SOCIALISM IN EUROPE AND THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION
Liberals of the 19th century generally favoured limited government intervention in individual lives, greater religious tolerance, and constitutional governance. They supported free markets and believed in meritocracy. However, their stance on who should have the right to vote was restrictive, usually limited to property-owning men. Liberals often had a vested interest in the existing economic system; they were frequently merchants, industrialists, or professionals who had profited from trade and industry.
Radicals sought more drastic changes, focusing on universal suffrage and social equality. Unlike liberals, they were more skeptical of concentrated wealth and land ownership. They often supported labour rights, including shorter work hours and better working conditions. Radicals were usually younger, more idealistic, and often had a more utopian vision of the future, where wealth and power would be distributed more evenly among the populace. The radicals were crucial in movements for universal suffrage and were often aligned with burgeoning socialist and communist ideologies.
The conservatives were generally resistant to rapid change and sought to preserve existing social hierarchies and traditions. However, the impact of events like the French Revolution made many conservatives more open to gradual change to stave off revolutionary upheaval. They started to adapt by accepting some changes while emphasising the need for stability and a slow pace of transformation.
The Industrial Revolution amplified existing inequalities and created new ones, affecting the working classes most severely. The liberals and radicals, despite their ideological commitments, were often also property owners and thus part of the system that was perpetuating inequalities. Both groups did recognise, however, that for society to prosper, improvements in working conditions, health, and education were necessary.