Liberalism is a kind of socio-political movement that expresses and propagates freedom of man. This approach to understanding the human essence gave complete freedom in choice and behavior. But, in addition to views on the life of man and society, this movement had its own attitudes in the economic sphere. Let's take a closer look at what liberalism is.
Economics and Politics
Liberalism in the economy assumed non-interference of the state, lack of regulatory function. Representatives of this trend believed that the state should exist only to protect people from various kinds of aggression and, if possible, to expand human rights and freedom. Liberalists propagated freedom of entrepreneurship, they always advocated free competition and open trade between different countries. Private enterprise in their submission was a stronghold of freedom and independence. According to the liberalists, open and free international trade helped to reduce political tensions between countries, thereby preventing military conflicts. All the aspirations and desires of an individual in the presence of free competition contribute to the development of trade and the country as a whole. The same happens at the international level. Given the condition that all people live in equal conditions, having the same access to the same resources, free trade is the connecting point, uniting all countries of the world into one big market. What is liberalism? First of all, this is freedom, equality and the integral development of society and the economy. On the political side, such a movement is defined as a reaction that arose in response to authoritarian regimes. Liberalists tried to minimize the hereditary rights to power, create bodies of parliamentary government, increase the number of people who would have the right to vote and elect, and, of course, guarantee full civil freedom.
XIX and XX century - the differences are obvious
Answering the question about what liberalism is, one can not help saying that in the 20th century this word acquired a new meaning. In particular, it strongly affected the United States. Liberals of the XX century in choosing a centralized and decentralized political system would prefer the first option, guided by the fact that in this way much more useful for the people can be done.
The liberals of the XIX century would support local self-government bodies. In addition, the new liberalists are in favor of a full intervention of the state in regulating the economy. As you can see, in liberalism, in just one century, there have been cardinal changes. Russian liberalism was no less controversial. The greatest scope he received under the reign of Peter I, who considered it important to focus on Western Europe. The whole point here was that for a more rapid and effective development of society and the economy, Russian liberalists suggested "copying" the images and foundations of the European leader countries. The problem was that, as a rule, all Russian realities and the mentality of the Russian people of that time were not taken into account. What is liberalism - freedom or control? In the XIX-XX centuries this movement was divided into two parts: old and new liberalists. The former propagandized freedom and non-interference of the state, while the latter advocated full control.