Subtopic- Introduction- Positive and negative right- Liberal and conservative- Capitalism and communism

IntroductionThomas Jefferson used with lasting effect in the Declaration of Independence- “the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”- a close paraphrase of words written by John Locke

Human right include the positive right and negative right

Liberty can divide to two categories ~Positive liberty is the possibility or the fact of acting in such a way as to take control of one’s fundamental purposes. ~negative liberty is the absence of obstacles, barriers or constraints.

Definition of positive right

A right to food, to healthcare, to education - whatever. positive rights may include other civil and political rights such as police protection of person and property and the right to counsel, as well as economic,social and cultural rights such as public education, health care, social security, and a minimum standard of living

Definition of negative right

Put simply a negative right is the right to be left alone. Specifically it is the right to think and act free from the coercive force of othersnegative rights may include civil and political right such as freedom of speech, private property, freedom from violent crime, freedom of worship, habeas corpus, a fair trial, freedom from slavery Free from muggers, fraudsters and restrictive laws and taxes

Different between positive right and negative right

A positive right imposes a moral obligation on a person or the government to do something for an individual ,while a negative right ,obliges the government not to do something ,i.e .intervene in an individual ‘s life.Negative rights would correspond to duties of forbearance: if X has a negative right to V, then other's have a non-interference duty in relation to X's enjoyment of V. Positive rights would correspond to duties of assistance: if X has a positive right to V, then others (perhaps government) have a (positive) duty to provide X with V.

Personal character in positive right and negative right

Negative and positive right ,furthermore ,may be said to be quite distinct and separate phenomena. Although utilitarian argument may be made for negative rights (like mill’s famous case for free speech )

They have always received most of their support from the moral assertion that person have claims against other not be treated in ways thought to be abusive ,irrespective right of the social consequences (cf.dworkin,190-92)

Negative right, unlike positive right which everyone receives a high level of benefit from government.

Liberty

Latin liber, meaning “liberty”. A classical liberal is someone ~who values individual liberty and who advocates those governmental constructions that help to guarantee that liberty.

~Addition, government has set up human right such as positive right and negative right.

positive and negative liberal are significant differently

Example :

~ punch someone in the nose, walk on their property, and so on. If I have a right not to be punched in the nose by you, you have as perfect a right not to be punched in the nose by me. Positive rights require me not merely to refrain from acting, but to affirmatively act.

Conservatives

~ those who prefer preserving the traditions of the past into the present.

~ oppose rapid or radical changes. ~ who live in small towns, the old, and the

uneducated are can’t imagine something different, or are afraid of change.

So they want to keep their way of life the way it is

Positive versus negative liberty

~ libertarians want to private property and freedom of contract themselves involve positive right.

~ To protect of private property should be legitimate social goals.

~ Government should take steps to protect our property and enforce our contract.

~ Government generally shouldn’t itself take our property because there is indeed a negative right component to property

~ but we are entitled to demand a certain benefit that is property protection and contract enforcement from government.

Liberals vs Conservatives

~ some classical liberal thinkers thought that too much property for same individuals would hamper the freedom of others.

~ A government ceases to be liberal, though, when it goes from regulating private property and taxing with the people’s consent, to owning and monopolizing property itself without the people’s consent.

~ Liberals start with the assumption that human nature is selfish and individualistic.

~ they wish to construct laws and institutions ,channeling it in positive ways, rather than trying to change human being’ minds and hearts.

The Fall of Soviet Union and The Marxism

-The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) was a socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. Its short name is Soviet Union. It consists of 16 constituents

-But the Soviet Union's collapse into independent nations began early in 1985. Several Soviet Socialist Republics began resisting central control, and increasing democratization led to a weakening of the central government. Finally collapsed in 1991.

- In Soviet Union, there is Marxism practiced by the various socialist movements and there is Soviet Marxism as worked out by Lenin and modified by Stalin, which under the name of Marxism-Leninism became the doctrine of the communist parties set up after the Russian Revolution.

- After the fall of Soviet Union really means

that Marxism is dead?

-Marx critics the capitalist economic system.

(a)Capitalist system

~an available accumulation of industrial

capital

~private ownership of the means of

production and private property

~a free market system

(b)Socialism / communism

~an industrial base

~social ownership of the means of

production

~centralized planning

- Marx critics against capitalism based on three claims which are:

(i) capitalism exist and based on exploitation of worker.

(ii) capitalism involves alienation of human beings. Alienation involves domination or control of some by others and this produce other negative effects.

(iii) capitalism protects the vested interests of the few and prevents the many from achieving a better, more just and more equitable society. This is unjust.

Critics against Marx Ideology- During the reign of Stalin, the Soviet people

were more suffer and alienated from their government than Americans.

- Effective in generating and redistributing wealth than socialism, and the gulf between rich and poor was a temporary phenomenon.

- Many observe capitalism has changed much since Marx's time. Example much corporate stock in the United States is owned by workers through pension funds.

- Since fall of Soviet Union, Marxist political parties and movements have significantly declined.

- Critics argue that Soviet Union's internal failings and collapse result of the practical of Marx's program, but Marxists claim Soviet Union's Leninist and Stalinist policies only similar to Marxist theory.

