The History of Liberalism

Liberalism, we often hear today, is in crisis. Yet, do we know what ‘liberalism’ is? In this course, we will study liberalism’s origins, development and legacy. Students will encounter a series of well-known and less well-known figures such as Montesquieu, Benjamin Constant, Tocqueville, Mill, Hayek and Raymond Aron. Four questions will guide our thinking: (1) are there different ways of justifying individual liberty? (2) What are the institutional conditions under which liberty can be preserved? (3) Is liberalism ‘democratic’? (4) Do liberals require a certain type of morality from citizens?