Topic > Scott Hughes Social Philosophy Essay - 752

Today, the divide revolves around the rights of the individual versus the rights of groups. There are five schools of thought: liberalism, conservatism, socialism, anarchism and environmentalism. Liberalism is made up of two positions: classical liberalism, which is pro-individualist, and modern liberalism, which is pro-statist. Classical liberals argue that people are not born equal and that making them equal is impossible (Moseley). For example, not everyone is born with the talent for singing or the talent for acting. Modern liberals think the opposite of this notion. The next school of thought – conservatism – is filled with skepticism towards man's desire for power, status and large-scale planning (Moseley). Central ownership and market socialism constitute the socialist school of thought. In central ownership, socialists call for a radical redistribution of resources, particularly to the poor and the state (Moseley). In market socialism, socialists accept a market system, but demand that the state manage certain resources (Moseley). Anarchy is a system without authoritarian structure. Anarchists believe in universal egalitarianism; each person's values ​​are morally and politically equal (Moseley). Finally, environmentalism is concerned with the rights of the planet and species, excluding humans. In other words, human beings are of secondary importance