Ideologies of Europe between 1815 and 1848
Starting in 1815, Europe became quite torn with the various ideologies of liberalism, conservatism, and nationalism showing up. These beliefs and political views had a huge impact on the many events that happened in the early to mid-eighteenth century.
Conservatism basically was an ideology that stressed order and traditional values. They insisted that the government should still be ran by the elite because they were meant to rule, and no one else was. They wanted authority to rest in the hands of those that get their power from God, such as the church and monarchies. That explains why aristocrats and monarchs followed this ideology, and they thought that any type of individualism would eventually cause chaos and anarchy. Conservatives did not encourage change, especially not sudden change. If anything at all it should take a long time to mature and evolve. Conservatism was also known for wanting to suppress any other ideas, such as nationalism or liberalism.
Liberalism was, essentially, everything that conservatism was not. Liberals wanted individualism as well as a constitutional government. Unlike conservatives, they wanted change more than anything, and strongly opposed the monarchs, aristocrats, and the like. Their ideas came from the Enlightenment, such as the ones about natural rights. Another idea they believed in was a system of checks and balances, which we see even in today’s society. Liberals wanted the government to be more limited and restricted so the people could voice their opinions as well. They demanded that government not only agree to individual rights, but guarantee its sanctity. Those rights included freedom of speech, assembly, religion, and press; also shown in the United States Constitution. Liberals wanted a policy of laissez-faire which basically means the government keeps their hands out of everything so it can just take its natural course and improve on its own. Utilitarianism was a form of liberalism that believed in “the greatest
Conservatism basically was an ideology that stressed order and traditional values. They insisted that the government should still be ran by the elite because they were meant to rule, and no one else was. They wanted authority to rest in the hands of those that get their power from God, such as the church and monarchies. That explains why aristocrats and monarchs followed this ideology, and they thought that any type of individualism would eventually cause chaos and anarchy. Conservatives did not encourage change, especially not sudden change. If anything at all it should take a long time to mature and evolve. Conservatism was also known for wanting to suppress any other ideas, such as nationalism or liberalism.
Liberalism was, essentially, everything that conservatism was not. Liberals wanted individualism as well as a constitutional government. Unlike conservatives, they wanted change more than anything, and strongly opposed the monarchs, aristocrats, and the like. Their ideas came from the Enlightenment, such as the ones about natural rights. Another idea they believed in was a system of checks and balances, which we see even in today’s society. Liberals wanted the government to be more limited and restricted so the people could voice their opinions as well. They demanded that government not only agree to individual rights, but guarantee its sanctity. Those rights included freedom of speech, assembly, religion, and press; also shown in the United States Constitution. Liberals wanted a policy of laissez-faire which basically means the government keeps their hands out of everything so it can just take its natural course and improve on its own. Utilitarianism was a form of liberalism that believed in “the greatest