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- A general overview and comprehensive discussion of this topic may be found in the article Liberalism.
In general, liberalism in Europe is a political movement that supports a broad tradition of individual liberties and constitutionally-limited and democratically accountable government. These European derivatives of classical liberalism are found in centrist movements and parties as well as some parties on the centre-left and the centre-right.
Liberalism in Europe is broadly divided into two groups, "social" and "conservative".[1] This differs from the American method of dividing liberalism into "modern" (simply liberal) and "classical" (or libertarian), although the two groups are very similar to their European counterparts.
Most liberalism in Europe is conservative or classical, whilst European social liberalism and progressivism is rooted in radicalism, a left-wing classical liberal idea.)
Liberal practices
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Liberal political parties have specific policies, which the social scientist can either read from party manifestos, or infer from actual actions and laws passed by ostensibly liberal parties. The sources listed below serve to illustrate some of the current liberal attitudes in Europe.
- the policies of liberal parties in government, including those in coalition arrangements (taking into mind that coalition partners make compromises), since they show what liberals are prepared to accept as well as the policies of liberal parties in opposition
- the positions of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe faction in the European Parliament[3] and the Electoral Manifestos of the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party.[4]
- the forum of the German FDP,[5] which is relatively unmoderated, and illustrates grassroots liberal concerns. Sites of other Liberal parties, e.g. the British Liberal Democrats[6] and the Netherlands' Democrats 66,[7] are more heavily moderated and therefore more representative for the policy of liberal parties.
- the Belgian website / think tank Liberales.be[8] which has longer essays on new liberal policies
- the views and policies of the Open Society Institute, since they explicitly claim to derive from the principles of a major liberal philosopher, Karl Popper.
- the Lisbon Strategy of the European Union, since it is strongly supported by the liberal parties, and sets out a vision of a future Europe.
Additionally, liberal value preferences can be inferred from the liberalisation programmes and policies of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
The liberalism visible in these sources emphasizes in comparison with other ideologies more belief in individual development as a motor for society and the state providing a social safety net. The liberal policies differ from country to country and from party to party.
Ideology
European liberalism is largely divided into classical (in practical terms, liberalism as it is applied to the economy), social, and conservative–liberalism.[9]
Liberalism in the European context is distinct from what liberalism denotes in contemporary US politics.[10] In the US, people who are called "liberals" generally advocate for a larger government, some forms of protectionism, and more economic interventionism,[11][12][13][14] and are sometimes also called social democrats, or even leftists. In contrast, European liberals usually favor limited government, free trade and adhere to economic liberalism.[10]
In the context of European politics, a liberal (i.e., when the word is used without a modifier) is generally understood to refer to a classical liberal, who may be either centre-left or centre-right. As a result, a European classical liberal usually refers to a centre-right person with prominent economically liberal tendencies. (Germany's Free Democratic Party, for example, follows classical liberalism in this sense.) Under one interpretation, a European mainstream conservative liberal (e.g., a proponent of ordoliberalism or Christian democracy) usually has weaker economically liberal tendencies than a social liberal.[9] However, some consider classical liberals (= economic liberals) to be conservative liberals as well.[15][16]
European Union
European liberalists tend to support the European Union.[17][18][19][20][21][22] One example is Emmanuel Macron, the current President of France, who campaigned against Marine Le Pen, a candidate from the far-right, nationalist, anti-EU party known as the National Rally.[23][24][25] Some prominent European liberalists, such as Guy Verhofstadt (former Prime Minister of Belgium),[26][27] Viviane Reading (current Vice-President of the European Commission),[28] and Matteo Renzi (former Prime Minister of Italy),[29] are proponents of a future federalisation of the European Union.
