Exhaustive Study Guide on 19th Century Political and Economic Ideologies

The Foundations and Fundamental Principles of Economic and Political Liberalism

Liberalism is defined as a political, economic, and social doctrine that places individual liberty at the very center of its framework. On an economic level, liberal thinkers advocate for limiting the intervention of the State. They believe the State should primarily protect liberties, allow private individuals to act freely, and encourage private initiative. The central principle governing this economic thought is summarized by the phrase "Laissez faire, laissez passer," which translates to letting individuals produce, sell, and buy freely, allowing competition to play out naturally, and placing trust in the free market. Liberals argue that the economy functions most efficiently when individuals are permitted to act without constraints. This ideology defends the idea that every individual possesses natural rights and asserts that the State must not wield excessive power.

Political liberalism is built upon several core pillars, starting with individual liberty, which ensures every person can think, believe, express themselves, and act freely. It emphasizes natural rights, which are considered fundamental to every human being; these include the right to life, the right to property, and freedom of thought, religion, and enterprise. These rights are described as inalienable, meaning they can never be legitimately taken away. Another essential principle is national sovereignty, where power belongs to the nation or the people rather than the king alone. To prevent abuses of power, liberals advocate for the separation of powers into three distinct branches as theorized by Monsieur Montesquieu: the legislative power, which creates laws; the executive power, which governs; and the judicial power, which applies the law and issues sanctions.

Historical Origins, Oppositions, and Social Vision of Liberalism

Liberalism finds its roots in several historical and philosophical milestones, including $XVII^{e}$ century English philosophy, the Enlightenment thinkers of the $XVIII^{e}$ century, and the practical experiences of the French Revolution. It saw its most significant development during the $XIX^{e}$ century. The movement emerged largely in opposition to absolutism and the Ancien Régime. Under the old system, the king held vast power and society was rigidly divided into three orders: the nobility, the clergé, and the tiers état. Liberals rejected this absolute power, the system of privileges, and the excessive domination of the State or any authorities that attempted to impose a single, absolute truth.

Beyond politics and economics, liberalism promotes a specific vision of humanity. It views the individual as central and believes that humans possess a free and critical reason. Consequently, individuals must be capable of thinking for themselves. Liberalism values critical thinking, tolerance, relativism, and the rejection of dogma, favoring freedom of conscience. In the $XIX^{e}$ century, it was regarded as a progressive, innovative, and even revolutionary force in certain contexts, inspiring the revolutionary waves of $1820$, $1830$, and $1848$. It also played a crucial role in the industrial revolution by valuing the spirit of enterprise, private initiative, and economic freedom.

Internal Divisions and the Limits of Liberalism

Despite its focus on liberty, liberalism does not always seek complete equality. In the $XIX^{e}$ century, many liberals did not support universal voting rights or the full sharing of wealth with the working class. Instead, many preferred censitary suffrage, a system where only citizens who paid a certain threshold of taxes were eligible to vote. This highlights a key distinction: liberalism prioritizes individual liberty over complete social or political equality. By the $XIX^{e}$ century, the movement split into two main currents. The progressive or radical liberals wanted to push reforms further, favoring more democracy, political openness, and occasionally forming alliances with socialists. Conversely, conservative or doctrinaire liberals were more moderate, seeking to maintain their authority, limit voting rights, and avoid addressing social inequalities too aggressively.

The Rise of Nationalism: Definitions and Conceptions

Nationalism is defined as a sentiment of belonging to a nation, which is a human group sharing a common language, culture, history, traditions, and sometimes a religion. During the $XIX^{e}$ century, this sentiment evolved into a political doctrine demanding that a nation possess its own State or be united within a single State. It is important to distinguish between the State and the Nation. The State is a legal and political framework with borders, sovereignty, laws, and citizenship. The Nation is a human and cultural reality based on shared identity. The ideal of nationalism is the "État-nation," where the political borders of the State coincide perfectly with the cultural boundaries of the nation.

There are two primary conceptions of the nation. The civic or elective conception views the nation as being based on the will to live together, citizenship, and adherence to shared laws and values; this is a political and legal perspective. The ethnic conception views the nation through the lens of origin, language, culture, religion, and sometimes filiation; this is an ethno-cultural perspective. In Western Europe, nationalism was often linked to liberalism because both defended liberty, the sovereignty of the people, and the right of peoples to self-determination. In this context, nationalism was a tool for people to free themselves from foreign power and gain independence, as seen in Belgium in $1830$, Poland, Italy, and the revolutions of $1848$. However, in Eastern Europe, nationalism was often less liberal and more conservative.

