology? Do we have responsibilities to animals? Do we have responsibilities to nature? Do we have responsibilities to future generations? What are the political implications of deep and shallow ecology?
Tutorial Readings
Heywood, A. Political Theory: An Introduction, Ch. 7, ‘Animal Rights’ and ‘Ecologism’, pp. 191-96.
Heywood, A. Political Ideologies: An Introduction, Ch. 9, ‘Ecologism’, pp. 266-91.
*Blake, W. (1794) ‘London’ in Poems and Prophecies, (Dent), p. 31.
*Schumacher, E.F.: Small is Beautiful (1974), pp. [-]
Further Reading
Dobson, A. Green Political Thought (Routledge, 1995), Ch. 1.

Week Thirteen (w/b 27th October)
1-2. Socialists, Marxists and other Critics of Capitalism. Is global capitalism a fair economic system or is it based on exploitation? Is global capitalism destroying the earth? Is socialism a better alternative? Are there any other alternatives to the current world order?
Tutorial Readings
Heywood, A. Political Ideologies: An Introduction, Ch. 4, ‘Socialism’.
*Marx. K. (1857) ‘A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy’ in Sargent, L. T. Contemporary Political Ideologies: A Reader, pp. 158-9.
*Hume, D. (1777) An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals, (Oxford, 1902) §§154-6, pp. 192-5.
Further Reading
McLellan, D. Marx (Fontana, 1975).
Heywood, A. Political Theory: An Introduction, Ch. 11, esp. ‘Planning’, pp. 324-32 & Ch. 12, esp. ‘Progress’ and ‘Utopia’, pp. 353-75.

Marked essays will be returned no later than the last week of tutorials

Return to Contents.

WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT

SOME GUIDELINES ON ESSAY WRITING

You can access the New Political Science Essay Writing Guide via this page!

SOME GUIDELINES ON ESSAY WRITING – PLEASE READ CAREFULLY!!

• Please consult the Political Science and International Relations ESSAY WRITING GUIDE via http://arts.anu.edu.au/polsci/firstyear/ (link on left-hand side) and please note also the School’s Rules on Extensions and Plagiarism (below).
• • Essays should have clearly and consistently set out footnotes or end-notes and a bibliography. You must include full bibliographical details including author, title, date, journal or publisher, location and, above all, page numbers in a clear and consistent way. N.B. If you do not provide adequate references including page numbers, you will be asked to resubmit your essay with proper referencing.
• Essays should be produced on a word processor and should be double-spaced. To save paper, you are encouraged to print on both sides of each page.
• Keep to the word limit. Being able to express your ideas clearly and concisely is an important skill. Essays that are either shorter or longer than the word-limit will be penalised. You must provide an accurate word-count on the cover sheet of your essay.
• Think carefully about the question. Make sure you answer all parts of the question. Remember that, whatever the question, you need to argue for your position rather than just assert it. Avoid using ‘I think’ or ‘I believe’ etc. It’s your argument not your opinion that counts!
• Make a draft plan or outline of your essay before you start writing, in order to work out how best to answer the question. But you will probably improve your plan as your research and writing proceed!
• Define your terms and the main ideas or concepts you discuss in your essay. It might help to consult a dictionary, but it is not acceptable to quote from or reference dictionaries, encyclopaedias and other reference books. Your essay should draw on more detailed academic discussions found in published books and articles.
• Essays should be concise, clearly expressed and logically structured. Essays that contain good ideas but are badly expressed, badly structured and badly presented will not do as well as well expressed, logically structured and well presented essays.
• Originality and creativity are valuable, but you must show that you are familiar with and understand existing research on your topic. If you ignore the work of people who have thought about the topic before you, you are unlikely to produce a good essay.
• For your research, you can start with relevant Tutorial Readings, but it is obviously important to read more than that. It is usually a good idea to start with more introductory material (such as text books and basic introductions) in order to get an overview of your chosen topic. You will then be in a better position to understand more specialist books and articles.
• It is important to draw on a good range of sources (perhaps 5-10 chapters or articles) in your research. But it is even more important that you read carefully and understand the ideas discussed in these sources. Do not list items you don’t use just for the sake of it! You should also try to be critical of and argue with your sources – don’t just accept what they say.
• Wherever possible use published sources (i.e. books and journal articles) from the library. Use online versions of books and articles only if there is no alternative – and then make sure you include page numbers. For this course it is not a good idea to rely on other internet resources (such as online publications, free-lance web-sites, blogs etc.).
• Presentation is also important. Good presentation, including reasonable font size and print quality, good layout and use of paragraphs, improves the impression your essay makes on markers. Careful editing is essential to eliminate unnecessary and distracting errors! Use a spelling-checker! But remember, spelling checkers don’t find every miss take (you might even find a mistakes in this document).

MARKING SCALE

HD High Distinction 80% or more Outstanding
D Distinction 70-79% Good/Excellent
CR Credit 60-69% Promising
P Pass 50-59% Satisfactory
N Fail 49% or less Unsatisfactory

WHAT MARKERS ARE LOOKING FOR

• Evidence of critical thinking. Do you develop a clear point of view or position? Is your position developed consistently and logically throughout the essay? Do you argue for (rather than merely assert) this position?
• Clear, consistent and logically developed argument - Have you thought about the topic? Do you understand the main arguments and ideas and how they relate to each other? Are your paragraphs in the right order? Are your sentences in the right order?
• Adequate reading and research - Are you aware of the main contributions other people have made to this topic? Have you referred to these contributions, where relevant, throughout your essay? Are you aware of the main arguments for and against your point of view?
• Clear expression of ideas and use of language - Is it easy for someone else to understand what you have written? Have you used language in a grammatical way? Do you use the right words in the right context? Is your style appropriate for this kind of essay – clear and direct, avoiding both slang and pretentious or obscure expressions?
• Good presentation - Is your essay clearly laid out with reasonably sized and recognisable paragraphs? Is the essay printed visibly and clearly in a reasonable font size? Have you carefully edited and proof-read your essay and run a spelling-checker to eliminate as many errors and typos as possible?

