Chapter 3 – Liberalism, Pt 3

Emergence of Welfare Liberalism

Liberalism splits into two discourses after 1870

Welfare Liberalism (New Deal Liberalism) – Theorized

“positive” liberty to attempt to empower individuals to
be able to triumph over obstacles such as poverty,
illiteracy, and ignorance.

“Neo-classical” Liberalism – Those who wished to

continue the course of minimalist government and
negative liberty
Negative vs Positive Liberty
Negative Liberty – Freedom from
Individual freedom from governmental authority or
regulations, from the Church, or from ascribed
class status
Positive Liberty – Freedom to
Individual freedom seen in terms of capabilities.
Freedom to compete successfully in job market
(through education, etc.). Freedom to live a
healthy life without poverty or lack of medical care.
• Insurance programs, New Deal empowerment programs
• Full extension of the franchise to women (1920 – 19th
amendment) blacks (1965 – Voting Rights Act)
Welfare Liberalism
Welfare liberals argued for the importance of
“nurture” over “nature”
Because we are social creatures, our abilities
and skills are cultivated by social institutions
like schools, workers cooperatives, unions.
Government can help to liberate or “create”
more freedom.
Welfare Liberalism
Keynesians articulated a response to the
excesses of laissez-faire capitalism in the
Anglo-Saxon countries.
Keynesians were (are) a type of welfare
liberal who advanced fiscal policy as a
way of managing economic cycles.
On the continent, Socialism gained
widespread appeal to deal with sub-
standard working conditions, worker
exploitation, and economic depression.
Liberalism
In popular discourse, “liberal” tends to refer to
liberalism on the left after 1932
Post World War II liberalism:
Civil Rights
• Positive Liberty
• Left Liberal Movement
The New Left (Students for a Democratic
Society)
• Positive Liberty
• Left Liberal Movement
• Argued for active, participatory democracy
John Rawls and the Liberal Tradition
A Theory of Justice, 1971
A philosophical defense of the welfare state: how
can we maintain liberty while still providing for the
maximization of everyone’s well-being, including
society’s worst-off members?
If unequal distribution of resources and wealth
can be shown to increase everyone’s well-being,
we can philosophically tolerate inequalities of
wealth.
This is a philosophical refutation of socialism
and communism
A philosophical defense of liberalism, welfare
liberalism.
Liberalism after 1992
The Third Way: By 1996, the Democratic
Party and the Labour Party jettisoned
much of their welfare liberalism and
moved to a compromise with modern
conservatism (neo-classical liberalism).
Since the mid 1990s, an uneasy third way
consensus has been achieved – between
welfare liberals and classical liberals.