- Modern Marxist supporters who claims the idea of "market socialism”which means of production are owned by the worker and directed by market forces rather than central control.

- Some claim that Marx never spelled out precisely how a socialist economy would look or how it would be managed.

- Critics more emphasis on central planning and authoritarian rule while these from revolutionaries such as Lenin, Stalin, not Marx.

- So it is difficult to absolutely determined whether either one or both are inherently immoral and should be eliminate.

Capitalism the WINNER?

- many people in the United States complain that government is out of control and they don’t know how they are governed while the others complained the emphasis of Americans on material goods.

Marxism: Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels

Karl Marx (1818-1883)•an immensely German philosopher,

political economist and socialist

revolutionary

•Marx pointed out a lot of issues such us

alienation and exploitation of the worker,

the capitalist mode of production and

historical materialism

Marxism: Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels

Friedrich Engels(1820-1895)•was a 19th century German

political philosopher

•He formed the communist theory

parallel with Marx

•He met with Marx in 1844 in Paris

and they have similar views on capitalism.

Marxism: Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels

Most forms of the Marxism share the principles:

an attention to the material conditions of people’s lives and social relations among people

a belief that people’s consciousness of the conditions of their lives implies these material conditions and relations

an understanding of class in term of distinguish relations of production and as a particular position within such relation

a view of history according to which class struggle

a sympathy for working class or proletariat

a belief that the ultimate interests of workers best match those of humanity in general

Marxism: Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels

• Marxism is a fundamental ideology of the communism

• Communism is the doctrine of the conditions for the emancipation of the proletariat. (Engels, 1847a)

• Marx and Engels posited the distinguishing features of communism are :

~the abolition of private property

~the abolition of buying and selling

~the abolition of he division of labour

~the abolition of the personal appropriation of the products

of labours

~the abolition of countries and nationality and the abolition

of the family.

Critics against Marxism Many thinkers have criticized that historical materialism is an

oversimplification of the nature of the society.

Many critics claim that to achieve the ends of the communism such as the abolition of the private property, communist regimes always forced to use violence.

An end which requires unjustified means is not a justifiable end.

Max Weber criticized in his 1919 lecture Politics as a Vocation state that

“conduct can be oriented to an ethic of ultimate ends or to an ethic of responsibility…Whosoever contracts with violent means for whatever ends and every politician does is exposed to its specific consequences. This holds especially for the crusader, religious and revolutionary alike...The leader and his success are completely dependent upon the functioning of his machine and hence not on his own motives”.

Capitalism• Capitalism is an economic system in which wealth and the means of the

producing wealth are privately owned.

• the land, labor and capital are owned, operated and traded by private individuals either singly or jointly.

• investments, distribution, income, production, pricing and supply of goods, commodities and services are determined by voluntary private decision in a market economy.

• each person owns his or her own labor and therefore is allowed to sell the use of it to employers.

• private rights and property relations are protected by the rule of law of a limited regulatory framework.

• In the modern capitalist state, legislative action is confined to defining and enforcing the basic rules of the market, though the state may provide some public goods and infrastructure.

Critics against Capitalism

• unequal distribution of wealth

• Not conducive to brotherhood or sharing

• boom or bust economy

• capitalism is wasteful

• environmental destruction

Capitalism In America

-American economics are primarily defined by capitalism, a

financial system which prides itself on unlimited growth and

prosperity.

-Capitalism has greatly affected the lifestyles and affluence of

those who live with it.

Americans have created the reputation of being greedy,

dishonest, and arrogant.

- This enables ordinary people to use the currency to exchange

them for things they need or want

-The American economy began get worse rapidly with the overwhelming credit crunch

-major loss of confidence by consumers, businesses and investors.

- Tax cuts or just handing out cash to banks or big infrastructure projects or re-regulation are unlikely to help speed up economic recovery.

-The America economy is rapidly descending from a

recession into a depression.

-Hundreds of thousands of workers are losing their jobs

each month.

- The Gross National Product (GNP) will be retreating at

a rate between minus 2% to minus 5% for 2009

- Bankruptcy rates are at depression levels and credit is

drying up

-For every store closing, for every company liquidating its assets, and

for every business bankruptcy filed, there are suppliers who don't get

paid and who thus become the next business faced with bankruptcy.

-there are employees who lose their jobs and their health care benefits,

and who can't meet their mortgage payments.

-It becomes a vicious cycle, as more and more people fear for their

jobs and considerably control their purchases, which leads to more

stores closing and more layoffs for manufacturers and suppliers.

America was faced with three inter-related crises which were economic recession, energy insecurity and the overarching climate crisis. So, capitalism and socialism have its pros and cons and not absolutely efficient and effective!

Conclusionpositive and negative right liberally and

conservatives cannot be fully maximized.That conservatives and libertarians have a much

less coherent definition of "liberty" than one would think, to hear them talk.

among the rights we embrace as "negative", they clearly can conflict with each other.

For example, my freedom of speech is indeed less if I may not speak on your property; your freedom of property clearly less if you are free to come and speak on it whether I will or no.