FIRST ASSIGNMENT – ESSAY TOPICS
45% of Final Mark

• Choose one of the topics below.
• Write between 1,700-2,000 words. You must provide an exact word count for your essay. Longer and shorter essays will be penalised.
• NOTE: You may be asked to submit an electronic version of your essay, so that it can be checked for word count and/or plagiarism.

Week Two. What is politics? Consider some alternative definitions of politics. What are the advantages and disadvantages of various definitions of politics?

Week Three. Discuss Hobbes’s justification of the state. What are the main stages of his argument? Are there any problems with his argument?

Week Four.
Either A: What are the main differences between tyranny and the constitutional state? Explain the different elements of the ‘rule of law’ and alternative forms of constitution.
Or B. What is civil disobedience? Discuss arguments for civil disobedience and any problems with these arguments.

Week Five.
Either A: Discuss Locke’s different arguments for religious toleration. Are these arguments convincing?
Or B. What are the moral limits of the law? Should the law be used to (a) protect us from ourselves and/or (b) regulate morality?

Week Six. What is ‘negative’ liberty? Discuss the implications of this conception of freedom. Is this conception of freedom convincing?

Week Seven. What the main arguments for democracy?

Week Nine. What, according to Steven Lukes, are the ‘three dimensions’ of power. What are the implications of his ‘radical view’ of power and is it convincing?

Week Ten. What is ‘effective’ freedom? What are the implications of this view of freedom and is it convincing?

Week Eleven.
Either A: What is ‘positive’ freedom? What are the possible advantages and disadvantages of a positive conception of freedom?
Or B. Discuss the main features of the so-called ‘politics of liberation’ including the concepts of oppression, liberation and identity. What difficulties must the politics of liberation overcome?

Week Twelve. What is the difference between ‘deep’ and ‘shallow’ ecology?

Week Thirteen. What, if anything, is wrong with capitalist liberal democracy? Discuss in relation to one ideological or theoretical alternative to liberal democracy.

SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES ESSAY RULES

ESSAY DEADLINE
Your essay must be delivered to the Essay Box outside the main School of Social Sciences Office by the due deadline (see Lecture Programme). It is School policy that once essays on a particular topic have been returned to students, no further essays on that topic will be accepted. You will need to see your Tutor about an alternative topic. All essays submitted by the due date will be assessed and returned before the examination (see Lecture Programme). No essay will be accepted after the commencement of the examination, unless permission is secured on medical or other reasonable grounds.

PENALTIES
In fairness to students who meet the essay deadline, there will be a penalty of 2% per day on all essays submitted after the due date or approved extension. The penalty is 2% subtracted from the assessed mark for the essay for each calendar day or part thereof (excluding weekends) by which the essay is overdue.

PLAGIARISM
Your attention is drawn to the School’s policy on plagiarism. Plagiarism is almost always obvious to the marker. It is unfair to other students. Plagiarised essays will be seriously penalised and may be given a mark of zero.

RESUBMISSION OF FAILED ESSAYS
You may re-submit a failed essay marked at 45-49% for a maximum mark of 50% unless failure has been caused by a penalty for lateness. This essay must be submitted no later than two weeks after the return of essays. Any late marks incurred on your essay will still apply to that essay should it be resubmitted. The second-chance procedure is designed to help if you had problems writing and researching your essay. It does not allow you to evade any penalty for the late submission of your essay.

GUIDELINES ON EXTENSIONS
If you are seeking an extension of the essay deadline you must discuss your request with your TUTOR and you must do so BEFORE the due date. Please let your tutor know as soon as possible if you are experiencing any problems or difficulties that may affect your studies. Extensions may be granted on medical or other reasonable grounds, but only provided appropriate documentation is provided. Please note the following points:
1. Medical reasons – requests for extensions must be supported by a medical certificate.
2. Personal problems – requests for extensions should be supported by some documentation such as a letter from your doctor, college tutor, parent or other appropriate individual. If you have been seeing a counsellor from the University Counselling Service, s/he may be able to write a letter in support of your request – but please note that you should not see a counsellor just to obtain such a letter.
3. Clash of essay deadlines – extensions will not normally be granted for clash of essay deadlines, as these should be known in advance.
4. Outside employment – extensions will be granted only in exceptional circumstances such as unavoidable and additional work commitments. Requests for extensions must be supported by a letter from your employer.
5. Participation in sporting events – requests for extensions must be supported by a letter from the appropriate sporting body and will be granted only in exceptional circumstances.

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INTRODUCTORY READING LIST

To find reading material for your essay, you should start with the essential and further readings for the relevant tutorial topic. You will also find suggestions for further reading on particular topics in the relevant sections and bibliographies of A. Heywood, Political Theory: An Introduction and A. Heywood, Political Ideologies: An Introduction. Further suggestions can be found with the help of the University Library’s extensive resources, including librarians and advisors, catalogue and databases. Remember that wherever possible you should use published academic sources rather than online resources or websites.

REFERENCE BOOKS
(Can be helpful, but they are not a substitute for academic sources. Normally it is not a good idea to cite reference works in your essay!)
Goodin, R. E. & Pettit, P. A Companion to Contemporary Political Philosophy (Blackwell, 1993).
Miller, D. et al., eds The Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Political Thought (1995).
Concise Oxford English Dictionary.
Macquarie Dictionary.
Outhwaite, W. & Bottomore, T. The Blackwell Dictionary of Twentieth-Century Social Thought (1994).

