Limberalism

Norman Davies describes liberalism as "being developed along two parallel tracks, the political and the economic. Political liberalism focused on the essential concept of government by consent. In its most thoroughgoing form it embraced republicanism, though most liberals favored a popular, limited, and fair-minded monarch as a factor encouraging stability." (A History of Europe, p.802) At the core of liberalism was the idea of freedom of thought and expression. People were now not only able to think for themselves, but also express those same thoughts. Popular sovereignty was also a very strong tenet of liberalism. Popular sovereignty advocated that government derives its power from the people and sovereignty is never unlimited to anyone. Political liberalism centered on the ideas of freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of press, the natural rights of man, the freedom to own property, and that status is not a birthright but an extension of talent. Property also represented a very strong idea in the minds of many liberals. Davies concludes, "nineteenth-century liberals also gave great weight to property, which they saw as the principal source of responsible judgement and solid citizenship."