Social issues
Among European liberals, "classical liberals" and "social liberals" support cultural liberalism (ex. LGBT rights issues including same-sex marriage, legalization of some drugs, opening immigration, etc.), but most "conservative liberals", including ordoliberals, Christian democrats and some agrarians, take a moderate-to-conservative stance on cultural issues. (For example, Finland's Keskusta, or "Centre Party", a Nordic agrarian party, follows conservative liberalism in this sense.)[30][31]
Parties
Government
| Country | Symbol | Parties | Head of state Head of government |
Upper/ Lower house | Founded | Leader/Founder | Former party | European/ International affliction | Ideology/ Political position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} Belgium |
 |
Open Flemish Liberals and Democrats Flemish |
Prime Minister | Chamber of Representatives (Lower House)
12 / 87 Senate (Upper House)
5 / 60
|
1992 (VLD)
2007 (Open VLD) |
Leader
Egbert Lachaert |
Preceded by | European
Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) International |
Ideology
Conservative liberalism[34][35] Political position |
 |
Reformist Movement | N/A |
Chamber of Representatives (Lower House) 14 / 87 Senate (Upper House)
8 / 60
|
21 March 2002 | Leader | Preceded by | European
Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) International |
Ideology
Political position | |
 Croatia |
 |
Croatian People's Party – Liberal Democrats (HNS – LD) | N/A | Sabor
1 / 151 Coalition
Independent Democratic Serb Party with support from HSLS, HDS, HDSSB, HNS, Reformists, Democratic Union of Hungarians, Kali Sara, Union of Albanians and Independents |
13 October 1990 | Leader
Founder |
Preceded by | Regional
Liberal South East European Network European |
Ideology
Political position |
 Finland |
Centre Party | Deputy Prime Minister | Parliament 31 / 200 European Parliament2 / 14 Coalition
|
1906 | Leader | Preceded by | European
International |
Ideology
Political position | |
| Swedish People's Party of Finland | N/A | Parliament 10 / 200 European Parliament1 / 14 Coalition
|
1906 | Leader
Founder |
Preceded by | European
Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) International |
Ideology
Swedish-speaking minority interests[47] Political position | ||
 France |
 |
La République En Marche! | President | National Assembly (Lower House)
280 / 577
23 / 348 European Parliament
11 / 79 Coalition
TDP |
6 April 2016 | Leader
Founder |
European | Ideology
Political position | |
 |
Agir | Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs | National Assembly (Lower House)
11 / 577
6 / 348 European Parliament
1 / 79 Coalition
TDP |
6 April 2016 | Leader | European | Ideology
Political position | ||
 Germany |
 |
Free Democratic Party | Secretary of the Treasury | Bundestag
92 / 736
134 / 1,884
5 / 95
|
6 April 2016 | Chairman
General Secretary |
European | Ideology
Political position | |
 Italy |
 |
Go Italy | N/A | Chamber of Deputies (Lower House)
79 / 630
Senate of the Republic (Upper House) 50 / 315
9 / 76 |
16 November 2013 | Leader
Founder |
European | Ideology
Political position | |
 Portugal |
 |
Liberal Initiative | N/A | Parliement
8 / 230 |
13 December 2017 | Leader
Founder Alexandre Krauss |
European | Ideology
Political position |
See also
- Liberalism by country for discussion of individual states of Europe
- Classical liberalism (mainly economic liberalism)
- Conservative liberalism (right-liberalism)
- Social liberalism (left-liberalism)
- Libertarianism
- Ordoliberalism
- Radicalism (historical)
Notes
- ↑ "Content". Parties and Elections in Europe. 2020.
- ↑ "Emmanuel Macron, the resolutely modern philosopher king". The Economist. 2018-06-13. ISSN 0013-0613. Retrieved 2019-03-21.
- ↑ ALDE Group in the European Parliament : Home
- ↑ European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party Manifestos
- ↑ "FDP :: FDP Bundesverband". Forum.fdp-bundesverband.de. Archived from the original on 2012-04-26. Retrieved 2012-04-27.
- ↑ "Liberal Democrats : Home". Libdems.org.uk. 2012-04-20. Retrieved 2012-04-27.
- ↑ "democrats.nl". democrats.nl. Retrieved 2012-04-27.
- ↑ "Liberales". Liberales.be. 2004-12-01. Retrieved 2012-04-27.
- 1 2 3 Caroline Close (2019). "The liberal party family ideology: Distinct, but diverse". In Close, Caroline; van Haute, Emilie (eds.). Liberal Parties in Europe. Routledge. pp. 338–339. ISBN 9781351245487.
