HON351, American Ideals in Global Perspective
Spring 2008
Worksheet
Liberalism
Reading Assignment:
Ball and Dagger, chapter 3
Other articles (optional):
George Will, "CATO: Upholding the Idea of Liberty," CATO's Letter, Summer 2006, 1-6
"Paul's Apostles," Mother Jones, Vol. 33, No. 1, January/February 2008, pp. 40-44. (refers to the presidential campaign of Ron Paul)
Websites (optional)
Questions to think about as you read chapter 3
1. What is the essence of liberalism?
2. What doctrines and/or practices did liberalism challenge?
3. In what ways were the American and French revolutions based on liberal principles? How did these two revolutions differ?
4. What are the differences between classical liberalism and welfare liberalism?
5. What key idea(s) did each of the following thinkers contribute to liberal thought?
Martin Luther
Thomas Hobbes
John Locke
Adam Smith
Jeremy Bentham
John Stewart Mill
Herbert Spencer
T. H. Green
John Rawls
Robert Nozick
Other questions to ponder
6. Which of the political philosophers expressed ideas that are most consistent with your personal views? (you may also include those mentioned in chapter 2, such as Plato, Machiavelli, and Tocqueville) What is it you like about his ideas?
7. Which of the philosophers do you find most at odds with your thinking? What is it you especially don't like about his ideas?
8. In what ways do the ideologies of the Republican and Democratic parties in the United States based on the principles associated with liberalism?