The Rise and Decline of Liberalism PDF
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The Rise and Decline of Liberalism The Rise and Decline of LIBERALISM THOM AS P. N E I L L , P h.D. THE BRUCE PUBLISHING COMPANY MILWAUKEE Copyright, 1953, Thomas P. Neill Made in the United States of America T. S. Eliot: “Men and bits of paper, whirled by the cold wind.” Shigalov, in The Possessed: “Starting from unlimited freedom I arrive at unlimited despotism.” Prefatory Note L iberalism is an almost limitless subject that melts off into every field of modem history. It has theological, philosophical, political, social, cultural, literary, and other aspects. The author of the following pages therefore feels obliged to explain to the reader what sort of book he has written and why it is the kind it is — for a hundred books could justifiably have been written under this same title. The introductory chapter attempts to do nothing more than arrive at a workable descriptive definition of what we mean by the term “Liberalism” in this study. It does not attempt to analyze, describe, or evaluate Liberalism. The next two chapters sum marize three centuries of thought introductory to the subject proper. They are sketchy but necessary to acquaint the reader with Liberalism’s youth, for only in this way can its mature struggle for power in the early nineteenth century be understood as an historical movement. Chapters 4, 5, and 6 describe the straggle by Liberals to attain power throughout Europe in the early nineteenth century. Since these struggles were successful in England, France, and Belgium, the next two chapters take their material from these countries where Liberals ruled rather than where they became a defeated party of opposition. Chapter 9 is concerned with the successful application of classi cal Liberalism to the United States after the Civil War. It seemed prudent to include a chapter —the tenth —on contemporary critics of Liberalism, partly to show that there were many think ing men who did not subscribe to Liberal theory in the heyday of its success, and partly as a means of bringing out certain points of Liberal doctrine not otherwise touched upon. Chapters 11 and 12, the author feels, are the most important part of this study and come closest to an original contribution to our knowl vii viii Prefatory Note edge of Liberalism; they are the authors answer to the puzzle of why Liberalism changed doctrine and practice in the last quarter of the nineteenth century — to the confusion of everyone using the term since that time. The next chapter attempts to describe the new welfare Liberalism. And the final chapter con sists of the author's conclusions, centering around an estimate of the historical role of classical Liberalism. These conclusions are generalizations, the validity of which depends on the sound ness of the preceding pages. Practical considerations prompted a concentration on Anglo- Saxon Liberalism, especially on its theoretical development in England. We have done this because continental liberalism did not make a major contribution to our way of life or our social philosophy. American classical Liberalism, in fact, was pretty much an application of the English product to American life. Some English Liberals, like Herbert Spencer, were probably more influential in this country than in their native land. We have therefore not attempted to follow the development of Liberalism on the continent after its failure in 1848. It continued to affect continental life and thought, and it is important to be aware of this fact to understand the criticism leveled at Liberal ism by Socialists and Catholics, for it was the more doctrinaire continental Liberalism with which these critics were concerned. As a final word of explanation, we have tried to treat Liberal ism both as a social philosophy and as a praxis. Action cannot be disengaged from thought without doing violence to history, and this is particularly true of a study of Liberalism. To keep this study within the confines of a single volume we have con centrated on the way Liberalism worked out socially, economi cally, and politically, at the cost of neglecting its development in cultural and purely intellectual fields. The author hopes that this treatment of the subject will throw some light on the current confusion about the meaning of Liberalism, and will do some thing to prepare the way for more intelligent social thinking in our own day. The classical Liberalism studied in these pages still lives on, in somewhat modified form, and there is every reason to believe it will influence our legislation and our way of life in the years immediately ahead. We therefore propose in a subsequent volume to carry the history of Liberalism down from Prefatory Note ix World War I to our own time. In this second volume we shall concentrate on American Liberalism. The author is indebted to many students, professional associ ates, and friends for helping him formulate and express his thoughts on this subject. Particularly helpful were the students in two seminars on Liberalism at St. Louis University, where the give and take between professor and student is as enlightening to the former as to the latter; to Sister Mary Lois, C.H.M., of Maiycrest College whose unpublished dissertation written at St. Louis University was put at the author's disposal; to Miss Mary Louise Hemmer, who generously typed the manuscript; to Mrs. Shirley Keaney for reading proofs and helping compile the in dex; and especially to my wife whose patience and forbearance made this work possible. I am also indebted to Professor Emerson Hynes of St. John’s University, Rev. Francis J. Corley, S.J., editor of Social Order, Sister Mary Lois, and Mrs. Keaney for reading the manuscript and suggesting improvements which have made die following pages easier reading. The author alone, of course, is responsible for expressions of opinion and of fact in this work. Thomas P. Neill Sf. Louis University December 8, 1952
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