ALLA RADICE DEL LIBERALISMO: DEVIAZIONI STORICHE E DIFFERENZE TRAIL SEME LIBERALE EUROPEO E IL LIBERALISMO AMERICANO

Abstract

The paper analyzes, through the political approach, the historical and cultural perspectives of liberalism. What are the reasons that have led to such a clear distinction of the term liberalism in the European and contemporary world? We will see the seed of European liberalism and its “constructivist approach”, in which the fi rst defi nitions of liberalism are derived from the Nation-State of the modern era. Otherwise, in the American world, the refl ection has been less institutional and more visceral, linked to an “evolutionary” vision of society. During the 18th century, the fi rst major difference was established between the European Nation-States and the newborn USA: the liberalism of the former saw a top-down vision while the Americans a bottom-up vision.