Abstract

MORAES, João Quartim de. The feudal origins of liberalism. Conjectura: filos. e Educ. [online]. 2018, vol.23, n.spe3, pp.51-68.  Epub Sep 02, 2019. ISSN 2178-4612.  https://doi.org/10.18226/21784612.v23.dossie.3.

The conjunction in medieval England of an early centralized monarchy (compared to continental Europe) with a feudal Parliament gave rise to the institutional prototype of a counter balance to the monarchic power; the principle of reciprocal limitation of powers constitutes a historical precondition of English liberalism. Liberal common sense believes that the institutions of parliamentary type tend to guarantee the freedom and the central power to threaten it. Poland showed that the opposite could also occur. The combined force of the great feudal lords and the Catholic hierarchy (sometimes the same) reduced the King to a delegate elected by the nobility, powerless to make decisions of national interest that ran counter to the solid Alliance of sword and the cross.

Keywords : Liberalism; Feudal parliament; Catholic hierarchy.

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