Wednesday, November 30, 2016

A New Era of Liberalism: The New Deal



Liberalism is the political philosophy that stresses liberty and equality. These are concepts that can be traced back to the Enlightenment, or more relevantly, the United States Constitution, which guarantees liberal values such as life, liberty, and equality. For much of American history, this liberalism has manifested itself in the idea that governments should be as small as possible, interfere as little as possible, and maintain a policy of laissez-faire, free market.

Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal, however, pushed in a new era of liberalism that undermined classical ideas of free market and small government policies. While President Hoover adhered to a policy of non-interference in response to the Great Depression, Roosevelt instead passed the New Deal, a series of social reforms to try and alleviate the ills of the Great Depression.

Most notably, in his 1944 State of the Union address, President Roosevelt outlined additional more freedoms that every American should have, even calling for a "Second Bill of Rights." This signals a radical shift towards a larger government, a new form of liberalism that seeks to actively guarantee a better standard of living for every individual.

Source:
https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/general/news/2012/04/26/11379/think-again-how-classical-liberalism-morphed-into-new-deal-liberalism/

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