German Liberalism

About this Collection

In the 17th, 18th and early 19th centuries a number of German liberals emerged to argue for enlightened reform, deregulation, and constitutional government. The failure to achieve these aims in the 1848 Revolution meant that German liberalism was eclipsed by nationalism, militarism, and socialism for the next 100 years.

Key People

Johannes Althusius

Jacob Burckhardt

Johann Gottlieb Fichte

Friedrich August von Hayek

Wilhelm von Humboldt

Immanuel Kant

Friedrich List

Samuel von Pufendorf

Eugen Richter

Titles & Essays

Group by Category

THE READING ROOM

Immanuel Kant and the “Crisis of the Enlightenment”

By: Walter Donway September 20, 2023

I had to deny knowledge in order to make room for faith. —Immanuel Kant

THE READING ROOM

OLL’s June Birthday: Wilhelm von Humboldt (June 22, 1767 – April 8, 1835)

By: Peter Carl Mentzel June 30, 2023

June’s OLL Birthday Essay goes out to Friedrich Wilhelm Christian Karl Ferdinand von Humboldt, generally known to history as Wilhelm von Humboldt. A true polymath, he was a diplomat, philosopher, poet, linguist and anthropologist,…

THE READING ROOM

OLL’s May Birthday: Friedrich von Gentz (May 2, 1764 – June 9, 1832)

By: Peter Carl Mentzel May 20, 2024

This May’s Birthday Essay is in honor of the political journalist and statesman Friedrich Gentz. Though born a commoner, he called himself von Gentz after he was knighted by the Swedish crown in 1804. Gentz made an intellectual…

THE READING ROOM

The Haskalah Comes of Age with Moses Mendelssohn

By: Walter Donway December 6, 2023

Born in Dessau to a poor family, his father a scribe, Moses Mendelssohn was educated privately by his father and a local rabbi, David Frankel, who not only taught him the Talmud and the Bible but also introduced him to philosophy…

THE READING ROOM

What if everyone did that? Immanuel Kant, Groundwork of the Metaphysic of Ethics (1785)

By: John Alcorn October 21, 2023

“The categorical imperative is therefore single and one: ‘Act from that maxim only which thou canst will law universal.’”—Immanuel Kant, Groundwork, Chapter II

Quotes

Presidents, Kings, Tyrants, & Despots

Althusius argues that a political leader is bound by his oath of office which, if violated, requires his removal (1614)

Full Quote