This research examines the origins and development of liberalism between the late 17th century and the revolutions of 1848 in Europe. The research will set forth the philosophical, political, and cultural context in which the discourse of liberalism emerged and discuss the manner in which it evolved as an idea and as the basis for real-world political application over the course of nearly 200 years, until 1848.
The challenge of defining classical liberalism as a concept is far more challenging than citing the writers with whom it is associated, such as John Locke or Adam Smith. As Ryan notes, the content of liberal theory is "not necessarily" democratic, since majority rule can be tyrannical, and it is "not always" progressive, since liberal theory offers no guarantee of beneficial human experience. Nevertheless, continues Ryan:
Whatever liberalism involves, it certainly includes tolera tion and an antipathy to closing ranks around any system of beliefs. . . . It focuses on the idea of limited government, the maintenance of the rule of law, the avoidance of arbitrary and discretionary power, the sanctity of private property and freely made contracts, and the responsibility of individuals for their own fates (Ryan 292-3).
The position of the individual vis-à-vis the state is an issue as old as Antigone and as new as libertarianism. What lends liberalism per se a special place in the discourse of that issue is the degree to which it examines the content of state legitimacy in the lives of governed individuals and claims standing for the governed in that examination. The evidence of Thomas Hobbes's political theory is that he is hostile to the notion that the governed -- who are nasty, brutish, and murderous if left to their own devices -- can participate in governance. Yet even nasty brutes have enough sense to relinquish personal liberty, construct a monarchist commonwealth, and remain subservient to it.
The context in whic...