What Is French Liberalism?

It has become commonplace to argue that Benjamin Constant and Alexis de Tocqueville form a distinct French liberal tradition going back to Montesquieu. Yet Tocqueville showed little interest in Constant, and early nineteenth-century French liberals did not recognize Montesquieu as the father of Fren...

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Published in:Political Studies Vol. 72; no. 2; pp. 551 - 570
Main Author: Ghins, Arthur
Format: Article
Published: Sage Publications Inc. May2024
Subjects:
Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
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        atl: What Is French Liberalism?
      aug:
        au: Ghins, Arthur
        affil: King's College London, London, UK
      su:
        France
        Montesquieu, Charles de Secondat, baron de, 1689-1755
        Constant, Benjamin, 1767-1830
        Tocqueville, Alexis de, 1805-1859
        Liberalism
        Political doctrines
        Ideology
        Liberals
      sug:
        subj:
          Liberalism
          Political doctrines
          Ideology
          France
          Liberals
          Montesquieu, Charles de Secondat, baron de, 1689-1755
          Constant, Benjamin, 1767-1830
          Tocqueville, Alexis de, 1805-1859
      keyword:
        ideology
        liberalism
        political doctrine
        Tocqueville
        tradition
        ideology
        liberalism
        political doctrine
        Tocqueville
        tradition
      ab: It has become commonplace to argue that Benjamin Constant and Alexis de Tocqueville form a distinct French liberal tradition going back to Montesquieu. Yet Tocqueville showed little interest in Constant, and early nineteenth-century French liberals did not recognize Montesquieu as the father of French liberalism. Based on these observations, this essay demonstrates that the French liberal tradition is a belated construction and explains how, when, and why it was invented. Exhuming the origins of the French liberal tradition, I argue, is important for our understanding of the history of liberalism and the mechanisms behind ideology formation.
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    language: English
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