- 1 2 Goldfarb, Michael (2010-07-20). "Liberal? Are we talking about the same thing?". BBC News. Retrieved 2020-08-06.
- ↑ Greenberg, David (September 12, 2019). "The danger of confusing liberals and leftists". Washington Post. Retrieved 2020-08-06.
- ↑ N. Scott Arnold, ed. (31 May 2011). "Are Modern American Liberals Socialists or Social Democrate?". Cambridge University Press. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
This paper answers the title question, "Yes," on both counts. The first part of the paper argues that modern liberals are socialists, and the second part argues that they are also social democrats.
- ↑ "A plea for liberalism: Lessons from the 20th century". The Economist. 31 March 2010. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
Social democracy, which Tony Judt calls "the prose of European politics", is what Americans call liberalism.
- ↑ Herb Jackson, ed. (27 June 2018). "How Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez won: Ultra-liberal pitch drew first-time voters in changing district". USA Today. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
- ↑ R.T. Allen, Beyond Liberalism, p. 2.
- ↑ Paul Kelly, ed. (2005). Liberalism. Polity. p. 71. ISBN 9780745632902.
Conservative liberal critics of social justice, such as Friedrich Hayek, have sought to reject precisely this distinction.
- 1 2 Almeida, Dimitri (2012-04-27). The Impact of European Integration on Political Parties. Routledge. doi:10.4324/9780203123621. ISBN 978-0-203-12362-1.
- 1 2 Gladoic, Andrea (14 June 2018). "Croatia's Largest Political Parties". Expat in Croatia. Retrieved 12 October 2018.
- 1 2 RKP, SFP (2019). "SFP:s Riksdag ValsProgram 2019". SFP. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
- ↑ "Emmanuel Macron a Berlin pour se donner une stature européenne". Le Monde. 10 January 2017. Retrieved 2 June 2017.
- ↑ Edwards, Maxim (13 December 2018). "Armenia's Revolution Will Not be Monopolized". Foreign Policy.
Bright Armenia is an avowedly pro-EU and classical liberal political party...
- ↑ Fayrer, Sir John (Lang Macpherson), (18 Oct. 1944–9 March 2017). Oxford University Press. 2007-12-01. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.u15557. Retrieved 2020-10-15.
{{cite encyclopedia}}:|work=ignored (help) - ↑ Macron, Emmanuel (2018). "Discours du Président de la République, Emmanuel Macron, à l'occasion de la remise du Prix Charlemagne de la ville d'Aix-la-Chapelle le 10 mai 2018". Allemagne d'aujourd'hui. 224 (2): 17–24. doi:10.3917/all.224.0017. ISSN 0002-5712.
- ↑ Le Breton, Morgane (2017). "Ce qui est bon pour Enron est bon pour le climat". Entreprises et histoire. 86 (1): 151–155. doi:10.3917/eh.086.0151. ISSN 1161-2770.
- ↑ "Graphique 4.2. Une consolidation budgétaire plus ambitieuse accroît la croissance potentielle". doi:10.1787/888932612306. Retrieved 2020-10-15.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ↑ Bruno Waterfield (18 February 2009). "Blueprint for EU army to be agreed". The Telegraph. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
- ↑ "International news – euronews, latest international news". Archived from the original on 6 February 2012. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
- ↑ Europa – Press Release – Why we need a United States of Europe now
- ↑ "Italy to push for 'United States of Europe' when it holds the EU presidency". The Telegraph. 22 June 2014. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
- ↑ "Väyrynen ryöpyttää keskustan liberaaleja". Kaleva.fi. Archived from the original on 1 October 2011. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
- ↑ Cracking open the numbers in the same-sex marriage vote Archived 3 December 2014 at the Wayback Machine, YLE 28 November 2014, accessed 5 November 2014.
- ↑ Bartley, Robert L. (2019-06-10). "Liberalism 1976: A Conservative Critique". The Relevance of Liberalism. Routledge. pp. 61–96. doi:10.4324/9780429304316-3. ISBN 978-0-429-30431-6. S2CID 199340153. Retrieved 2020-10-13.
