Concept in Definition ABC

The concept 'liberal'is undoubtedly one of the most complex in Contemporary History, and can be related to different aspects: political, economic, cultural and social. Emerged in the first half of the 19th century as a consequence of the events encompassed under the French Revolution, the term liberal (and its philosophical current, the liberalism) had great growth throughout that century and much of the twentieth century, although in recent years it has started to be seen in some cases as a derogatory term, linked especially to the individualism.

Liberalism and the model of thought Liberal have different meanings according to the situation on which it is applied. However, liberalism can be characterized in a general way as a philosophical current that raises the use of freedom, individualism for the growth of each subject, the use of reason and the annulment of tradition or traditional institutions such like the Church. Liberalism is therefore the philosophical representation of

capitalism since it implies that each individual builds his path to political, economic or social success without being limited by traditional ways.

According to politics, liberalism raises the disappearance of popular systems in the Old Regime, such as monarchies of divine or hereditary origin. A liberal is one who trusts in the possibility of electing their representatives and in the capacity of democratic institutions. In the field of economy, liberalism supposes the supremacy of the laws of the market that cannot be imposed by any type of government, if not that they will flow according to the natural and spontaneous performance of the phenomena economic. With regard to society, liberal has to do with the idea that we all have access to the same possibilities for personal fulfillment and of success, and that therefore the people who fail to accumulate profits or be successful are those who have not put enough effort into such homework. Another application of the term liberal in the socio-cultural aspect has to do with leading lifestyles free from religious or moral ties.

Naturally, liberalism will oppose not only those traditional systems of thought but also philosophical currents such as the communism or the socialism that involve sharing access to the means of production, wealth and evolution towards a social and cultural equalization of the human being.

Topics in Liberal