Liberalism

    Liberalism was associated almost exclusively with the ascendant middle class.  Liberalism affirmed the dignity of the individual and the "pursuit of happiness" as an inherent right.  Its roots were firmly set in the soil of the 18th century trends of constitutionalism, laissez-faire economics. and parliamentarianism.  Unlike romanticism, which accepted radical change as a justifiable means to give expression to the emotional needs of humanity, liberalism came to stand for gradual reform.  Whereas the nationalists and some romanticists had tended to speak of man in the abstract, conceiving him as a philosophical ideal, 19th century liberals thought in terms of real individuals sharing basic rights in common, who worked together to gain parliamentary majorities and political power. 

    Further, these individuals would use their power to make sure that each of them would be given a maximum of freedom from the state or any other external authority.

Nandy, Milon, Terms & Theories in Politics, Government International Relations and the Humanities, EurAsia-Pacific Books, 1993.