POLITICAL IDEAS
(e.g. What is equality, liberty, justice, authority, power, democracy?)
Barry, N. P. Modern Political Theory (Macmillan, 2000), 4th Ed.
Berry, C. J. Human Nature (Macmillan, 1986)
Brown, A. Modern Political Philosophy (Penguin, 1986).
Campbell, T. Justice (Macmillan, 1988)
Gray, T. Freedom (Macmillan, 1990).
Haworth, A. Understanding the Political Philosophers: From ancient to modern times (Routledge, London and New York, 2004).
Heywood, A. Political Theory: An Introduction (Macmillan1999) 2nd Ed.
Horton, J. Political Obligation (Macmillan, 1992).
Knowles, D. Political Philosophy (Routledge, 2001).
Kymlicka, W. Contemporary Political Philosophy: An Introduction (Oxford University Press, 1990).
Leftwich, A. What is Politics? The Activity and its Study (Polity, 2004).
Lindley, R. Autonomy (Macmillan, 1986).
Macfarlane, L. J. Modern Political Theory (Nelson, 1970).
MacCallum, G. C. Political Philosophy (Prentice-Hall, 1987).
Mendus, S. Toleration and the Limits of Liberalism (Macmillan, 1989).
Pettit, P. Judging Justice: An Introduction to Contemporary Political Philosophy (RKP, 1980).
Raphael, D. D. Problems of Political Philosophy (Macmillan, 1990), 2nd Ed.
Rees, J. Equality (Macmillan, 1972).
Reeve, A. Property (Macmillan, 1986).

POLITICAL IDEOLOGIES
(e.g. What is liberalism, socialism, conservatism, Marxism, ecologism, feminism, liberationism, fascism, nationalism?)
Ball, T. & Dagger, R. Political Ideologies and the Democratic Ideal, 5th Ed. (Pearson Longman, New York and London, 2004).
Ball, T. & Dagger, R. Ideals and Ideologies: A Reader, 5th Ed. (Pearson Longman, New York and London, 2004).
Baradat, L. P. Political Ideologies: Their Origins and Impact (Prentice Hall, 1988), 3rd Ed.
Eccleshall, R. et al. Political Ideologies: An Introduction (Routledge, 2003), 3rd Ed.
Festenstein, M. & Kenny, M. Political Ideologies (Oxford UP, 2005).
Macridis, R. C. Contemporary Political Ideologies (Harper/Collins, 1992), 5th Ed.
Sargent, L. T. Contemporary Political Ideologies: A Comparative Analysis (Thomson Wadsworth, Belmont CA, 2006), 13th Ed.
Vincent, A. Modern Political Ideologies (Blackwell, 1995), 2nd Ed.

HISTORY OF POLITICAL THOUGHT
Edwards, A. & Townshend, J. Interpreting Modern Political Philosophy: From Machiavelli to Marx (Palgrave, 2002).
Hampsher-Monk, I. A History of Modern Political Thought: Major Political Thinkers from Hobbes to Marx (Blackwell, 1992).
Haworth, A. Understanding the Political Philosophers: From ancient to modern times (Routledge, London and New York, 2004).
McClelland, J. S. A History of Western Political Thought (Routledge, London and New York, 1996).
Sabine, G. H. & Thorson, T. L. A History of Political Theory (Holt Saunders, 1973). 4th Ed.
Tannenbaum, D & Schultz, D. Inventors of Ideas: An Introduction to Western Political Philosophy (Thomson Wadsworth, Belmont CA, 2004), 2ND Ed.

CLASSIC READINGS
Andreski, S. Reflections on Inequality (Barnes & Noble, 1975).
Arblaster, A. & Lukes, S. The Good Society: A Book of Readings (1971).
Ball, T. & Dagger, R. Ideals and Ideologies: A Reader, 5th Ed. (Pearson Longman, New York and London, 2004).
Bellamy, R. & Ross, A. A Textual Introduction to Social and Political Theory (Manchester University Press, 1996).
Bottomore, T. B. & Rubel, M. Karl Marx: Selected Writings in Sociology and Social Philosophy (Penguin1967).
Carter, I. et al. Freedom: A Philosophical Anthology (Blackwell, Malden, MA & Oxford, 2007).
Sargent, L. T. Contemporary Political Ideologies: A Reader (Brooks/Cole, 1990).

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OTHER USEFUL INFORMATION
 
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SOME USEFUL WEB LINKS

Please send any suggestions for new links to <David.West@anu.edu.au> . Although the links below may help you to explore some of the topics in this course, you should not rely on web sites as research for your essay or written assignments. You should cite published books and articles and include page numbers or other more precise indications of the sources of quotations and ideas in your essay.

ABC Online

Encyclopedia Britannica online.

Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy.

Normative Political Theory at the American Political Science Association.

Oxford English Dictionary online.

Philosophy in Cyberspace.

Political Studies Association of the UK.

Political Thought at Richard Kimber's Political Science Resources.

Spoon Collective links on radical and/or critical political philosophy/theory.

Stanford Encylopedia of Philosophy.

Wikipedia

LECTURE OUTLINES - 2006

Lecture Outlines (one week's topic) will be posted here no later than 2 pm on the Monday of each teaching week.

1. Thinking about Ideas in Politics – A Relaxed Introduction

I. Introduction: The Domination of Politics by Economics

1. Elections in Australia (and other western societies) tend to be dominated by economic issues and interests.
2. Dominant political parties and economic or ‘class’ interests. Liberals, Nationals, ALP.
3. Compare Democrats, Greens.

II. The Stranglehold of Economic Rationalism

1. Economic rationalism as further narrowing of agenda of politics to a particular use of economic policy.
2. The alleged science of economics delivering reliable, objective, ‘value-neutral’ economic policies for ‘efficiency’, productivity, growth, etc.
3. Economic policy implications of economic rationalism: privatisation, free markets, small government, low taxes etc.
4. But economic rationalism also implies that economic efficiency is dominant value: leads to economic ‘rationalisation’ of education, health, welfare etc.
5. Other values: equality, community, happiness.
6. Whose interests does economic rationalism serve? Economic rationalism as ideology.

III. Beyond Economic Rationalism – A Utopian Political Agenda

1. Idea of utopia; play on words – ‘a good place’ and ‘no place’ (Thomas More, Utopia, 1516).
2. Politics – the utopian or maximal agenda or ‘if only…’
3. World problems in the light of utopia or, Political Rant Part I.
4. Australian problems in the light of utopia or, Political Rant, Part II.

IV. The Greatness and Misery of Politics

1. The role of economics, medicine, science and education in the improvement of society and the world.
2. The (potential) ‘greatness’ of politics in the improvement of society and the world: power and the distribution of resources; pursuit of non-economic values.
3. But politics is also difficult and dangerous. I.e. the ‘misery’ of politics.
4. The challenge for political thinking and ideas: being practical and feasible; being persuasive; avoiding negative political consequences.
5. Politics between utopia (or the ‘maximal agenda’) and apathy or the ‘minimal agenda’ of politics.

2. What is Politics? What is the Role of Ideas in Politics?

I. Introduction

1. We need to consider what is politics? And what is the role of ideas in politics?
2. The nature of politics is ‘essentially contested’.
3. This means that even doing factual political science involves political ideas.

II. The Narrow Definition of Politics

1. Institutionalised politics of Australian Constitution including head of state, government, parliament, law, judiciary, public service.
2. Politics of those contending for institutional power or to influence political power: electorate, political parties, pressure groups, interest groups and lobby groups.
3. Media, public opinion and public sphere: where political opinions are (in)formed in a democratic state; source of information and accountability.

III. Expanding the Scope of Politics

1. Social movements breaking the mould of institutionalised politics: 19th century working-class movements; 19th-20th century women’s movements.
2. Politics of economics and class: classical liberalism vs. social liberalism, social democracy and socialism on politics of economics (see Wks 9-11).
3. ‘New’ social movement and politics of liberation and identity: gender, sexuality, racism, religion (see Wk. 12).
4. Politics of nature: human survival; animal welfare; rights of nature/ animals/ species.
5. In other words, politics can be understood as all those agents and activities aiming to change (or maintain) the distribution of power and resources in society.

IV. Two Senses of Political Theory

1. Political science as empirical science of facts.
2. The role of political theory in the sense of explanatory concepts and theoretical frameworks: explaining the facts.
3. Ideas as values or the normative evaluation of politics: what kind of political system should we have?

V. Introducing Normative Political Theory

1. Examples of political values as ‘essentially contested concepts’: freedom, equality, justice.
2. Arguing about political values: arguments about value; arguments about meaning of values; arguments about compatibility and priority of values.
3. Language and political ideas: Orwell’s 1984 and ‘Newspeak’.
4. Contemporary examples of Newspeak: ‘collateral damage’, ‘ethnic cleansing’, ‘workplace flexibility’.
5. Justifying political values is not just about analysing concepts; persuading other people; objectivism, communitarianism, relativism and subjectivism about political values.

VI. Political Ideals and Nature

1. Politics and the distinction between changeable society and unchangeable nature; nature and nurture.
2. Plato, Aristotle; origins of western political philosophy; recognition of distinction between society and nature.
3. Exaggerating the scope of human nature: slavery, sex, selfishness.
4. By contrast, utopian politics exaggerates the scope of human nurture: living together; communes and house-shares.
5. Once again, politics exists between utopian (unrealisable) ideas and apathy (accepting features of society that can be changed).

3. Do We Need States? The State and Authority vs. Anarchism

I. Introduction

1. What is the state?
2. What is authority?
3. What justifies or legitimates the authority of the state?
4. Anarchism claims that no state is justified.

II. The State and Sovereignty

1. Max Weber’s (1864-1920) famous definition of the state:
…the state is a human community that (successfully) claims the monopoly of the legitimate use of physical force within a given territory.
2. State as ultimate authority: legislature, executive, judiciary, police, armed forces.
3. State as more than the government, which is the decision-making branch of the state.
4. State as sovereign, claiming supreme, undivided and unqualified authority.
5. Sovereignty: internal vs. external; legitimate or de jure vs. de facto authority.

III. Power, Authority and Legitimacy

1. Power as the ability of one agent to influence or determine the actions of another agent.
2. The state obviously has considerable power over its citizens.
3. But the state also claims authority or, in other words, the right to demand obedience from its citizens.
4. Different kinds of authority and their limits: parental; expert; legal.
5. Close relationship between power and authority:
a. state without power has no authority;
b. authority increases the power of the state.
6. What justifies the state or, in other words, why is the state legitimate?

IV. Hobbes’s Justification of the State

1. Thomas Hobbes’s (1588-1679) Leviathan (1651) presents a famous but also contentious justification of the state.
2. The state of nature as a hypothetical condition of society without any state.
3. Human nature as selfish, passionate and power-seeking.
4. Hence, the state of nature would be a ‘perpetual war’, so that the ‘life of man [is] solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short’
(Hobbes, Leviathan, ed. Oakeshott, p. 82).
5. Hence, necessity of the ‘social contract’ as a fundamental agreement of people in the state of nature to set up a state.
6. N.B. Hobbes’s argument as hypothetical not historical; i.e. that it is rational to found the state.
7. Hobbes as an important contributor to contract theories of the state or contractarian tradition of political thought (cf. J. Rawls, A Theory of Justice, 1970).

