Roles Of Liberalism In The 1800s And 1900s

New ways of thinking were continually emerging, and the 1800s and 1900s were both time periods filled with drastic changes of thought. One concept that emerged during this time is known as liberalism. Britannica defines liberalism as “The culmination of developments in Western society that produced a sense of the importance of human individuality, a liberation of the individual from complete subservience to the group, and a relaxation of the tight hold of custom, law, and authority,” (Minogue, et al., 2023). The concept of liberalism allowed for individuality to flourish, and people were not as reliant on an authority figure. Liberalism believed in the good of the people, and liberalists “Favored completed revamping public education, the penal

These liberalists can be considered peaceful in comparison to the English imperialists, who demanded change throughout the world prior to liberalism. Unfortunately, liberalism was not free from its contradictions and issues. Slavery was abolished in 1833, yet Asia and Africa would still rely on Europe economically and politically, (Stevens). While the liberalist movement had multiple benefits, the contradictions that it imposed was not beneficial to many nations.

Another movement that highly impacted society is known as the socialist movement. Socialists did not agree with liberalists, as they felt that liberalists only benefitted the middle class, while the lower classes suffered. Stevens explains that many socialists, “Were utopians who believed that ideal communities are based on cooperation rather than competition,” (n.d.). Socialists did not believe that the two separations—the rich and the working class—could be justified. Social reorganization is what socialists believed needed to happen for a peaceful

Education was a way for people to become aware of the ongoing problems in their societies. Having an education was also a means for people to challenge the previous ways of thinking: as Freud, Pavlov, and Nietzche did. “Many western countries introduced state-financed elementary and secondary education to provide opportunities for social advancement, to diffuse technical and scientific knowledge, and to inculcate civic and national pride,” (Stevens). Education led to extreme changes on both the local and global level. Concepts such as Marxism and Darwinism would not remain at the local level, as these well-known theories would spread globally thanks to the development of newspapers and mass media. Freud’s psychoanalysis and Pavlov’s behaviorism would also spread throughout the world as people were becoming more educated. Numerous concepts can be attributed to the growth of both education and media. Times were continually changing, and the 1900s were no exception to this widespread