POLITICAL IDEOLOGIES AND THEIR REALIZATION IN 19TH-20TH CENTURY GREAT-BRITAIN
INTRODUCTION: IDEOLOGY AND UTOPIA
BRITISH LIBERALISM: CLASSICAL AUTHORS
John Locke: Two Treatises of Government - Explain the nature of man and the factors that characterize the 'civil society' according to John Locke.
Adam Smith: The Wealth of Nations - Highlight A Smith's economic credo.
John Stuart Mill: On Liberty - Expound what is meant by 'one very simple principle' and the term 'individual'.
UTILITARIAN (GENERAL WELFARE-BASED) LIBERALISM
Jeremy Bentham: An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation - Explain the essence of utilitarian theory in 5 points.
For extra credit: John Stuart Mill: Utilitarianism - Elaborate on JS Mill's reservations and counter-arguments regarding utilitarianism.
Immanuel Kant: Groundworks Of The Metaphisics Of Morals - explain Kant's criticism of utilitarianism, his concept of the human being and of liberty.
RIGHTS-BASED (KANTIAN) LIBERALISM
Kant (cont.)
egalitarian liberalism: John Rawls: A Theory of Justice - Elaborate on Rawls's arguments against utilitarianism. List his 2 basic principles and explain the latter (difference principle).
libertarian liberalism: Robert Nozick: Anarchy, State and Utopia - Paraphrase Nozick's 3 points on justice. Highlight his anti-taxation argument and his state concept.
CRITICS OF LIBERALISM: BRITISH CONSERVATISM I.
Edmund Burke: Reflections on the Revolution in France - list Burke's chief reservations about the French revolution, his reasons against atheism and his vision of the future after the revolution.
Francis Herbert Bradley: Ethical Studies - Read pp. 40-44, 52-54 and summarize in 5 points Bradley's criticism regarding the liberal concept of the autonomous individual.
BRITISH CONSERVATISM II.
Michael Oakeshott: On Being Conservative - read pp.242-247, 251-256 and elaborate on the conservative concept of 'change' and Oakshott's criticism of the 'rationalist' individual.
Roger Scruton: The Meaning of Conservatism - read p.266, chapters 'Authority and family', 'Allegiance'. Explain the conservative interpretation of authority and allegiance.
SOCIALISM
Sidney Webb: The Basis of Socialism - Explain the effects of the industrial revolution and the four principles of the socialist movement according to Webb.
Labour Party Election Manifesto 1945 - List the principal ideas of socialism in the text.
Senator Bernie Sanders on Democratic Socialism 2015 - Explain what Sanders means by democratic socialism
LIBERALISM, CONSERVATISM AND SOCIALISM I.: A THEORETICAL COMPARISON
In a 3-column chart compare and contrast Liberalism, Conservatism and Socialism based on the aspects below.
- individual-community
- state
- tradition and authority (hierarchy)
- property and justice
- religion and morality (church)
- aim
COMMUNISM
Karl Marx-Friedrich Engels: The Communist Manifesto - Explain the term 'Communist' and the interpretation of history elaborated in the text.
Lenin: The State and Revolution - Explain the term 'dictatorship of the proletariat' and contrast the Leninist concepts of capitalist democracy and communism.
Communism (CPB) in Britain
FASCISM, NAZISM
The Manifesto of the Fascist Struggle (1919) - Read and categorize the Fascist demands as left or right.
Benito Mussolini: The Doctrine of Fascism - List the main attributes of Fascism and explain its symbolism.
Adolf Hitler: Mein Kampf - List Hitler's 'iron laws of Nature' and compare and contrast his concepts of the 'Aryan' and the 'Jew'.
Fascism in Britain
TOTALITARIANISM
Hannah Arendt: The Origins of Totalitarianism - Explain the two illusions, the relationship between totalitarianism and science and state, the notion of the 'potential enemy' and finally the future of the totalitarian idea according to Arendt.
ANARCHISM
William Godwin: Inquiry concerning Political Justice - Elaborate on Godwin's view of man and state (authority).
Mikhail Bakunin: Man, Society, and Freedom - Contrast the two, liberal and social anarchist definitions of the term 'individual' and 'individual freedom'.
Anarchism in Britain
BRUSH UP, OWN DEFINITIONS