Liberalism and The Industrial Revolution

As liberalism ideology evolved and championed by the economic leaders, it pose a threat to the existing social settings such as the presence of the nobility, and the church. The attempt to defend existing social arrangement is what brought about conservatism. Conservatives stood against the ideas of liberals in a rational for maintaining existing traditional political structures and the centralization of power. They stood against transferring political responsibility to the common people under the disguise of equality (Shively, 2014).

The further development of industrialisation led to social and economic inequality. This led to a revision of classical liberal ideas to prevent the spread of ignorance and poverty. It is suggested that modern liberals have betrayed classical liberal ideas as they embrace collectivism and diverge from classical liberalism on issues such as freedom. However, it can be argued that modern liberals have simply built on classical liberal ideas such as its commitment to the individual.

From the events of the Revolution, it sparked the drive to classical liberalism. This was one of the first movements towards a individualistic driven system. The motives of the American Revolution revolved around equality and political independence. These thoughts on equality, indivdual rights, and self independence and responsibility inspired the formation of the principles regarding classical liberalism. This revolution was a violent occurance, but also a neccessary period of time to show people that equality and the rights of life, liberty and self happiness was worth fighting for. These rights people once fought for are now the main principles of liberalism we see today. The fight for equality is important to inspire the people and societies

The second point is that liberalism upholds the principle of equality for all regardless of name, social status, and gender, racial, cultural, or ethnic background. Liberalists advocate for a level playing ground which calls for the government to strictly control the economy and also have more power in the social arena so as to protect people from economic exploitation. Liberalists strongly push for controlled corporations, an economy that is well

Liberalism, in general, was an ideological movement that emerged out of the ideas of the Enlightenment and the Industrial Revolution in the early 19th century. It embraced the ideas of individualism which were established in the Renaissance and Reformation era. The Renaissance period sparked a belief in the importance of the individual in society. It helped promote the beliefs of classical liberalism which gradually formed into the liberal ideology of the 19th century. Individuals that were waiting to get their individual rights and freedoms were allowed to finally gain liberty and power through this period of time. Classical liberalism developed

Although liberals agree about the value of liberty, their views on what it means to be ‘free’ vary significantly. It was Isaiah Berlin who first created the concepts of negative and positive freedom that helped to differentiate between the two liberals’ views of freedom. The concept of negative freedom was adopted by classical liberals, who believed that freedom was defined as being left alone and free from interference. Classical liberals believed this theory to mean that individuals should be free from external restrictions or constraints. Modern liberals, on the other hand, believed in positive freedom. This, modernist’s perceived to means that all individuals have the ability to be their own master, and thus reach full autonomy. Unlike classical liberals, who had little faith in humankind, Modernists conveyed humans in a much more positive light: people are rational beings that are capable, and therefore should be able, to flourish and

Liberals were business owners, bankers, lawyers, news writers/editors, and politicians. They spoke mostly for the bourgeoisie and wanted governments to be based on written constitutions and separation of powers. Liberals spoke out against divine-right monarchy and old aristocracy. The liberals of the early 1800s defended natural rights and supported the laissez-faire economics of Adam Smith. Liberals eventually supported the principle of universal manhood suffrage, which gave all men the right to vote (Doc. 1). In France, many liberals sought to replace the July Monarchy with a democratic republic. However, most of the revolts resulted in a widespread disillusionment among the

Modern and Classical liberalism can be distinguished historically. Indeed when most people attempt to distinguish the two, placing the strands into time periods is perhaps the most obvious and easiest distinctions to make. The period in between the late 18th century and the mid 19th is that magnanimous with Classical liberalism. It was the earliest liberal tradition, and reached its high point during the early industrialization of the 19th century and is therefore sometimes referred to as ‘19th century liberalism’. Politicians and thinkers associated with it are Smith, Ricardo and Locke. Modern liberal ideas were related to the further development of industrialization and thus people associate it with the period between the mid-19th century and the mid-20th century and with figures such as J. S. Mill, Green and Lloyd- George. Indeed the historical development of society led to a parallel evolution of liberalism, with the character of liberalism changing as the ‘rising middle classes’ succeeded in establishing their economic and political dominance. Liberalism was no longer radical or revolutionary, but had become increasingly conservative and concerned itself less with change and reform, but instead with the maintenance of the status quo. This lead to liberals in the late 19th century beginning to question the

What exactly is liberalism? According to Sidlow (2013), liberalism is the belief that "big government" is necessary for the promotion of the common good (p.16). Without government action, many social and economic outcomes for many people would turn out badly. In other words, without

Liberalism is a collection of political, social and economic philosophies that is centered around the rights of personal liberties, civil rights, economic freedom, controlled and democratic government and the rule of law. A controlled and democratic government is instrumental to liberalism. A controlled government is one restricted by the law. The most common example of this can be found in the United States Constitution. The Constitution has outlined the roles and restrictions of each branch of government while also setting a system of checks and balances.

The liberals wanted the kings to share power with the legislature. Liberals didn’t want the monarchies to run Europe. They believed in freedom of speech, freedom of thought, and freedom of religion. The liberals thought that the males that owned property or males that were wealthy had the right to vote. The liberal class consisted of politicians, writers, bankers, business owners, and newspaper editors. The liberals were inspired to honor this kind of government through the French Revolution.

Classical liberalism is the transition from focusing on government to focusing on the rights of individuals. This transition came about during the time of the Enlightenment in the eighteenth century. The Enlightenment period was when man started to have more faith in his own reasoning. People began to look for evidence on their beliefs themselves and to find proof on these beliefs, so that they could come up with their own opinions on things. One way that they did this was by going back and rereading Roman and Greek texts and retranslating these texts. This new way of thinking also caused the Protestant Reformation to occur. Some of the most influential Enlightenment writers were John Locke, Thomas Paine, Thomas Jefferson, and the people of France’s National Constituent Assembly.

Conservatives also consider it important to regulate individual behavior in order to encourage a return to a certain morality. Along with this conservative morality is an agenda that is against sexual education and birth control. In fact, conservatives believe government is to blame for the increase of the incidence of teenage premarital sex in the last few years.

Capitalism started up as a system of investing and sharing money in order to increase the value of resources in the future. Capitalism was just an economic system, but then soon turned into a complex system of ethical practices. Harari defines capitalism as, “a set of teachings about how people should behave, educate their children and even think” (Harari 314). This economic system evolved along with the people that were endorsing it. Capitalism enables the rich to get richer, while the poor continue to get poorer. There are many benefits to capitalism, but there are downfalls as well, and these downfalls tend to be masked because of the rapid speed capitalists grow at. Harari first presents a definition for capitalism, and soon goes into great detail on why capitalism, while fast paced and unforgiving, is able to stand unwavered while other productions fail.

Another factor of liberalism is the emphasis on the spread of democracy. In modern times, democracy is becoming a more popular form of government. “Liberals foresee a slow but inexorable journey away from the anarchic world the realist envision, as trade and finance forge ties between nations, and democratic norms spread. Because the elected leaders are accountable for the people, liberals expect that democracies will not attack each other” (Snyder 6). Liberals focus on spreading democracy and straying away from anarchy. This can be seen is multiple modern states. The United States uses a democracy as a form of government and is founded on democratic principles. The citizens elect officials they believe will best represent their beliefs and values. Without democracy, the United States would not be here today.