DHS 2024 GP Y5 Lecture - Governments Part 2

1 © 2024 DHS | GP | Y5 Dunman High School H1 General Paper Governments – Part 2: Individual Freedom vs Government Regulation [T2W1] Name Class Organisation of these notes: A. Key terms often used in debates about individual freedom and government regulation B. Arguments for and against individual freedom and government regulation 1. How can we justify individual freedom from government control? 2. How can we argue for some government control over individuals’ lives and actions? 3. How can we reconcile these perspectives, resolving the tension between individuals and governments? C. Conclusion: the importance of identity in debates on individual freedom vs government regulation D. A-Level exam questions related to governments, grouped into sub-topics, from 2004 to 2023 A. Key terms often used in debates about individual freedom and government regulation Individual: A person capable of having their own thoughts and making their own choices, including the choices of how to live their life and which groups to identify with. Community: A group whose members share a common trait that gives members a sense of belonging, eg. the Christian community, the LGBT community, the elderly community, etc. Society: A collection of multiple communities existing together as a country, eg. the Singapore society, American society, etc. Freedom/Liberty: There are two kinds of freedom: • Freedom to do an action you desire: being able and allowed and empowered to do that desired action (eg. freedom to express oneself , freedom to marry ); this is sometimes called ‘positive liberty’. • Freedom from something undesirable: being safe and protected against that undesirable thing, not having it threaten or constrain or interfere with one’s life (eg. freedom from oppression , freedom from harm, freedom from discrimination); this is sometimes called ‘negative liberty’. Government regulation: • The government’s use of laws or rules to constrain and/or direct actions of people or organisations. • Those laws or rules are called ‘regulations’ (plural). There are different kinds of regulations: (i) banning (“you must not do this”) (ii) mandating (“you must do this”) (iii) drawing boundaries (“you can do this, but only within these limits”) (iv) setting conditions (“you can do this, but only after meeting these requirements”) (v) imposing costs (“you can do this, but must pay more for it”) (vi) offering incentives (“you don’t have to do this, but if you do, you’ll be rewarded”) The first two are stricter, whereas the latter four options may offer more flexibility.

2 © 2024 DHS | GP | Y5 Individualism: • This is the belief that individuals’ preferences and rights should be valued and prioritised, and not sacrificed in favour of a larger collective. The opposite of collectivism. • This is also th e trend of people seeing themselves more as individuals than as members of a larger community or society. Social liberalism: This is the belief that individuals should each have the freedom to determine their own lifestyles and identities, and not be pressured by the government or society to conform to traditional and conventional lifestyles and identities. Economic liberalism / Neoliberalism: This is the belief that the government should try not to control the economic activities of consumers and businesses, and should instead let consumers, businesses and free-market forces determine the economy. Classical liberalism: This is the combination of social liberalism plus economic liberalism, i.e. the belief that individuals should have freedom to determine their own lifestyles and economic activities. Libertarianism: This is a more radical version of classical liberalism, advocating that governments should be small and intervene as little as possible in people’s lives and the economy , and individuals and businesses should have as much freedom as possible. Social conservatism: This is the belief that people should preserve and conform to traditional culture. Such a culture often includes closely identifying with one’s traditional family, ethnic community and religious community; adhering to a lifestyle based on family, religion and avoiding individual indulgence; and respectfully following authority figures such as family elders, religious leaders and political leaders. This is the opposite of social liberalism. Economic interventionism : This is t he belief that the government should intervene in the economy . This may be done to alleviate inequality, protect vulnerable members of society , alleviate harm to society, grow the economy, and/or strengthen the country. This is the opposite of economic liberalism. Collectivism: This is the belief that the larger collective (a community or society) should be valued and prioritised, and not sacrificed in favour of individual interests. This is the opposite of individualism. Communitarianism: This is t he belief that individuals should be seen as connected to communities, and not as separate . Communitarians believe that belonging in a community gives meaning to an individual’s life, and hence the good life involves strong communities, not just individual freedom. Note on the Singapore government’s alignment with these values: In terms of social values, Singapore’s government generally promotes social conservatism. But over the decades it has been gradually allowing more individual liberty. The Singapore government also tries to be pragmatic: it recognises that the ideal of social conservatism cannot be imposed totally on everyone, because in reality there will be individual Singaporeans who do not believe in conservative ideals, and hence non-traditional lifestyles and identities must be accepted to some extent. In terms of the economy, Singapore’s government tries to strike a balance between economic interventionism and economic liberalism, but arguably leans towards economic interventionism. In general, Singapore’s government tends to favour collectivism over individualism.

3 © 2024 DHS | GP | Y5 B. Arguments for and against individual freedom and government regulation 1. How can we justify individual freedom from government control? 2. How can we argue for some government control over individuals’ lives and actions? 3. How may we reconcile these perspectives, resolving the tension between individuals and governments? 1. Justifying individual freedom 2. Justifying government control 1a. Giving individuals freedom is a way of respecting them as mentally capable adults. - When individuals reach the age of adulthood, the law grants them freedom to do many things that they were restricted from doing as children and minors, even things that are potentially harmful. This freedom is a sign that society recognises that adults are capable of exercising rational judgement and self-control to avoid these dangers, or to manage the consequences for themselves. - This is because when individuals mature into adults, they are presumed to become mentally capable of rationally discerning the best course of action for themselves, and thus capable of being responsible for their own well-being. Authorities ought to respect this capability. - By contrast, when a paternalistic government (or a nanny state) micromanages adult individuals’ lives and treats them like children, individuals feel disrespected. Eg. Film classifications Media authorities often classify films according to age-suitability. Classifications such as ‘R’ in the US and ‘R21’ in Singapore restrict younger audiences from watching films depicting strong violence and sexual content, to protect impressionable, vulnerable young minds from being morally corrupted. But media authorities grant adults the freedom to watch such films, respecting their mature and responsible ability to separate fiction from real