Political and Economic Liberalism in the 19th Century
Political and Economic Liberalism
The Rise of the Liberal State
The European bourgeois revolutions, which occurred between 1789 and 1848, gave rise to a new type of state that historians refer to as “Liberal.” The ideology that underpinned these regimes is known as “Liberalism.” This mid-nineteenth-century liberalism had two distinct dimensions: political and economic.
Political Liberalism
Political liberalism championed the respect for civil liberties and individual rights, such as freedom of expression, association, and assembly. It advocated for an inviolable constitution that defined the rights and duties of both citizens and rulers. Additionally, it emphasized the separation of powers (legislative, executive, and judicial) to prevent tyranny and ensure the right to vote, although this right was often restricted to minorities.
Economic Liberalism
Alongside political liberalism, the nineteenth-century bourgeois state also embraced economic liberalism. This encompassed a set of theories and practices that largely stemmed from the Industrial Revolution. In practice, economic liberalism advocated for minimal state intervention in social, financial, and business matters.
At a theoretical level, it sought to explain and justify the phenomenon of industrialization and its immediate consequences, including large-scale capitalism and the challenges faced by the working class. The European gentry observed with concern the burgeoning industrial cities and the growing mass of workers. They needed a doctrine to explain this phenomenon as an inevitable development, thereby alleviating their own anxieties.
Adam Smith and Thomas Malthus
This doctrine was primarily developed by two influential thinkers: the Scotsman Adam Smith (1723-1790) and the Englishman Thomas Robert Malthus (1766-1834).
Adam Smith believed that the entire economic system should be governed by the law of supply and demand. He argued that for a country to prosper, governments must refrain from interfering in the natural functioning of the economy. Prices and wages, he asserted, would regulate themselves without any state involvement. Smith maintained that absolute economic freedom, allowing individuals to act in their self-interest, would ultimately lead to the enrichment of society as a whole.
Thomas Malthus posited that while population growth followed a geometric progression, the production of wealth and food increased only arithmetically. He concluded that unless a solution was found, the world would inevitably descend into poverty. Malthus proposed that the solution lay in birth control among the working class, thereby reducing their numbers and alleviating the strain on resources.