Chapter 18 - Post-Napoleonic Europe
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Monarchist conservatives who had benefited from the order and heirarchy of traditional structures saw Enlightenment ideals manifested in the French Revolution as a
threat to their establishment. The idea that all people deserve respect and representation, they felt, would upset the fabric of society. Conservatives believed
that the ruling classes were given their duty and authority from God, and the new social and political ideas being spread through Europe were contrary to this order.
The Concert of Europe, consisting of the victors over Napoleon, and moreso its subset, The Holy Alliance (which excepted the more progressive Britain), was
established to present a unified front against any insurrections against monarchies across Europe.
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Liberalism in the early 19th century took ideas from movements like the American and French Revolutions, things like equal treatment in legal affairs, the right to
private property, and representation in government. Economic ideas put forth by Adam Smith suggested that people left to conduct business without interference from
excessive taxes and restrictions would produce the most wealth and progress. While the middle classes would surely expand and prosper from Smith's laissez-faire
approach, the working class would likely be kept impoverished to starvation levels, according to Malthus and Ricardo, because they surely would reproduce until they
exhausted their resources. Pragmatism, reason, and progress were hallmarks of liberal movements like Jeremy Bentham's utilitarianism.