19c European Liberalism

Common Tenants Protection of civil liberties/basic rights of all people These rights should be guaranteed in a written document Religious toleration for all Separation of church and state Right of peaceful opposition to the government Checks on branches of governments Limited suffrage. Property owners could hold office- Did not want to share power with the lower classes, they were liberals not democrats

Origins of 19c Liberalism The word was first used when the term was adopted by the Spanish political party, the Liberales, in 1812. The roots of liberalism came from two very different traditions of English & French political thought. England John Locke Adam Smith France Jean Jacques Rousseau Francois Guizot

John Locke Contract theory of government. Regarded the state as a human construction, established by an original contract. Limited, constitutional government. Civil society of free men, equal under the rule of law, bound together by no common purpose but sharing respect for each other’s rights. Doctrine of natural rights. Links private property with individual liberty.

Adam Smith His Wealth of Nations adds an economic dimension. He merged Locke’s ideas of civil society with economic theory. Free trade economics. Saw the “invisible hand” where a benevolent God administered a universe in which human happiness was maximized.

Economic Liberalism Primary tenant was laissez faire- belief that the state should not interrupt the free play of economic forces. Government should not restrain the economic liberty of the individual and should restrict itself to three functions Defense of country Police protection of individuals Construction and maintenance of public works. Thomas Malthus- Essay on the Principles of Population Population when unchecked increases faster than the food rate resulting in severe overpopulation and famine. Misery and poverty were simply the inevitable result of the law of nature, no government or individual should interfere. David Ricardo- Principles of Political Economy Iron law of wages- increase in population means more workers, more workers causes wages to drop, the result is misery and starvation which reduces the population, which means less workers and higher wages- it is a cycle. Government should not raise wages because it just perpetuates the cycle.

John Stuart Mill (1806-1873) Wrote works on logic and metaphysics, history and literature, economics and political theory. Instrumental in expanding liberalism by becoming a supporter of women’s rights. A utilitarian: The greatest happiness for the greatest number. Disagreed with other liberals believing that laissez faire wasn't the best way and government should have some control over the distribution of wealth. Wrote On Liberty in 1859.

On Liberty (1859) Government might be antagonistic to the causes of individual freedom. The sole purpose of government is “self-protection.” Government may only coerce others in self-defense. We should maximize human development for a more equal society: Mill favored a more open administration. Organized interest groups. Workers cooperatives Workers would own the factories and elect the managers. Tax wealth. Redistribution system of wealth: Confiscation of excess profits Abolish the wage system. Emancipation of women.

Jeremy Bentham Believed in the fundamentals of laissez faire, but believed that in some instance the government should be involved and intervene for the disadvantaged. UTILITARIANISM- “Principles of Morals and Legislation. Every human being should be evaluated in terms of its utility, which he defined as the amount of happiness it provides. He defined happiness as the presence of pleasure and the absence of pain. Government could ensure happiness by granting the greatest amount of individual freedom. But if the pain suffered by the many exceeded the pleasure of the few, then the government should intervene. His ideas ultimately lead to the creation of the welfare state.

Classical Liberalism in England Important legislation: Catholic Emancipation Act of 1829- basically granted full religious freedom and toleration to Catholics. Reform Act of 1832- gave industrial cities a voice in the government. Industrial owners had joined the nobles in ruling Britain. Only benefitted the upper middle class, workers still had no voice. Factory Act of 1833- see previous PP Repeal of the Corn Laws in 1846- established liberal ideas of free trade which helped the industrial owners, helped the lower class with bread prices.

Classical Liberalism in France Dilemmas faced by French liberals: How to ‘end’ the French Revolution? How to reconcile order and liberty in a nation torn apart by civil war? These problems called for a rethinking of Liberalism.

Jean Jacques Rousseau His Social Contract and theory of the “general will” demonstrates an alternative origin of Liberalism. Men must resolve problems through our capacity to choose how we ought to live. Man was born free, and he is everywhere in chains. Humans are essentially free, but the ‘progress’ of civilization has substituted subservience to others for that freedom.

Rousseau & Totalitarianism The “General Will”  a strong and direct form of democracy. Only possible in a relatively small state? Is Rousseau promoting collective tyranny? Rousseau rejected representative democracy.

Francois Guizot He ‘deconstructed’ the French Revolution, and distinguished between “Moderate Liberalism” and extremist Jacobinism.

“Moderate” Liberalism Favored the idea of the sovereignty of the people, but… Government should rest on the organized consent of at least the most important sections of the community. An extension of the franchise to include all men of property. Exclude the working class! A good constitutional monarchy was the best form of government. Valued liberty more than equality. Confidence in man’s powers of self-government and self-control. Freedom of the press. Free right of assembly. Written constitutions.

“Moderate” Liberalism Economic policies: Laissez-faire economy. Free trade. Lower tariffs. Against the right of the working class to organize into unions. The general progress of humanity would emerge from the growth of wealth and from science and inventions. Established churches & the landed aristocracy were obstacles to the advancement of civilization. Orderly change by legislative process. A dislike of wars, conquests, a standing army, and military expenditures. Hated the idea of revolution!

Guizot Accepts the Charter from Louis Philippe

Challenges to Liberalism From above  the conservative upper class. From below  socialism/Marxism. From organized religions. From militarism and imperialism. From economic upheavals: Irish Potato Famine [1845-1852]. Great Depressions [1873-1896].

Nationalism Nationalism arose out of an awareness of being part of a community that has common institutions, languages, traditions and customs. The nation is the individuals primary political loyalty. Was not popular until the French Revolution but from them on nationalists believed that each nationality should have their own government. Nationalism threatened to upset the existing political order. Nationalism and liberalism will become strong allies- as we will see in the unification of Germany and Italy a little later.

Early Socialism Called for a redistribution of wealth to benefit the disadvantaged, the socialists called for a change in the nature of property ownership. Private ownership of the means of production should be replaced with community or state ownership so that it would serve the interests of all people. People were or could be educated to be cooperative vs. competitive, and they should work together to promote mutual well being. While socialists agree on these basic principles, they offered a variety of theories on HOW to achieve this.

Utopian Socialists Robert Owen- Had part ownership of several textile mills. Improved the conditions of health and safety in the mills, increased their wages and reduced their hours and gave them decent housing. He made a substantial profit proving you didn’t have to exploit workers. His dream was to establish a socialist community, which he did, New Harmony, but it failed, so he returned to England and devoted himself to reforms. Count of Saint Simon- Government should be directed by scientists and technicians who understand the operation of the modern industrial economy, so it would serve the interests of all people. All would work for the benefit of society and all would be rewarded according to what they produced, the workers needs would be met.

Early Socialists Continued Urged the creation of socialist communities known as phalanxes. Should consist of 1600 people who would work together in a farm or workshop. Individuals would do the work they most enjoy and would change jobs frequently in order to prevent boredom. They were not successful. Louis Blanc- proposed the use of competition to eliminate competition. First step would be created a Republic with universal suffrage and a worker’s party. Worker’s party would ultimately control the government, then nationalize the railroads and create social workshops, owned by their workers who share the profits. These workshops would drive privately owned factories into bankruptcy. “from each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs”