1 / 28

History of Liberal Thought

History of Liberal Thought. MAGNA CARTA. It all began with this…………….. The powerful landowners forced the king to give up certain powers. To accept that no one - not even he - is above the law. This was known as the Rule of Law. AUTOCRACY.

lan
Download Presentation

History of Liberal Thought

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. History of Liberal Thought

  2. MAGNA CARTA It all began with this…………….. The powerful landowners forced the king to give up certain powers. To accept that no one - not even he - is above the law. This was known as the Rule of Law

  3. AUTOCRACY • This term refers to government by a single person having ultimate power • It is precisely this type of government that liberals wanted to change. • Kings/Tsars were the main type of Autocracy.

  4. This Brings us to……….. • Absolutism- complete control of a nation by a leader • He/she may not have advisors, but will always have the final say • Divine Right of Kings: many absolute monarchs claimed that their powers were derived from God. And that God blessed them with this responsibility. So to question the king was to question God! • And if you questioned God………………….

  5. THIS COULD BE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!

  6. Constitutional Monarchies • As liberal ideas emerged monarchs were often forced to give up some power to the people. • Parliaments came into existence…. leading us to constitutional monarchies • The power of the king or queen was limited by a constitution. • This was the natural progression of the Magna Carta (rule of law)

  7. The Republic • The goal of liberals was to give all a say in government. • Thus they often wanted a republic - an elected government with no king or queen. • The US is a Republic

  8. Classical Liberalism embraces • Rule of Law • Individual rights and freedoms • Private property • Economic freedom • Competition

  9. Age of Exploration • Also known as the “Age of Discovery” • 15th to 17th centuries • Europeans explored the globe by ships in order to find new trading partners and new goods. • God, Glory and Gold • New ocean routes were dominated by Europeans • The commercial middle class grows in power in Europe, which influences the culture and politics of many countries • Leads to the “Age of Imperialism”

  10. Commercial Revolution • European Economic Expansionism, Colonialism, Mercantilism (16th to early 18th century). • Nations search for new sources of wealth • New economic theories, practices and service industries: • Banking • Insurance • Investing • The growth of this wealth sets the stage for the Industrial Revolution

  11. Industrial Revolution • Begins in Britain • Cottage industries were moving to Factories • Urbanization began on a mass scale • Laissez-faire economics • Government became friendly to business • Belief in human potential • Lots of investment capital.

  12. Adam Smith • Wrote the Wealth of Nations • Disagreed with Mercantilism because it made the state rich not the individual • Created the “invisible hand” theory. People who acted in their own self interest would unknowingly create a better society. • “Invisible hand” guides the marketplace (supply and demand).

  13. Revolutionary Thought • Classical Liberalism developed from the thinkers who believed in the rights and freedoms of the citizens (Locke, Smith, Montesquieu ) • The American and French Revolutions were attempts to implement the ideas of liberal thought.

  14. American Revolution • The 13 colonies of America began to protest against the maltreatment by the British Government. • Getting little response, they issued the declaration of independence which was heavily influenced by Locke. • War breaks out in America • The 13 colonies win and become the United States of America

  15. The French Revolution • The French Revolution was an attempt to transform society • The French government was heavily in debt, mostly from helping the Americans in their revolution against the British. • Taxation was a huge issue, as the Nobility and Clergy (the rich and privileged) did not pay taxes and the common people were overtaxed.

  16. Revolution Continued…… • Approximately 96% of the population had no say in affairs and paid all the taxes. • Liberal thought influenced most of the leaders (mostly businessmen, and lawyers who were well off). • They were able to convince the poor (the masses) to help them change the system. • The revolution spun out of control with the Reign of Terror.

  17. The National Assembly • This governing body issued the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. • It espoused individual freedom! • Key words and terms • Freedom and equality • Liberty, property, security and resistance to oppression

  18. Results???? • Liberal ideals spread throughout Europe • Liberal ideals changed the dynamics of society in the following areas: • Political (France) • Economic (Britain) • Social (throughout Europe)

  19. Liberty for all…… • After the French and American Revolutions, ordinary people had more rights, and the nobility and kings had less. • The new aristocrats became the business and land owners. They became the rich and powerful who controlled the government. • Liberty in America was not for all as blacks were not allowed to vote, hold public office, or testify against whites.

  20. Emancipation Proclamation • Civil War broke out between the North and South over slavery. The North won. • The Emancipation Proclamation freed those slaves in states in rebellion. • The 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments were added to the US Constitution to abolish slavery throughout the United States, and extended equal rights to people of all races, in theory if not always in practice

  21. Dawn of Modern Liberalism • Modern liberalism began to emerge in the early 20th century. • Many depressions hit the world where vast amounts of wealth were in the hands of a very few people, while the rest of the world lived in extreme poverty. • New ideologies such as Communism began to be discussed as a real alternative to Individualism and Capitalism.

  22. Modern Liberalism Continued… • The Great Depression • As the 1930’s hit, many countries found themselves in crisis. The ideals of Classical Liberalism, where the individual has the freedom to succeed or fail on their own was not popular. • People who are suffering or in debt or out of work are not free as they do not have any freedom to do anything • People now wanted governments to step in to ensure these freedoms.

  23. Modern Liberalism Cont…… • Governments began to step in and help the countries economically. They began to get involved in the economic activities of their nation: • Roosevelt's “New Deal” was the first major intervention into the U.S economy. • Governments began to make laws to protect: • the workers from abuses • the consumers from dangerous products and unfair business, such as monopolies and collusion. • businesses from each other

  24. JOHN.F Kennedy “What do our opponents mean when they apply to us the label 'Liberal'? If by 'Liberal' they mean, as they want people to believe, someone who is soft in his policies abroad, who is against local government, and who is unconcerned with the taxpayer’s dollar, then the record of this party and its members demonstrate that we are not that kind of 'Liberal'. But if by a 'Liberal' they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people — their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights, and their civil liberties — someone who believes we can break through the stalemate and suspicions that grip us in our policies abroad, if that is what they mean by a 'Liberal', then I’m proud to say I’m a 'Liberal.”

  25. Modern Liberalism • Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. described it by saying, "there emerged the conception of a social welfare state, in which the national government had the express obligation to maintain high levels of employment in the economy, to supervise standards of life and labor, to regulate the methods of business competition, and to establish comprehensive patterns of social security."

  26. ENLIGHTENMENT (18th century) -the Age of Reason (acceptance of the power of human reason) -the worth of the individual -natural and inalienable rights -democratic values -authority rests with the people not the ruler INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION (18th and 19th centuries) -the power of the market -individual reward for individual initiative -freedom to pursue personal wealth -individual responsibility for success or failure -progress, inventiveness, innovation, efficiency RENAISSANCE (14th to 16th centuries) -awareness of individualism -growth of secularism 1300 1400 1500 1600 1700 1800 1900 LIBERALISM: a movement born out of the ideas of the Enlightenment (political parent) and the Industrial Revolution (economic parent) PROTESTANT REFORMATION (beginning 1517) AMERICAN REVOLUTION (1776) FRENCH REVOLUTION (1789)

More Related