Liberals exercise a political philosophy based on ideas of liberty and equality. The liberals just before the French Revolution based their ideas on many Enlightenment philosophies, such as individual liberty, personal happiness, and faith in science and rationality. These ideas came to the forefront in Europe just before the Revolution. Liberals do like being "revolutionary", don't they?
This is the French motto: liberty, equality, fraternity, or death. The French really like to copy us "stupid Americans". "Give me liberty or give me death", anyone?
As their name suggests, liberals called for liberty, or "the ability to do anything that does not harm another person" (692). This includes freedom of religion, freedom from censorship, and freedom from unjust laws. Most importantly, this new call for freedom also called for a freer form of government. French liberals believed that the people had sovereignty, or the authority to make laws that limited individual freedom (how very Rousseau). Furthermore, they preferred a representative government to the absolutist one to which they were accustomed. The French admired England's parliamentary system in which several elected officials were the voice of the people in government (not according to the American colonists, but that's a story for another time).
While their ideas of freedom and equal rights were all well and good, who did they really think were allowed to be free? If you answered "white, land-owning men", you're right. These intelligent liberals could not even imagine a world in which women were equal to men. Little did they know what an important role women would play in the ensuing revolution. This is the "fraternité" part of the French motto.
Liberals believed in an economy in which people had equal opportunity. This does not mean that everyone was equal in terms of finances and property, but that everyone had equal opportunity to make money. I like this. It sounds like capitalism.
Then they could eat all the cake they could afford through hard work, Marie Antoinette. Or croissants or cheese, whatever they preferred.
While these liberal ideas seem perfectly normal us liberty-loving Americans*, they were remarkably radical in a time of absolutist rule. They were so radical and became so popular that they helped incite the French Revolution.
* As opposed to popular belief all Americans love freedom, including Republicans.
Lol, just kidding
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