V. But What Kind of State is Justified?

1. Hobbes’s authoritarian conclusions that any state, however bad, is better than no state (e.g. civil war, stateless societies). So the authority of the state is unlimited.
2. By contrast, classical anarchism is the view that a society with no state is always better than one with some state (‘an-archy’; cf. ‘mon-archy’).
3. Could we live without a state, i.e. in a stateless society or a stateless world?
4. But anarchism can also be understood as attempting to minimise the authority of the state.
5. So we need to ask what kind of state is legitimate and how much authority it should have over us.
6. It is also possible to question Hobbes’s argument for the state.

4. The Constitutional State and the Rule of Law. Is it ever right to disobey the law?

I. Introduction: Aims of this Topic

1. Hobbes’s ‘modern’ justification of the state as being in the interests of the people.
2. Compare view of state as justified by ‘divine right’ or ancient tradition.
3. Government for the people:
(i) Rule of law and constitutional government.
(ii) Government limited by natural rights (Locke).

II. The Rule of Law

1. Despotism of the pre-modern state: as ‘rule of master over slaves’; unlimited power; arbitrary power.
2. Rule of law as ‘government of laws not of men’ (Heywood, 154): consistent and general rules; impartial; public; not retrospective.
3. Norms of legal procedure: fair application of law; no arbitrary arrest (habeas corpus); legal representation; laws of evidence etc.
4. Advantages of rule of law: predictable decisions; absence of fear; impartiality or formal fairness.
5. Equality before the law: from subjects to citizens; abolition of aristocratic privilege; rulers also subject to law.
6. Dicey’s criteria for rule of law (Heywood, pp. 154-5).

III. Constitutional Government

1. But the rule of law is not necessarily substantively fair or just: does not imply freedom; does not imply democracy.
2. A further constraint on government involves subjecting the process of government itself to the rule of law.
3. Thus constitutional government implies laws governing the making of laws:
‘the rules which establish and regulate or govern the government’
(Wheare, Modern Constitutions).
4. Constitutions: written vs. unwritten; entrenched vs. unentrenched.
5. But constitutional government is still not necessarily either liberal or democratic.

IV. Locke on Natural Rights and Rebellion

1. Rule of law and constitutional government implies legal but not moral rights.
2. John Locke (1632-74) as advocate of government limited by natural or moral rights in order to justify England’s ‘Glorious Revolution’ of 1688.
3. Natural rights as moral limits to the state and government.
4. Locke on natural rights in the state of nature:
‘that being all equal and independent, no one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty or possessions’ (Second Treatise, Dent, Ch. II, par. 6, p. 119).
5. Basic elements of Locke’s account: optimism about state of nature; no giving up natural rights to the state (cf. Hobbes); state’s role to clarify and enforce natural rights.
6. Natural rights and the justification of rebellion (see Tutorial Reading) when the state violates or fails to protect natural rights.
7. Problem of justifying natural rights: Locke’s religious argument; Locke’s ‘rational’ justification of property rights.

V. Disputing Human Rights

1. Natural, moral or human rights provide a basis for criticising sovereign states: e.g. Nazi Germany; former Yugoslavia; Iraq; Sudan etc.
2. Civil disobedience: conscientious; altruistic or moral motivation, not self-interested; public; acceptance of punishment; non-violent.
3. Reason for civil disobedience: unjust political institutions; exclusion of minorities; e.g. apartheid South Africa, religious states.
4. Some problems with civil disobedience: different religions and moralities; destabilisation of political order; step towards violence?
5. More generally, civil disobedience and human rights raise problems of justification: cultural differences – which rights, whose rights; changing ideas of human rights over time; problems of chauvinism.

5. The Moral limits of law and state. Liberal toleration, freedom of religion and private morality.

I. Introduction

1. Last week we looked at Locke’s arguments for a limited state on the basis of our natural rights.
2. This week on limits to the state in relation to religion, morality and individual freedom.

II. Religion and Politics

1. Religious or confessional state enforces religious worship and laws derived from one particular religion; no clear distinction between state and religion/ civil and religious laws.
2. Compare theocracy which involves the ‘rule of God’ or, in practice, ‘rule of priests’. E.g. Iran, Afghanistan under Taliban.
3. Background of medieval and early modern Europe: Catholicism; Protestant Reformation; Protestant sects; religious conflicts and wars.

III. Locke on Toleration

1. Locke’s ‘Letters concerning Toleration’ (1689, 1690, 1692): argument for religious toleration; for more secular state.
2. Locke’s religious arguments for toleration: Christian virtue of toleration; against intolerant Catholicism; individual salvation does not depend on actions of others; faith and salvation as unenforceable by law.
3. Locke’s political arguments for toleration: pragmatic argument from need for peace; intolerance, not diversity of religions, leads to disorder;
4. Leads to fundamental distinction between political or civil and religious matters:

Civil interests I call life, liberty, health, and indolency of body; and the possession of outward things, such as money, lands, houses, furniture, and the like. (‘Letter’, p. 393)

5. Comments on Locke’s argument: individualism; tolerance as indifference?
6. limits to Locke’s toleration: not Catholics (loyalty); not atheists (oaths); not ‘heathens’.

IV. Mill on Liberty

1. After Locke, gradual extension of liberal toleration to distinction between public law and private morality.
2. J. S. Mill’s utilitarianism: greatest happiness principle; illiberal implications?; arguments for freedom; Mill, ‘On Liberty’ (1859).
3. Argument for intellectual freedom: free enquiry necessary for production of useful knowledge.
4. Argument for moral freedom: ‘experiments of living’; necessary for happiness.
5. Happiness depends on ‘individuality’: as fullest possible self-development; requires freedom.
6. Mill’s ‘harm principle’:

That the only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilised community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others. (‘On Liberty’, p. 72)

7. In other words, law aims to prevent harm to others, but does not impose morality: self-regarding vs. other-regarding actions; against state paternalism.