- 1 2 Close, Caroline; Delwit, Pascal (2019). "Liberal parties and elections". Liberal Parties in Europe. Party families in Europe. Abingdon, Oxon ; New York: Routledge. pp. 281–309. doi:10.4324/9781351245500-15. ISBN 978-1-351-24550-0. S2CID 158839366. Retrieved 2020-10-13.
- ↑ Slomp, Hans (2011). Europe, a political profile : an American companion to European politics. Volume 1. Slomp, Hans, 1945-. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-0-313-39182-8. OCLC 759986337.
- ↑ Starke, Peter (2013). The welfare state as crisis manager : explaining the diversity of policy responses to economic crisis. Kaasch, Alexandra; Hooren, Franca van. Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-1-137-31484-0. OCLC 844063308.
- ↑ Josep M. Colomer (2008). Comparative European Politics. Taylor & Francis. p. 220. ISBN 978-0-203-12362-1.
- ↑ Hay, Colin; Menon, Anand, eds. (2007). European politics. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-928428-3. OCLC 71541592.
- ↑ Colomer, Josep Maria, ed. (2008). Comparative European politics (3rd ed.). London: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-43755-4. OCLC 182716576.
- ↑ Gingrich, André; Banks, Marcus, eds. (2006). Neo-nationalism in Europe and beyond : perspectives from social anthropology. New York: Berghahn Books. ISBN 978-1-78238-611-7. OCLC 607904369.
- ↑ Close, Caroline (12 February 2019). "The liberal party family ideology: Distinct, but diverse". In Close, Caroline; van Haute, Emilie (eds.). Liberal Parties in Europe. Routledge. p. 339. ISBN 9781351245487.
- ↑ Gladoic, Andrea (14 June 2018). "Croatia's Largest Political Parties". Expat in Croatia. Retrieved 12 October 2018.
- ↑ "Key Political Parties in Croatia". Balkan Insight. 27 September 2010.
- 1 2 Nordsieck, Wolfram (2015). "Finland". Parties and Elections in Europe. Archived from the original on 22 February 2014.
- ↑ "Väyrynen ryöpyttää keskustan liberaaleja". Kaleva.fi. Archived from the original on 1 October 2011. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
- ↑ Josep M. Colomer (2008). Political Institutions in Europe. Routledge. p. 260. ISBN 978-1-134-07354-2.
- ↑ Andrews Nordlund (2007). "Nordic social politics in the late twentieth century: An analysis of the political reform agenda". In Nanna Kildal; Stein Kuhnle (eds.). Normative Foundations of the Welfare State: The Nordic Experience. Routledge. p. 74. ISBN 978-1-134-27283-9.
- ↑ Nordsieck, Wolfram (2019). "Finland". Parties and Elections in Europe. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
- ↑ Bergqvist, Christina (1999). Equal Democracies?: Gender and Politics in the Nordic Countries. Nordic Council of Ministers. p. 319. ISBN 978-82-00-12799-4.
- ↑ Juvonen, Tuula (2016-05-01). "Out and Elected: Political Careers of Openly Gay and Lesbian Politicians in Germany and Finland". Redescriptions: Political Thought, Conceptual History and Feminist Theory. 19 (1): 49. doi:10.7227/R.19.1.4. ISSN 2308-0914.
- ↑ Lane, Jan-Erik; Ersson, Svante (2008). Josep M. Colomer (ed.). The Nordic Countries: Compromise and Corporatism in the Welfare State. Routledge. p. 260. ISBN 978-1-134-07354-2.
{{cite book}}:|work=ignored (help) - ↑ Barbière, Cécile (17 September 2018). "La droite pro-européenne fait officiellement sécession avec Agir" [The pro-European right officially breaks away with Agir]. EURACTIV (in French).
- ↑ Chazan, David (26 November 2017). "New centre-right party launches in France". The Daily Telegraph.
- ↑ Slomp, Hans (2011). Europe, a Political Profile: An American Companion to European Politics. ABC-CLIO. p. 377. ISBN 978-0-313-39181-1.
- ↑ Agnes Blome (2016). The Politics of Work-Family Policy Reforms in Germany and Italy. Taylor & Francis. p. 142. ISBN 978-1-317-55436-3.