Liberalizm w Niemczech

Liberalism in Germany

The author considers it imperative to look to history to define the values guiding liberals in shaping the state, society, culture, and economy. The analysis of early liberalism of the 18^th century becomes a springboard for a broader discussion of the movement’s history in the 19^th and the 20^th century. At the centre of these deliberations is German liberalism, starting from the Spring of Nations up to the present day. Liberalism is a socio-political conceptualisation of order which moulded modernity in the process of its emergence. The figure at the centre of the liberal social model is a citizen, a self-responsible entity. Liberal society is one in which every human is able to operate as an equal citizen. Liberal citizenship is based on fair access to goods and opportunity to grow and develop. The expectations and possibilities of their fulfilment associated with the liberal ideal have transformed over the years and been debated among the liberals themselves. The history of liberalism as a notion and as political practice, therefore, may only be approached and understood as a constant struggle for meanings. The present book describes its development since the 19^th century. The author asks such questions as: How did the opportunities to implement liberal politics change in the most important periods of German and European history? How does liberalism define a nation and a nation state?