Types of Nationalism and Tensions in Europe

The course distinguishes between two main forms of nationalism. Nationalism of independence occurs when a dominated people seeks to break free and create their own State, such as the various Slavic and Romanian peoples within the Austro-Hungarian Empire or the peoples within the Ottoman Empire. State nationalism, or aggressive nationalism, occurs when an already existing State seeks to expand its territory, impose its power, and dominate others. Examples include Pan-Germanism (Drang nach Osten) in Germany, Irredentism in Italy, the desire for "revanche" in France after $1870$, and British imperialism.

Nationalism created immense tension in Europe because political borders rarely matched national boundaries. This led to a situation where single States contained multiple nations, or single nations were split across several States. This misalignment fueled demands for independence, territorial conflicts, and separatist movements. By $1914$, the map of Europe—particularly in Central Europe and the Balkans—showed a volatile mix of peoples. Borders did not follow nationalities, leading many groups to desire independence or attachment to more similar States. In regions like Austria-Hungary and the Balkans, these stresses were particularly acute, making war almost inevitable by $1914$ as each nation sought to defend or expand its territory.

National Unification: The Cases of Italy and Germany

At the start of the $XIX^{e}$ century, both Italy and Germany were highly fragmented. Italian unification, known as the Risorgimento, began with a morselled territory: Piémont-Sardaigne in the north, Lombardie-Vénétie under Austrian rule, the kingdom of the Deux-Siciles in the south, and the States of the Church in the center. Key actors included Victor-Emmanuel II, Cavour, and Garibaldi, with critical aid from Napoleon III. The process involved a series of steps: the war against Austria in $1859$ to gain Lombardy, the attachment of central states, Garibaldi's conquest of the south, the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy in $1861$, the addition of Venetia in $1866$, and finally the integration of Rome as the capital in $1870$. Despite political unity, a north-south divide remained.

German unification followed a similar path of being led by a strong State—Prussia—under the leadership of Guillaume $I^{er}$ and Bismarck. Key steps included the creation of the Zollverein (a customs union) in $1834$, the war against Austria with a Prussian victory at Sadowa in $1866$, the formation of the North German Confederation, and the war against France in $1870$-$1871$. The German Empire was proclaimed in $1871$. Bismarck followed a logic of "fer et sang" (iron and blood), utilizing war and diplomacy to achieve unity. Both the Italian and German unifications shared similarities: they started from fragmented territories, were led by a dominant state, were driven by national sentiment, and relied on a combination of diplomacy and war, with Austria acting as a major obstacle in both cases.

The Emergence of Socialism and the Industrial Context

Socialism appeared in the $XIX^{e}$ century as a response to the social problems created by industrialization and liberal capitalism. It criticizes inequalities, the exploitation of workers, and the domination of the bourgeoisie. Its objective is to create a more just and egalitarian society less dominated by profit. This emerged during the two industrial revolutions. The first ($1750$-$1850$) was based on textiles, steam, coal, iron, and cotton, starting in Great Britain and spreading to Belgium, Northern France, and Germany. The second ($1850$-$1900$) centered on electricity, petroleum, steel, and chemistry, reaching Southern and Eastern Europe, Russia, the United States, and Japan.

Capitalism is described as a cycle involving liberalism, the search for profit, investment, and capital return. While this system drives production, it also creates inequalities, intense competition, and worker exploitation. The "social question" refers to the growing concern over the misery of workers, long working days, low wages, and the lack of political rights. Initially, the ruling class ignored these issues, favoring individual charity over State intervention and repressing strikes. Workers reacted spontaneously at first—such as the Luddisme movement in England in $1811$ involving machine breaking, or strikes in Belgium around $1815$. Eventually, a more conscious minority began to organize through newspapers, meetings, and mutual aid societies, leading to mass organization in the late $XIX^{e}$ century under socialist influence.

Marxist Theory and the Critique of Utopian Socialism

Karl Marx, aided by Friedrich Engels, published the Manifeste du Parti communiste in $1848$. Marx offered a "scientific" socialism based on three pillars: a specific reading of history, an analysis of society, and a critique of earlier socialists. He argued that history is defined by class struggle—currently between the bourgeoisie (capital) and the proletariat (labor). Marx believed the economy (infrastructure) determines the rest of society, including politics and religion (superstructure). His analysis of capitalism focused on "plus-value" (surplus value), where the profit of the capitalist comes from the fact that the worker is not paid for the full value of what they produce.

Marx aimed to eliminate bourgeois domination, collectivize the means of production, and end exploitation to create a classless society. This would require a revolution and a temporary "dictatorship of the proletariat" to take political power, eventually leading to the disappearance of both classes and the State. He criticized early socialist thinkers like Robert Owen (New Harmony) and Charles Fourier (phalanstères) as "utopian." He believed they were too idealistic, too moral, focused on small elites, and mistakenly hoped to convince the bourgeoisie to change the system from the top down through peaceful reforms.

