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Question for Inquiry #2

What challenges can force societies to reconsider liberalism?. Question for Inquiry #2. Challenges to Liberalism (Pg 374). Conditions exists that may push people to reconsider the values of liberalism, these include: Poverty and Debt Environmental Concerns Resource use and development

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Question for Inquiry #2

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  1. What challenges can force societies to reconsider liberalism? Question for Inquiry #2

  2. Challenges to Liberalism (Pg 374) • Conditions exists that may push people to reconsider the values of liberalism, these include: • Poverty and Debt • Environmental Concerns • Resource use and development • The Internet and Censorship • Pandemics and other health crisis

  3. Challenges to Liberalism (Pg 374) • People who question liberalism say that individualism has made people selfish and dangerous • People only consider themselves not others • People worry about the short term only • Environment is seen as a tool for individual benefit and not as something to be protected

  4. Challenges to Liberalism (Pg 374) • People in favour of liberalism say there must be a middle ground between selfishness (just concerned with own self) and altruism (only concern for others) • When we look at each factor think about whether liberalism is a viable solution to these issues.

  5. Poverty and Debt (Pg 375) • Many people in Canada, and around the world, live in poverty. • They have only the basic necessities of life, and some don’t even have that

  6. Poverty and Debt (Pg 375) • Some live in what is called abject poverty. • This is an extreme form of poverty and these people are living on less than $1 per day

  7. Who is responsible for dealing with the equitable distribution of wealth? • Is it • Individuals • Groups within societies • Government Poverty and Debt (Pg 375)

  8. Poverty in Canada (Pg 375) • Poverty in Canada is measured relative to others in that community. • People could be considered poor by Canadian standards but still be rich by others.

  9. Poverty in Canada (Pg 375) • The poverty line (usually an annual income) is the point in which you are considered in poverty if you are below. • People below the poverty line spend a lot more of their income on food, shelter and clothing than do others above it.

  10. Poverty in Canada (Pg 375) • In Alberta 1 in 10 children live in poverty. • Some people believe we should be measuring poverty in other ways such as how many people use food banks or need social assistance.

  11. Read page 376 for some stats on Edmonton • 1 in 8 children in poverty • 2600 homeless people • 194 homeless children • 13,000 used food bank in 2006 Edmonton Poverty Statistics (Pg 376)

  12. Housing and Debt (Pg 377) • Housing is expensive. The average house price in Edmonton is over $300,000 • This is why a lot of people can not afford to have their own home. It is also a big reason why some people have a lot of debt.

  13. Housing and Debt (Pg 377) • The US had a serious mortgage crisis on their hands in 2007 • Lenders were giving out easy mortgages to people who probably should not have had them.

  14. Housing and Debt (Pg 377) • This caused a lot of people to not be able to pay for their mortgages • This led to an increase in foreclosures and a substantial drop in housing prices in the US.

  15. Is there something the government could have done to avoid this housing crisis in the United States? Would some of these solutions been at odds with the ideals if liberalism? Housing and Debt (Pg 377)

  16. Poverty and Debt around the World (Pg 378) • Around the world we tend to talk about abject or extreme poverty. Again this is defined as living on less than $1 a day • There are about 1 billion people in the world that live in abject poverty

  17. Poverty and Debt around the World (Pg 378) • The World Bank is one organization that is trying to reduce abject poverty in the world. • They do this by lending money, with or without interest, and also giving out grants that do not need to be paid back at all.

  18. Poverty and Debt around the World (Pg 378) • There are some critics of the progress that is being made around the world in regards to poverty • Borrowers never escape the debt • World bank makes conditions on money • The conditions often benefit the wealthy countries • Some of the money knowingly is not going to be paid back and may be considered bribes to keep access to country open to developed world. • Money goes to projects that are not environmentally friendly.

  19. Poverty and Debt around the World (Pg 378) • Further, some people say that the developed world is profiting of the poor countries and is in fact making money off their poverty • This creates the idea that they may, in fact, be contributing to the prolonging of the poverty in order to make money.

  20. The environment and Resources (Pg 380) • In order for liberalism to continue to grow there needs to be more consumption • For there to be more consumption there will need to be more debt • Can this be sustained?

  21. The environment and Resources (Pg 380) • Now think about how this consumption is supposed to continue with the stress we are putting on our natural resources. • Some people look at the environment as a bank that they can take money from. Other view it as being something to take care of for future use.

  22. Do you think you should be able to do what ever you want in your backyard? What if your actions affect others, should you still be allowed to do it? Who should decide what can and cannot be done in terms of the environment? The environment and Resources (Pg 380)

  23. The Arctic Environment (Pg 381) • There are many countries that have land in the Arctic Circle • Canada, United States, Russia, Norway, Finland, Sweden • All of these countries are seriously interested in arctic development.

  24. The Arctic Environment (Pg 381) • With temperatures rising and arctic ice melting, there are very viable shipping routes opening up. • These routes could become very busy and the resources may become worth extracting as other source begin to deplete.

  25. The Arctic Environment (Pg 381) • Some people say that the resource development opportunities in the arctic are too good to pass up. • Others say the environmental risks are much too high to pursue development.

  26. The internet and Censorship (Pg 384) • The internet makes it easy to send a message to anyone in the world. • There are some people who believe this is freedom of speech at its best, others believe that we should limit this freedom in order to protect people.

  27. Which of the following do you think should be limited on the internet? • Personal notes • Jokes • Inspirational letters • Request for support from people in need • Blog about a hobby • Advocating violence against a specific group • Show an execution • Child pornography • How to make weapons and harm others • Teach people how to harm themselves The internet and Censorship (Pg 384)

  28. The internet and Censorship (Pg 384) • The government has the right to restrict charter rights if it can be shown to be “justified in a free and democratic society” • So far the supreme court has not supported censorship of the internet.

  29. Health Crisis (Pg 387) • The right to be able to travel and move about is one that many Canadians hold dear. • However, what if travelling around would endanger the health of others, should we restrict the movement of people in order to protect others?

  30. Read pg 388 regarding the story of Andrew Speaker. There will be some questions to answer after you finish. Health Crisis (Pg 388)

  31. What was wrong with Andrew Speaker? Why are so many people mad at him? Health Crisis (Pg 387)

  32. Should someone have forced him to stay at home? If you were in control of the situation what would you have done? Health Crisis (Pg 387)

  33. Health Crisis (Pg 387) • A pandemic is the emergence of a new infectious disease that causes serious illness among a wide ranging population. • SARS is an example of a pandemic.

  34. Health Crisis (Pg 387) • Between February 2003 and April 2003, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended people stay away from the city of Toronto because of the outbreak. • This cause serious harm to the tourism industry in Toronto

  35. The following challenges: poverty, debt, environmental concerns, resource use and development, internet censorship and health crisis can cause people to rethink the viability of liberalism Can moderate self-interest, rather than selfishness and altruism, be a solution to some of these problems? Summary of Challenges to Liberalism (Pg 389)

  36. What role should the government play in a world that reflects a moderate self-interest? Summary of Challenges to Liberalism (Pg 389)

  37. What challenges can force societies to reconsider liberalism? Question for Inquiry #2

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