Classical Liberalism and the Protestant Reformation

1. Chapter 3 – Liberalism Part I

2. Classical Liberalism • Places the “highest value on individual freedom” and posits that “the role of government should be limited” • Stresses limited government & “laissez-faire” economy • Equality before the law, but no attempt to create actual equality of condition (this would come later) • John Locke was the first classical liberal • Extended Hobbes’s theory of the social contract • Locke argues that the King, who previously ruled by the divine right theory of monarchy, had no legitimacy to rule without the social contract • By today’s standards, Locke was a classical liberal and represents a more traditional approach • Radical at the time

3. The Protestant Reformation • Martin Luther (1483-1546) initiates the Protestant reformation against the Roman Catholic Church by tacking his 95 Theses to the Wittenberg Church in 1517 • Protested the sale of indulgences for the benefit of the Catholic Church • Protested general corruption in the Church and called for Reform, not Tolerance • Called on a certain degree of individual conscience and thought • Never intended to recommend freedom of religion

4. Protestant Reformation (con’t) • Jean Calvin (1509-1564) developed a theocratic government in Geneva based on the Reformed Church. • Also did not intend to promote freedom of religious practice • Did encourage that one consult one’s individual conscience – in an effort to understand and practice scripture according to Reform Protestantism

5. Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) (A proto- liberal) • Before government, people lived in a “state of nature” • Although people are generally rational, they are also self-interested, in Hobbes’s view • Conflicts are inevitable • For Hobbes, the state of nature is “solitary, poor, brutish, nasty, and short” • Social Contract Theory: To exit the State of Nature, people agree to a social contract with the sovereign • People give up some freedoms and allow the sovereign to have power over them in return for protection from the “war of all against all” in the state of nature • People invest authority in the sovereign to rule in order to prevent chaos, war, and divisiveness.

6. Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) (A proto-liberal) • Although the purpose of Leviathan was to derive a new method of giving legitimacy to the Monarch, his premises were proto-liberal: • The monarch’s legitimacy comes from the people, not from the power of divine right • He used a state of nature argument to set up a new contract theory • King is justified only by the consent of the people • But the King is given absolute sovereignty • Limited government would have to await Locke’s 2nd Treatise

7. John Locke (1632 – 1704) • People are rational with inherent natural right to life liberty and property (John Locke, The Second Treatise of Government) • Also emphasized a right to revolution: the ruled may resist a monarch that deprives them of the rights to life, liberty, and property • One of the most important foundational thinkers for the U.S. • Strongly influenced Tom Paine and others who justified the American Revolution on distinctly Lockeian grounds • Declaration of Independence is a Lockeian document (articulates the right to “life liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”

8. Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) • First promoted the idea of the “noble savage” • Was a Social Contract Theorist, along with Hobbes and Locke • Polar opposite of Hobbes on Human Nature: • People are inherently cooperative and peaceable • Believed that humans would be happier in a state of nature, but that it is unrealistic • Social life and institutions “corrupt” people – cause them to be vain, acquisitive, and overly competitive • The environment overcomes our inherently cooperative and peaceful human nature • Tried to design a social contract that would bring out our naturally good nature

9. Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan (published 1651) In the 8th ed, Hobbes is Reading 3.10 – please read pages 57-59 onlyIn the 9th ed, Hobbes is Reading 3.11 – please read pages 60-62 only • When can man have productivity rather than strife? • When there is “a power able to over-awe then all” (p. 57 right column in 8th ed./p. 60 right column in 9th ed.) • What does he think are the 3 main causes of conflict? • Competition, Diffidence, Glory (p. 57 bottom rt & p. 58 top left in 8th ed.) (p. 61 top left in 9th ed.) • How does Hobbes describe life in State of Nature? • “There is no place for industry… no arts, no letters, no society… & the life of man is solitary, poor, nasty, brutish & short (p. 58 left bottom in 8th ed./p. 61 left bottom in 9th ed.) • Note the requirement of a “common strong power” (Leviathan ruler) for Hobbes’s political philosophy (p. 59 left in 8th edition/p. 62 left in 9th edition)

10. Reading 3.11/Reading3.12: John Locke’s 2nd Treatise of Gov’t (1690) (8th ed: pp. 68-77 only/9th ed: pp. 71-79 only) • How does Locke characterize the state of nature: as a place of liberty or constraint? • Is Locke an atheist or agnostic? • Is there a Law of nature? • What are the limitations of the state of nature? • Did the state of nature exist, in Locke’s view? If so, how and where? Topics on this slide are addressed in the section “Of the State of Nature” (pp. 68-71 in the 8th/pp. 71-74 in the 9th)

11. Locke’s 2ndTreatise of Government (con’t) • Why is property so crucial for Locke’s political theory? (pp. 71-72/74-75) • What confers ownership on a person, for Locke (p. 72/74) • Is there a limit to how much property one may “engross,” or can one acquire as much as one wishes? (p. 72 bot rt/76 top lft)

12. Locke’s 2nd Treatise of Government (con’t) • What are the 3 essential natural rights of people? (p. 76 bot left/pp. 79 bot right) • What is the 4th natural right (76 mid lft/79 bottom right onto p. 80) • What justifies revolution in Locke’s view? Policy slip ups, mismanagement, high crimes & misdemeanors, or something more? (p. 77 rt/p. 80 rt)

13. Thomas Paine’s Common Sense (Reading 3.12 in 8th/Reading 3.13 in 9th) • Thomas Paine’s Common Sense invoked Locke’s articulation of a right to revolution, in the situation where a people were deprived their natural rights. Paine’s argument: • Virtual Representation in the House of Commons was a violation of natural rights • Was more radical than Locke: believed that monarchy could not safeguard liberty • Mocked and rejected the pretensions and ineffectuality of aristocracy

14. Liberalism & Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations • Liberalism in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries was an ideology of laisser-faire, laissez-passer. • The French Physiocrats made the case against mercantalism by promoting a program of international free trade. • Adam Smith argued for minimalistic government: a “night-watchman state” • In Smith’s view, Government should be restricted to • Defending the nation • Promoting justice by protecting property rights • Building infrastucture and other prerequisites for commerce

15. Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations (Reading 3.15/3.16) • Where does the modern division of labor come from, according to Smith? • How do we fulfill our individual needs and wants, according to Smith? • How does Smith account for differences in talents and specific occupations? • Why does Smith compare the differences between people of varying professions against the differences between canine breeds?

16. Liberalism & the French Revolution (1789-1799) • The French Revolution was based on liberalism and on classical republicanism • Declaration of the Rights of Man (liberalism) • Civic virtue & “liberte, egalite, fraternite” • More radical break (compared to the Amer Rev) from their aristocracy and monarchy • Robespierre & the French Revolutionaries wanted to radically remake society • Wanted to completely replace religious sentiment with reason & nationalism

17. Liberalism & the French Revolution (1789-1799) • Third Estate (bourgeoisie & commoners) vs. • the 1st Estate (Clergy) & 2nd Estate (Aristos) • New Calendar: September 22, 1792, renamed 1 Vendemiaire (Vintage Month), Year 1. • Over 16,000 guillotined, 300,000 imprisoned during the “Reign of Terror” from June 1793 to July 1794 • Revolutionary excess led to Thermodorian Reaction (1794) • Jacobin Revolutionary leader Robespierre executed • Directory (‘95-’99) replaces the Committee on Public Safety (‘92-’95) as Executive • 1789 Napoleon Bonaparte’s coup d’etaton18 Brumaire ends Revolution • Stable republican government in France constructed in 1870