Liberalism and Socialism essays

Liberalism and Socialism essays During the Nineteenth Century different ideologies emerged about politics, freedom, business ownership and life in general. Many events were spurred by clashes between supporters of each idea and these clashes forced many people to step forward and support their beliefs. Two of the main ideas that arose from this time period were liberalism and socialism. The fundamental difference between liberalism and socialism can be understood with a review of the each ideology, the historical events and people surrounding liberalism and the historical events and people surrounding socialism. The basic ideas that founded liberalism and socialism are somewhat contradictory. Liberalism is completely focused upon the good of the individual where socialism is focused on the good of society overall. Liberalism was supported by the middle class as they would receive the biggest benefits from political representation, suffrage, civil liberties and a written constitution to protect their rights. Socialism provided the most for workers regardless of class. This was because socialism called for publicly owned property and an economy handled completely by the government. While both liberalism and socialism showed improvement over the monarchies and aristocratic rules, they were not great solutions to the problems facing Nineteenth Century nations. They were however the beginning of civil rights, equality, welfare, the bill of rights and democracy. Many historical events and people are associated with the development of liberalism. Early liberalism arose from Eighteenth Century enlightenment (Spielvogel 589). As the Industrial Revolution emerged thanks in part to the invention of the steam engine (Spielvogel 555), a large working middle class was created (Spielvogel 589). This working class believed that they should be free and their rights should be protected (Spielvogel 589). Thomas Malthus and David Ricardo were concerned with the size o...