V. Law and Morality Debates

1. Difficulties of applying Mill’s harm principle: liberty vs. licence; defining harm; acts of commission vs. acts of omission; direct and indirect harm.
2. Law and morality debate of 1950s-60s: Wolfenden Report (1957) on prostitution and homosexuality.
3. Liberal argument for privacy (not morality) of prostitution and homosexuality as ‘self-regarding’ actions.
4. H.L.A. Hart, Law, Liberty and Morality vs. moral conservatism of Devlin, The Enforcement of Morals.
5. Other law and morality debates: abortion; pornography; drugs; paternalistic legislation; alcoholism.
6. Limits of liberal toleration, or what is intolerable: racism (anti-vilification legislation); holocaust denial (illegal in Germany); incitements to violence, political extremism, terrorism.

6A. Jeremy Shearmur - Classical liberalism

• 1. Introduction
• Discussion in two parts
• First, historical picture of ideas that emerged in late 17c & were influential in 19c; in part a re-visit, but need for presentation
• Second, picture of ideas in this tradition as held today, called, variously, ‘classical liberalism’, neoliberalism and libertarianism
• N.B. Notes for this lecture on webCT

2. Key themes from 17-19c
• Will draw selectively on ideas from
• John Locke (1632-1704)
• David Hume (1711-1776)
• Adam Smith (1723-90)
• and early 19c French liberals

Locke. Ideas about individual rights:
• legitimate powers of government seen as drawn by agreement from rights individuals had prior to government (not necessarily a historical claim)
• Rights include:
• right that others should not aggress against you;
• right to acquire (un-owned) property

Property rights
• Key ideas about property rights:
• Not from government;
• Rather, moral right to acquisition of land, prior to government
• Based on individual and social benefits to acquisition and improvement of land (grounded in religious ideas – but that is another story!)
• Others judge you to have a right to it, if you have mixed your labour with unused land
• Others also gain from improvement, even if don’t own land themselves

Role of government
• Government should secure rights, provide impartial judges etc
• Scope of its powers to be understood as based on rights individuals have prior to government
• Government seen as product of contract between such people to set up constitution
• Can be legitimately overthrown if government breaks constitutional arrangements

Basis of rights in Locke
• Much in his work seems quite modern
• Not least because of resonances in U.S. constitution
• But in Locke, basis of everything looks to me ultimately theological
• In Adam Smith, get start of secular account of basis of rights.

Adam Smith: Theory of commercial society
• Smith better known for other ideas than rights:
• Division of labour: relates to size of market
• Specialization generates wealth
• Self-interest and prices provide coordinative mechanism for ‘cooperation’ between strangers: don’t need anyone to allocate social roles
• Compare on this – but also contrast – pin factory described in Wealth of Nations
• Note also Smith on disadvantages of division of labour

Legal framework
• Needs setting of law – note role of general rules (cf. David Hume, Treatise of Human Nature)
• But bear in mind that are also disadvantages to such a legal system
• which on this view we should palliate, not try to remove
• Note also Smith on situationally-generated morality: Theory of Moral Sentiments
• Compare also Smith on Dutch, English and Scots

3. The Classical Liberal vision
• Resulting vision: soars on two wings!!
• Negative rights and property rights: respect for autonomy of the individual and a zone of protected action
• While social theory explains how a society can operate – and indeed flourish – on such a basis

Several distinctive features:
• Proper role of government limited: secure (limited) rights
• Also do some other things
• but only in ways that don’t stuff up the system:
• May have a role in regulation, supply of public goods etc
• but classical liberals wished to limit this:
• so did not stuff social system up
• and to avoid grabbing of this function (i.e. ability to coerce, including taxation) by special interests

Welfare state?
• Limited welfare safety net may be favoured (cf. Hayek’s Road to Serfdom)
• But responses to price signals play a key role, and legal system will have hard cases: i.e. have to be careful don't undermine factors that play a key role in generation of social order
• If have generous welfare system, may face motivation problems
• Which may be able to overcome, only if have strong social controls
• I.e. classical liberal worries about consequences for freedom of social consequences of a welfare system that is as generous as may wish to have!

Classical liberal class theory
• Often think of class in context of socialism
• But was earlier (early 19c) theory advanced by classical liberals
• Distinguish those who live by exchange and those who live from taxation
• Underlying economic situation means interests of former rest on satisfaction of customers, of latter, in increasing scope of government
• Regardless of ideological preferences (contrast David and me!)
• Cf.: http://homepage.mac.com/dmhart/ComteDunoyer/index.html

4. Classical Liberalism today
• Some struck by this vision as offering an attractive picture of how combine individual freedom and viable social
• Property: key to security of person and opinions
• Because of its importance, favour as wide an extent of property ownership as possible
• But all seen as gaining from regime in which is wide property ownership – e.g. by way of seeing diversity of property holdings as providing shelter from government, opportunities for sponsorship of a variety of causes etc
• also allows for creation of communities to exemplify distinctive life-choices if government (= other people acting coercively) don’t stop it

View of freedom
• in general, if you are not aggressing against others, should not be restrictions on what you do and is no-one’s legitimate business what you are doing (though clearly are wider responsibilities for kids)
• Unless choose to live in a community that imposes such restrictions on you
• Central image = individual as consumer not citizen participating in majoritarian electoral choice
• But where have to have government and collective provision, favour self-limited constitutional democracy

Economy
• Profit & wage rates: indicate how, broadly speaking, we can be most responsive to what others want
• (at least as expressed in purchases; this generates case for cash assistance to poor)
• Image: JS as lecturer/go-go dancer

Property & rights
• Serve also as a framework for deeper relationships:
• Ownership of stuff creates space for virtue – e.g. generosity, responses to particular needs, supererogation
• Also offer a useful framework to handle problems if relationships break up

Government
• Legitimate role of government limited
• Powers of government a real danger (concentration of power and coercive modes of operation)
• Real risk that can be kidnapped for other purposes: accordingly, don’t allow it any function that can be discharged by other means
• Accordingly, while might argue for welfare safety-net, welcome provision to meet other social needs by non-governmental means: charities, voluntary organizations (not government-funded: government take-over of charities seen as terrible)

