Liberal politics definition
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In 16th century England, liberal could have positive or negative attributes in referring to someone's generosity or indiscretion. Liberal could refer to "free in bestowing" as early as 1387, "made without stint" in 1433, "freely permitted" in 1530 and "free from restraint"-often as a pejorative remark-in the 16th and the 17th centuries. The word's early connection with the classical education of a medieval university soon gave way to a proliferation of different denotations and connotations. One of the first recorded instances of the word liberal occurs in 1375, when it was used to describe the liberal arts in the context of an education desirable for a free-born man. Words such as liberal, liberty, libertarian and libertine all trace their history to the Latin liber, which means " free".
#Liberal politics definition trial
Liberals sought and established a constitutional order that prized important individual freedoms, such as freedom of speech and freedom of association an independent judiciary and public trial by jury and the abolition of aristocratic privileges. The early waves of liberalism popularised economic individualism while expanding constitutional government and parliamentary authority. The fundamental elements of contemporary society have liberal roots. Today, liberal parties continue to wield power and influence throughout the world. In Europe and North America, the establishment of social liberalism (often called simply liberalism in the United States) became a key component in the expansion of the welfare state. During the 20th century, liberal ideas spread even further, especially in Western Europe, as liberal democracies found themselves as the winners' in both world wars. Before 1920, the main ideological opponents of liberalism were communism, conservatism and socialism, but liberalism then faced major ideological challenges from fascism and Marxism–Leninism as new opponents. These changes, along with other factors, helped to create a sense of crisis within Islam, which continues to this day, leading to Islamic revivalism. During 19th and early 20th century, liberalism in the Ottoman Empire and Middle East influenced periods of reform such as the Tanzimat and Al-Nahda as well as the rise of constitutionalism, nationalism and secularism. In Victorian Britain, it was used to critique the political establishment, appealing to science and reason on behalf of the people. The 19th century saw liberal governments established in nations across Europe and South America, whereas it was well-established alongside republicanism in the United States. Liberalism started to spread rapidly especially after the French Revolution. Leaders in the British Glorious Revolution of 1688, the American Revolution of 1776 and the French Revolution of 1789 used liberal philosophy to justify the armed overthrow of royal sovereignty.
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While the British liberal tradition has emphasized expanding democracy, French liberalism has emphasized rejecting authoritarianism and is linked to nation-building. Philosopher John Locke is often credited with founding liberalism as a distinct tradition, based on the social contract, arguing that each man has a natural right to life, liberty and property and governments must not violate these rights.
#Liberal politics definition free
Liberals also ended mercantilist policies, royal monopolies and other barriers to trade, instead promoting free trade and marketization. Liberalism sought to replace the norms of hereditary privilege, state religion, absolute monarchy, the divine right of kings and traditional conservatism with representative democracy and the rule of law. Liberalism became a distinct movement in the Age of Enlightenment, when it became popular among Western philosophers and economists. Yellow is the political colour most commonly associated with liberalism. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but they generally support individual rights (including civil rights and human rights), democracy, secularism, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of religion and a market economy. Liberalism is a political and moral philosophy based on liberty, consent of the governed and equality before the law.