Context

Monarchs used to rule under the theory of ‘the divine right of kings’ - the theory provided a religious basis for why monarchs held power.

During this time - power rested in the hands of two main institutions, religious leaders (particularly the Pope) and the monarchy.

Liberalism was born out of people learning how to read and believing that the monarchism was unfair.

Early Liberalism

Martin Luther

Produces Protestantism, rejecting the Pope’s authority and holding that people could instead hold their own link with God and understand him in their own way, representing a massive threat to the authority of the Catholic church.

The Enlightenment

A period of change which took up the radical ideas of change brought about through Protestantism.

This period encouraged similar thinking (logic) in both individualism and reason.

John Locke

Argued that human beings are rational creatures, capable of understanding society and creating a political system that could look after the needs of society as a whole.

French and American Revolutions

The ideas of enlightenment thinkers such as John Locke spread during the 17/18th centuries, a time of great change around the world. This started to weaken the power of monarchies around the world, with many having to slowly concede power to elected politicians in order to hold on to power., as seen in the UK.

However, there were also examples of monarchies being unwilling to give up their power, as seen in France, or unwilling to accept foreign rule, as seen in the USA. In both of these countries, the desire for change was overwhelming, eventually leading to the American Revolution of 1776 and the French Revolution of 1789.

The revolutions/changes are focused around individualism.

Neo-liberalism

Modern liberal policies (post-industrial) have progressed a large amount since ‘classic’ liberalism, neo-liberals now believe that the government has a duty to help people.

An example of a neo-liberal policy would be the NHS.

Core Themes