Too tough?
• Problems our responsibility, and if concerned must act ourselves, persuade others etc
• Clearly will be those who need help
• If had classical liberal regime, would have more resources than now in private hands – and thus in hands of people with a diversity of views and concerns (e.g. vs government’s current welfare crack-downs)
• If government were as limited as classical liberalism suggests, would not be legitimate instrument for moralized laws – though private communities could impose such regulations upon their own members
• Contrast self-chosen moral regulations, and those imposed on you by a majority, parents etc

Contemporary politics
• ‘economic rationalism’ takes up economic side of picture, but even here typically imposes solutions and retain residual governmental control
• The current Coalition are in other respects the antithesis of classical liberal views – complacent, illiberal, war-mongering wowsers
• N.B. classical liberals historically strongly anti war, anti foreign adventuring
• & to them the idea that we can tell others how to live their lives is hubris
• War is seen as a waste of resources, damaging to soldiers & civilians and enemy of liberty in countries at war even where fighting does not take place
• Seen as major source of expansion of the size & power of the state
• Cf. Randolph Bourne, ‘War is the Health of the State’
• http://struggle.ws/hist_texts/warhealthstate1918.html

Feminism
• Strong strand of classical liberal feminism – e.g. in J. S. Mill:
• The Subjection of Women. Individual negative and property rights for all
• Character of personal (private) relationships stuffed up if women are not accorded them
• I.e. concern for private and public relationships, with theory of how private are stuffed up by bad public ones
• For further material, see Wendy McElroy (ed.) Freedom, Feminism and the State, and also her XXX: A Woman’s Right to Pornography

Further information?
• Contact me if you wish for more: Jeremy.Shearmur@anu.edu.au
• N.B. CIS’s ‘Liberty & Society’ program: free weekend in Sydney with discussion of these ideas http://www.cis.org.au/l&s/HTML/home.htm

6B. Classical Liberty and Negative freedom – Some Problems with Capitalism

I. Introduction: Capitalism, For and Against

1. JS’s defence of classical liberalism and capitalism.
2. Today emphasis on some problems of capitalism.

II. Capitalism Ignores Social Justice

1. Classical liberalism defends only negative freedom and rights.
2. Negative freedom not the only conception of freedom; compatible with lack of power and resources; freedom of the beggar on the park.
3. Effective freedom and positive rights imply social justice.
4. Social liberalism of 20th century: welfare provision (security, health, education) as necessary for freedom; equal opportunities; fair competition; redistribution of wealth and social justice(see Wk. 9).
5. Problems with charity: insufficient; selective, arbitrary, prejudiced; sometimes conditional; demeaning.

III. Capitalism Distorts Culture

1. Capitalism and the distortion of culture: advertising or the ‘hidden persuaders’ (V. Packard).
2. Promotion of harmful products and activities.
3. Promotion of way of life: materialism, consumerism and competitive individualism.
4. Autonomy and positive freedom as doing what you really want to do or what’s in your real interests.

IV. Capitalism Ignores and Distorts Democracy

1. Classical liberalism argues for freedom not democracy: negative freedom does not imply democracy or political freedom.
2. Early liberalism (e.g. Locke) for freedom and rights but not democracy; liberal democracy as late invention.
3. Slow emergence of democratic thought: Thomas Paine, Jeremy Bentham, James Mill, John Stuart Mill.;
4. Neo-classical liberalism hostile to democracy: Hayek on liberty (c.f. Tutorial Reading); Nozick on ‘demoktesis’ (Anarchy, State, and Utopia).
5. Democratic state as threat to freedom. But what kind of freedom?
6. But capitalism also a threat to freedom and democracy: money corrupts; money buys influence.

V. Economic Rationalism Re-visited

1. Non-provision of public goods: infrastructure; welfare; penal system etc.
2. Capitalism promotes single public good of efficiency: only with government regulation; exchange value, not use value.
3. Public value of community: equality, social harmony, peace.
4. Public value of nature and environment.
5. Neoliberalism and the political process: minimal state; undermining public commitment.

7. What is Democracy? Is democracy a good idea?

I. Introduction

1. Up to now we’ve explored idea of freedom or liberty and liberal thinkers.
2. This topic concerns democracy or ‘rule of the people’ as the other major component of liberal democracy.
3. We will focus on the question of how democracy relates to freedom.

II. Distinguishing Liberty and Democracy

1. Negative freedom of classical liberalism as being left alone: limits the scope of government activities; liberalism vs. communitarianism, socialism, totalitarianism etc.
2. Democracy means ‘rule of the people’: concerns source of government decisions or system of government; concerns who decides; democracy vs. monarchy, aristocracy.
3. Varieties of democracy: main contrast between direct vs. indirect or representative democracy; face-to-face direct democracy vs. plebiscitary democracy; varieties of representation (geographical, characteristic, ideological); systems of voting (first-past-the-post, proportional etc.).
4. Possibility of liberty without democracy: limited but undemocratic government; Locke and early liberals were not democrats; neo-liberals and libertarians (Hayek, Nozick) are critical of democracy.
5. Possibility of democracy without liberty: democratic but intrusive state.
6. Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-78) and collectivist democracy: Social Contract (1762); idea of the ‘general will’; being ‘forced to be free’.
7. Contemporary liberal democracy: combines negative liberty and representative democracy; historical origins of combination in Western societies.

III. Justifying Democracy: A. Protective Democracy

1. Different models and justifications of democracy: C. B. Macpherson, The Life and Times of Liberal Democracy; D. Held, Models of Democracy.
2. Protective democracy of utilitarians and radicals: J. Bentham (1748-1832) and James Mill (1773-1836).
3. Based on liberal individualism: liberal rights; market economy; maximising utility.
4. Democracy as essential for the protection of liberal society: for efficient, honest, impartial government; ‘keeping the b*sta*ds honest’.
5. Class theory: containing power of aristocracy; containing power of working class.

