Under New Management
The False Promises of Revolutionary Liberalism in the 18th and 19th Century
There is no doubt that an intrinsic desire in all humans is a desire of freedom; that humans will always strive to be free from the confines of authority and oppression. This was especially true for the great enlightenment thinkers of the 17th and 18th century such as John Locke, Jean Jacques Rousseau, Adam Smith, and Voltaire etc. These thinkers began to question the authority of the absolutist monarchs and authoritarian regimes present across Europe at the time, but not only did the idea of questioning the monarchs come about, other new abstract ideas such as individuality, the nation state, human rights, political representation, consent of the governed, and economic rights began formalizing into a movement known as Liberalism. The ideas of Liberalism would spread all across Europe, and eventually across the world. Inspired by these ideas, revolutionary movements would begin to sprout in many different regions. From England, to the American Colonies; from the American Colonies to France; from France to Haiti; from Haiti to South America, we see wave after wave of revolutionary independence movements. And for the most part, these revolutions can be considered successes. In the United States, British rule is extricated, in France Louis XVI is executed and the monarchy abolished; in Haiti, France it itself is kicked out; and all throughout Latin America, national movements succeed in ending Spanish rule. However, many times throughout history we see successful social and political movements bring change that may not have fully delivered on their promises or that may have brought about contradictions with their intended message, and these revolutionary liberal movements are no different. While these successful revolutions brought about a myriad of positive reforms, there was still a major lack of social, political and economic rights for many citizens across Europe and the New World.
After these revolutionary movements, in both Europe and the Americas the ideas of race and racist views were stronger than ever. The thinkers of the Enlightenment did not bring only new positive ideas, but they also synthesized the modern idea of race and racial hierarchy. Beginning with thinkers like François Bernier, Carolus Linnaeus, Georges-Louis Leclerc, Georges-Louis Leclerc, the recent innovations of science and scientific inquiry were used to try to classify humans into races. “What the Enlightenment added was the drive to classify all of humankind and impose a hierarchy—one that put white Europeans on top.” A great paradox of the liberal movement was to say that man was born equal, but some, depending on this new conception of race, were more “equal” than others. Nowhere was the contradiction more prevalent than in the post-revolution United states, where chattel slavery and the extermination of the Amerindians persisted. The governing documents of the United States, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights set laws and granted rights to citizens of the United States, but the law only recognized white, property owning men as citizens. So people who did not fit that category were granted less rights. The descendants of “white”, Christian Europeans were at the top of the racial hierarchy, and the Africans and Natives were at the bottom. The enslavement, murders, and horrible treatment that these minorities experienced, and would continue to experience for centuries, were quite a clear manifestation of this new racialized way of thinking.
Not only did racial discrimination persist, but across both Europe and the Americas, sex based discrimination still prevailed, and women were not seen as equal to men. Again, the ideas of liberalism generally only applied to property-owning white men. “...Olympe de Gouges composed the Declaration of the Rights of Woman and the Female Citizen, proposing rights to divorce, hold property in marriage, be educated, and have public careers. The all-male assembly countered: a “fraternity” of free men composed the nation. But it was a sign that revolutionary ranks were splintering, as men and women argued over the revolution’s proper goals.” Anachronistic religious views on women lingered on after this period. They were second to men, and their primary role in society is for serving men, giving birth and caring for children. Women were still seen as less intelligent and less competent beings, who were supposed to be subservient, submissive, docile, quiet and have no loud opinions. They still could not own property, apply for different jobs, vote, or have any sort of political representation. It may not be a coincidence that most thinkers of the enlightenment were men and therefore not capable of detecting their own biases toward the male sex. Combining this sex based discrimination, with race based discrimination, it was generally accepted that Black or Native American women would be subject to some of the worst treatment that society imposed during this period.
While racial and gender prejudices were a continuation of a bygone era, a new form of oppression was arising. In many parts of this liberal new world slavery was banned, and the Enlightenment idea of capitalism was burgeoning. In these industrial urban centers of Europe and North America, concepts such as property rights, free markets, free trade, free enterprise and wage labor were the foundations of this new economic system taking place; but once again, in practice there was a markedly clear disparity in how people were actually treated. Wealth inequality exploded, as the owners of capital saw their fortunes rise to levels unheard never before seen, while the average worker experienced long, brutal working conditions. These workers experience 12 hour or more workdays, lack of sanitation and sewage systems, lack of safety standards, had to work through disease or pregnancy, and were paid paltry wages. Workers were at the utter will of their employers and managers who only pursued profit. This new and very powerful entrepreneurial and financier class had total control of their business such that they could treat their employees without any inkling of respect or dignity. As long as they were paid a wage and sent the workers home, it was justified and not to be considered slavery.
Even with these prejudices still existing in these post revolution nation states, it can be argued that the most egregious contradiction of the liberal movements were the continuation of the European imperial projects. These enlightened states, with their newfound views on humanity, sought to spread their own views on how society should be structured, but not through goodwill and messaging, but through violent conquest and domination. Almost immediately after the French Revolution, Napoleon Bonaparte declared himself emperor of France, and conquered vast amounts of territory in Europe, and in great irony, even attempted to quell the slave revolt in Haiti, which would become a revolution in its own right. In the Americas, the United States continued to expand their domain, acquiring more westward land through Manifest Destiny, forcibly removing the Ameridnians, while also bringing along the institution of slavery with them. The British themselves, who some consider the originators of liberalism, continued their colonial endeavors all throughout the world, especially in Africa and India, where tens of millions of natives were subject to harsh colonial conditions imposed on them.
With all this being said, it must be reiterated that the revolutionary movements of the 18th and 19th century were no doubt a positive change in human history. The social and political ideas born from the Enlightenment such as universal human rights, equality, democracy, free speech, free association and many others were finally set in stone in these newfound nation states. It cannot be denied that the autocratic rule of monarchs was a stifling drag on human progress, and the replacement of absolute monarchical rule with liberal democracy has brought about human flourishing that has not yet been seen in human history. However, when one looks at all those who were initially left out or did not properly receive their fair share of this liberal flourishing, one can make the direct historical trace and still see remnants of these social and political disparities today. Throughout the world today, many humans still face racial, gender, and economic discrimination, and it is absolutely necessary to learn from history where these prejudices originated so that they can be corrected and in due time, the liberal ideals of freedom may truly be universal.
Works Cited
Adelman, Jeremy, et al. Worlds Together, Worlds Apart. W.W. Norton & Company, 2021.