Jukka Aakula’s Reviews > The Lost History of Liberalism: From Ancient Rome to the Twenty-First Century > Status Update

"the great majority of nineteenth-century liberals, whether British, French, or German, were not all that adverse to government intervention. Nor did they advocate absolute property rights. And they certainly did not believe that individuals pursuing their own self-interest would spontaneously create a healthy wealth distribution or social harmony. They denounced selfishness and individualism at every opportunity."

The French politician and writer and his lover writer Germaine de Staël are described as main innovators of liberalism during French revolution.

Besides, "Early liberals were not democrats. ... Their reticence on this owed much to their experience with the Terror ... universal suffrage was introduced in France in 1792 .... the Convention [elected] launched the Reign of Terror".

Daron Acemoglu regards this book important. That is why I dtarted reading