IV. Justifying Democracy: B. Developmental Democracy

1. J. S. Mill (1806-73): Considerations on Representative Government (1861) and On Liberty. (1860).
2. J. S. Mill’s more positive view of freedom: self-development; individuality.
3. Democracy as developmental: essential for the development of citizens; their activity and energy; responsibility and public good; esp. uneducated working classes.
4. J. S. Mill’s view of the dangers of democracy: ‘tyranny of the majority’; ignorant working masses; dull and intolerant middle classes.
5. Representative democracy as compromise: indirect democracy; plural voting; proportional representation.
6. Combining best of aristocracy and democracy: rule of elites; development of people; democratic accountability.

V. Debating Liberal Democracy

1. Liberal democracy as limited government combined with representative democracy.
2. Liberal democrats argue that democracy requires liberty: freedom of information; freedom of opinion and discussion; freedom of organisation and party-formation.
3. But libertarians argue that democracy threatens liberty: welfare, taxation as theft; F. Hayek (1899-199?), The Road to Serfdom (1944); arguments for limiting democracy (again).
4. Authoritarian democrats act as if liberty unduly limits democracy: Tampa, refugees; response to terrorism.
5. Problems of democracy: tensions between liberty and democracy; short-termism; ignorance, apathy, self-interest of voters; ‘mass emotionality’.
6. Globalisation undermining the democratic nation-state (Habermas, Post-National Constellation).

8. Power and politics. Who really rules in a liberal democracy?

I. Introduction: Power vs. Democracy

1. Last week value of democracy, its intrinsic problems: e.g. tyranny of the majority; possibility of uninformed or apathetic electorate.
2. This week how democracy is constrained by various forms of social power.
3. These are examples of external or extrinsic problems of democracy. Not problems with the idea of democracy but how democracy works in contemporary societies.

II. Authority and Power

1. Power vs. authority: authority as the right to get people to act in certain ways; power as the ability to get people to act in certain ways.
2. The power exerted by political authorities vs. other sources of power.
3. Degrees of power: violence and coercion, threats and bribes, influence and persuasion.

III. Lukes’s Radical View of Power

1. S. Lukes, Power: A radical view (1974) on different kinds of power: visible vs. invisible; intentional vs. systemic; conservative vs. radical views of power; three dimensions of power.
2. First dimension or power: ability to win overt political conflicts: overt, intentional; concerns decision-making.
3. Second dimension: ability to control agenda of politics and prevent open conflicts; as non-decision-making or manipulation.
4. Third dimension: collective or systemic; non-intentional; shaping people’s wants or preferences.

IV. How Power Affects Democracy

1. Influences on formation of government policy beyond the will of the people: power influencing inputs of democracy; politics of support (A. Gamble).
2. Influences on what governments can do: power influencing outputs of democracy; ‘politics of agency’ (Gamble)
3. Power of major states (G8) and world ‘hegemon’ (USA).
4. Power exerted via institutions of international governance such as IMF, WTO, UN.

V. Systemic Power in Western Societies

1. Power and influence of ‘ruling class’ (Miliband): politics and social elites; benefits of wealth; contacts and networks; revolving doors.
2. Power of capital, business, corporations influencing inputs and outputs of democracy: investment decisions; campaigning and lobbying.
3. Influence of class on political capacities of citizens: information and education; political motivation; empowerment vs. apathy.
4. Influence of power on judicial process: formal vs. actual rights and procedures; influence of wealth/ access to legal expertise; influence of prejudice.
5. Other systemic inequalities of power: gender; ‘race’ or ethnicity; religion; sexuality.
6. Power of ideas or ideology, Lukes’s third dimension of power revisited; class; patriarchy; racism; homophobia.
7. Politics of liberation: politicisation of issues; consciousness raising; politics of identity.

V. Strategies Against Power?

1. Democratisation of the state or deepening of democracy: local democracy or decentralisation; political education; diverse media ownership; participatory democracy
2. Democratisation of civil society or extension of democracy: civil society; workplace democracy; welfare state institutions; social movements and democracy.
3. Elimination of social power: limiting economic inequality (social democracy, Marxism); politics of gender; politics of racism; politics of sexuality.
4. Elimination of social power only possible with empowerment of the powerless.

9. Equality, welfare and social justice.

I. Introduction

1. So far we looked at the values of the liberal democratic state: negative freedom and democracy.
2. We’ve also considered how these values are undermined by social power.
3. This week: (i) effective freedom and social liberalism; (ii) equality and social justice.
4. Effective freedom and equality as (i) normative requirement; (ii) ways of limiting effects of social power.

II. Effective Freedom

1. Classical liberal tradition asserts: value of negative freedom; negative rights; freedom as being allowed to do what you want.
2. Social liberal tradition asserts: value of effective freedom; positive rights; freedom as being able to do what you want.
3. Positive rights involve: resources needed to do what you want such as money, knowledge, health.
4. Positive rights therefore imply transfer of resources from more to less well-off.
5. Negative rights only involve cost of enforcement (R. Plant).

III. The Emergence of Social Rights and the Welfare State

1. T. H. Marshall,‘Citizenship and social class’ (1949) on historical evolution of rights: civil rights (rule of law); property rights (classical liberalism); political rights (democracy); social or welfare rights (social liberalism).
2. Emergence of social rights and welfare state: social security, alleviating poverty; old-age pensions, unemployment and sickness benefits; free universal education (primary, secondary, tertiary).
3. Ideological source of welfare state and social rights: ‘new’ or ‘social liberals; social democracy or reformist socialism.

IV. ‘New’ of Social Liberalism<