Question

In the late 1700s and early 1800s, liberals supported popular government and the free-market. In the early 1900s, liberals began to believe that government should be used to help protect people from the excesses of the free market.
A. True.
B. False

Answer 1

Answer:

A) True

Explanation:

From the late 1700s to the early 1800s, liberals were influenced by the works of Adam Smith, David Ricardo, John Locke among other, who supported the free market. Liberals believed that in a free market, profit-seeking individuals would benefit society because their actions were guided by "the invisible hand" of the market.

In the early 1900s, liberals began to promote social safety nets and a welfare state. In other words, the promoted a more active participation of the state in the market. Among the reasons for this shift in opinion we can find:

• The rising popularity of marxism, and its triumph in the October Revolution in Russia
• The horrors of World War I, and the fact that states felt the obligation to care for the veterans who in many cases, were injured and disable for life
• The excesses of financial capitalism that led to the Great Depression, and the need to find ways to deal with the consquences.