Liberalism in Europe is a political movement that supports a broad tradition of individual liberties and constitutionally-limited and democratically accountable government. These European derivatives ofclassical liberalism are found incentrist movements and parties, as well as some parties on thecentre-left and thecentre-right.
Most liberalism in Europe is conservative or classical whilst European social liberalism and progressivism is rooted inclassical radicalism, a left-wing classical liberal idea. Liberalism in Europe is broadly divided into two groups: "social" (or "left-") and "conservative" (or "right-").[1] This differs from theUSA's method of dividing liberalism into "modern" (simplyliberal) and "classical" (orlibertarian, albeit there is some disagreement), although the two groups are very similar to their European counterparts.
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Liberal political parties have specific policies, which the social scientist can either read from partymanifestos, or infer from actual actions and laws passed by ostensibly liberal parties. The sources listed below serve to illustrate some of the current liberal attitudes in Europe:
Additionally, liberal value preferences can be inferred from theliberalisation programmes and policies of theInternational Monetary Fund and theWorld Bank. The liberalism visible in these sources emphasizes in comparison with other ideologies more belief in individual development as a motor for society and thestate providing asocial safety net. The liberal policies differ from country to country and from party to party.
European liberalism is largely divided intoclassical (in practical terms, liberalism as it is applied to the economy),social, andconservative.[9] Liberalism in the European context is distinct fromliberalism in the United States.[10] In the United States, people who are calledliberals generally advocate for a larger government, some forms ofprotectionism, and moreeconomic interventionism,[11][12][13][14] and are sometimes also calledsocial democrats, or evenleftists. In contrast, European liberals usually favorlimited government,free trade, and adhere toeconomic liberalism.[10]
In the context of European politics, aliberal (when the word is used without a modifier) is generally understood to refer to a classical liberal, who may be eithercentre-left orcentre-right. As a result, a Europeanclassical liberal usually refers to a centre-right person with prominent economically liberal tendencies; Germany'sFree Democratic Party, for example, follows classical liberalism in this sense. Under one interpretation, a European mainstreamconservative liberal (a proponent ofordoliberalism orChristian democracy) usually has weaker economically liberal tendencies than asocial liberal;[9] however, some considerclassical liberals (economic liberals) to also beconservative liberals.[15][16]
European liberalists tend to support the European Union.[17][18][19][20][21][22] One example isEmmanuel Macron, the incumbent president of France, who campaigned againstMarine Le Pen, a candidate from thefar-right, nationalist, andEurosceptic party known as theNational Rally.[23][24][25] Some prominent European liberalists, such asGuy Verhofstadt (formerPrime Minister of Belgium),[26][27]Viviane Reading (currentVice-President of the European Commission),[28] andMatteo Renzi (formerPrime Minister of Italy),[29] are proponents of a futurefederalisation of the European Union.
Among European liberals,classical liberals andsocial liberals supportcultural liberalism, for exampleLGBT rights issues includingsame-sex marriage, legalization of some drugs, openingimmigration, etc., while mostconservative liberals, includingordoliberals,Christian democrats, and someagrarians, take a moderate-to-conservative stance on cultural issues. For example, Finland'sCentre Party, aNordic agrarian party, follows conservative liberalism in this sense.[30][31]
| Country | Symbol | Parties | Head of state Head of government | Upper/ Lower house | Founded | Leader/Founder | Former party | European/ International affliction | Ideology/ Political position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Belgium |  | Open Flemish Liberals and Democrats Flemish | Prime Minister | Chamber of Representatives (Lower House) 12 / 87 Senate (Upper House)5 / 60 | 1992 (VLD) 2007 (Open VLD) | Leader Egbert Lachaert | Preceded by | European Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) International | Ideology Conservative liberalism[34][35] Political position |
 | Reformist Movement | N/A | Chamber of Representatives (Lower House) 14 / 87 Senate (Upper House)8 / 60 | 21 March 2002 | Leader | Preceded by | European Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) International | Ideology Political position | |
 Croatia |  | Croatian People's Party – Liberal Democrats (HNS – LD) | N/A | Sabor 1 / 151 CoalitionIndependent Democratic Serb Party with support fromHSLS,HDS,HDSSB,HNS,Reformists,Democratic Union of Hungarians,Kali Sara, Union of Albanians andIndependents | 13 October 1990 | Leader Founder | Preceded by | Regional Liberal South East European Network European | Ideology Political position |
 Finland | Centre Party | Deputy Prime Minister | Parliament 31 / 200 European Parliament2 / 14 Coalition | 1906 | Leader | Preceded by | European International | Ideology Political position | |
| Swedish People's Party of Finland | N/A | Parliament 10 / 200 European Parliament1 / 14 Coalition | 1906 | Leader Founder | Preceded by | European Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) International | Ideology Swedish-speakingminority interests[46] Political position | ||
 France |  | La République En Marche! | President | National Assembly (Lower House) 280 / 577 23 / 348 European Parliament11 / 79 CoalitionTDP | 6 April 2016 | Leader Founder | European | Ideology Political position | |
 | Agir | Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs | National Assembly (Lower House) 11 / 577 6 / 348 European Parliament1 / 79 CoalitionTDP | 6 April 2016 | Leader | European | Ideology Political position | ||
 Germany |  | Free Democratic Party | Secretary of the Treasury | Bundestag 92 / 736 134 / 1,884 5 / 95 | 6 April 2016 | Chairman General Secretary | European | Ideology Political position | |
 Italy |  | Go Italy | N/A | Chamber of Deputies (Lower House) 79 / 630 Senate of the Republic (Upper House) 50 / 315 9 / 76 | 16 November 2013 | Leader Founder | European | Ideology Political position | |
 Portugal |  | Liberal Initiative | N/A | Parliament 8 / 230 | 13 December 2017 | Leader Founder Alexandre Krauss | European | Ideology Political position |
This paper answers the title question, "Yes," on both counts. The first part of the paper argues that modern liberals are socialists, and the second part argues that they are also social democrats.
Social democracy, which Tony Judt calls "the prose of European politics", is what Americans call liberalism.
Conservative liberal critics of social justice, such as Friedrich Hayek, have sought to reject precisely this distinction.
Bright Armenia is an avowedly pro-EU and classical liberal political party...