Diversification of Socialist Currents and Internationalism

By the late $XIX^{e}$ century, several socialist tendencies emerged. Anarchists, such as Bakounine, shared the goal of equality but refused any form of State or limitation on individual liberty, even a provisional dictatorship of the proletariat; they were excluded from the First International in $1872$. Social democracy emerged as a reformist current that rejected violent revolution in favor of progressive change through parliamentary action, strikes, and obtaining universal suffrage. They accepted negotiating with the bourgeoisie to pass social laws and favored a mixed economy.

International organizations were formed to coordinate the movement. The First International ($1864$-$1876$), or the Association Internationale des Travailleurs, sought to organize the working class globally and spread Marxist ideas. The Second International, created in $1889$ with its seat in Brussels, struggled to prevent the First World War. After $1917$ and the Bolshevik Revolution, the Third International was linked to the rise of communist parties across Europe, such as in Germany ($1919$), France ($1920$), and Belgium ($1921$). While social democracy became dominant in Western Europe, the revolutionary Marxist approach thrived in Russia due to Tsarist repression.

Colonialism, Imperialism, and Governance

Colonialism saw a massive expansion between $1870$ and $1914$, resulting in European global domination. The motivations were primarily economic (the need for raw materials and markets for investment as Europe became the "factory of the world"), technical (steamboats and canals), and political (rivalries and prestige, such as the Fachoda crisis between France and England). Ideologically, Europeans justified colonization through a "civilizing mission," claiming a duty to bring progress, education, and medicine to those they deemed inferior.

Colonization progressed from coastal trade and religious missions before $1880$ to rapid, violent military conquest of the interior. The Berlin Conference of $1884$-$1885$ saw European powers divide Africa among themselves. Empires were categorized into colonies of settlement, where Europeans moved to live permanently (e.g., Canada), and colonies of exploitation, where fewer Europeans focused on extracting resources like gold, coffee, or cotton using local labor. Governance styles differed: France practiced "assimilation," imposing its language and laws directly to make locals "French," while England favored "association," allowing local elites some liberty while maintaining ultimate control. The consequences for colonies included the destruction of local industries, poverty, loss of culture, and deep exploitation.

The Colonial Imaginary and Cultural Representations

The "colonial imaginary" was a constructed and often false vision used to justify domination to the European public. It functioned as propaganda, depicting Europeans as civilized and superior and colonized peoples as primitive, exotic, or "in need of education." This was exemplified in events like the $1931$ Colonial Exhibition, where colonial villages were recreated as spectacles. These representations intentionally hid the realities of violence, forced labor, and racism.

A prime cultural example is the comic "Tintin au Congo" ($1931$), which reflects the biases of the era. It portrays Africans as naive and child-like while presenting the white man (Tintin) as a guide, teacher, and civilizer who brings progress and religion. This media reinforced the idea that Europeans were naturally meant to lead and Africans to obey. While the comic presented colonization as positive aid, the reality was one of wealth exploitation and domination. Over time, these conditions led to the rise of nationalist movements within the colonies, with people demanding independence and refusing European rule.

Questions & Discussion

What are the main political principles of liberalism? The principles include individual liberty, natural rights, national sovereignty, the separation of powers, and the limitation of State power.

What are the main economic principles of liberalism? These include limiting the role of the State, encouraging private initiative, letting the market act, favoring competition, and the mantra "laissez faire, laissez passer."

How did liberalism interact with nationalism? In the $XIX^{e}$ century, especially in Western Europe, they went together; liberalism defended the liberty of peoples and nationalism claimed that a people should form its own State.

How did nationalism cause WWI? It created tensions between peoples and States, particularly in the Balkans. Every nation wanted to defend or enlarge its territory, pushing toward war.

Is the concept of nationality legal or cultural? It is both; it is legal because it depends on the laws of a State, and cultural because it is linked to language and origin.

What is the difference between droit du sol and droit du sang? Droit du sol is a territorial and civic principle (born on the land), while droit du sang is based on filiation and ethnic origin.

Who led the first struggles for the social question? Originally the workers themselves through spontaneous reactions like Luddisme and early strikes, followed by an organized socialist elite.

What was Marx's key concept for analyzing history? It is the struggle of classes (Lutte des classes).

What did Adam Smith mean by the "invisible hand"? Within economic liberalism, Smith believed the economy works best with minimal State intervention; if everyone seeks their own personal interest, it ends up benefiting society as a whole.

Who opposed colonization? Some humanist and socialist intellectuals criticized it, denouncing the violence, exploitation, racism, and unjust domination of colonized peoples. They stood in contrast to partisans who spoke of prestige and the civilizing mission.