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Front Page arrow Titles (by Subject) arrow 19th Century French Liberalism

School of Thought: 19th Century French Liberalism

Between the French Revolution and the First World War France produced an impressive group of classical liberal and conservative writers. They focused on the problems of creating a constitutional limited government, the issue of free trade, French imperialism and colonialism, the history of the French Revolution and Napoleon, freedom of speech, the rise of socialism and the welfare state. They differed from their English colleagues in a number of ways, particularly in the French preference to ground the defence of liberty on natural rights instead of utilitarianism, which was increasingly favored by the English. By the time the First World War broke out the French liberal movement had been fatally weakened and it virtually disappeared.

Frédéric Bastiat (1801-1850) Jean-Baptiste Say (1767-1832) Augustin Thierry (1795-1856)

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16 People in this Group:

sort name   name ↑ birth   death  
Tocqueville Alexis de Tocqueville 1805 1859
Destutt de Tracy Antoine Louis Claude, Comte Destutt de Tracy 1754 1836
Thierry A Augustin Thierry 1795 1856
Constant Benjamin Constant 1767 1830
Guizot François Guizot 1787 1874
Bastiat Frédéric Bastiat 1801 1850
Passy Frédéric Passy 1822 1912
Staël Germaine de Staël 1766 1817
Guillaumin G Gilbert-Urbain Guillaumin 1801 1864
Beaumont Gustave de Beaumont 1802 1866
Molinari Gustave de Molinari 1819 1912
Taine Hippolyte Taine 1828 1893
Say Jean Baptiste Say 1767 1832
Sismondi J Jean Charles Léonard Simonde de Sismondi 1773 1842
Paillottet, P Prosper Paillottet 1804 1878
Guyot Yves Guyot 1843 1928