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IDEAS AND THINKERS

Liberal thinkers and feminist thought

Mary Wollstonecraft and Betty Friedan are classified as key liberal thinkers and are widely known for their contribution to feminist thought. Maria Egan evaluates their differing ideas about the best way to advance women’s rights

The political ideas sections of the AQA and Edexcel specifications require knowledge and understanding of how liberal thinkers agree and disagree on concepts such as equality, individualism and the role of the state.

Mary Wollstonecraft and Betty Friedan enriched liberal philosophy by explaining how and why equal rights needed to be extended to women. Thus, Wollstonecraft and Friedan were not simply liberals or feminists: they were liberal feminists. However, this is not to suggest that the two women held identical beliefs.

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Previous

The prime minister and cabinet

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Judicial restraint in the Roberts Court

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