Ideas about the Solution of the "German Question" in Early Liberalism (First Half of the 19th Century)

Early German liberalism was a heterogeneous phenomenon, which was reflected in the existence of various projects for solving the “German question”. The article considers the projects of the liberals of the German South-West, North, East and West. Representatives of the German Southwest K. von Rotteck and K. T. Welcker approached the solution of the national question from the position of the values of freedom, which cannot be violated for the sake of unification, therefore, the German states that have constitutions must unite. German North and F. K. Dahlmann, showing reverence for the values of civil society, supported the achievement of unity under the patronage of Prussia, subject to her approval of constitutionalism. A complete break with the schemes of the Enlightenment and reliance on traditions in achieving unity is expressed in the views of the Prussian intellectuals W. von Humboldt and K. Hardenberg. The most pragmatic version belongs to the representatives of the West of Germany — the Rhineland, who linked the need for unification with the demands of growing industrialization and demonstrated mimicry in front of political reality. It is this version of the solution of the “German question” that will be in demand after the defeat of the revolution of 1848—1849

Archaeology · Economic history · Enlightenment · Epistemology · German · Liberalism · Political science · Politics · Realpolitik · Sociology · History · Law · Law and Political Science · Philosophy