What Do You Understand By The Term ?Gladstonian Liberalism? And How Does Domestic Legislation Between 1868 And 1874 Reflect His Political Philosophy? Essay, Research Paper
?The almighty seems to sustain and spare me for some purpose of his own, deeply
unworthy as I know myself to be.?
The above words come from Gladstone himself, and portray his unscrupulous
devotion to Christianity. Religion was the single most significant influence
on Gladstonian Liberalism, but his opinions were shaped by a number of other
factors as well.
Firstly, he believed in simple and efficient government. He was not a supporter
of radical state intervention, and preferred the idea of individualism ? the
belief that the government should not become over strong or over directing,
and that the state should create the atmosphere in which the individual can
flourish and achieve.
Gladstone?s politics were underpinned by a sense of transforming his religious,
moral and philosophical thoughts into political decision making. He basically
endeavoured to guide a society gradually straying towards secularism to follow
simple moral lines, and so therefore much of his first ministry?s domestic legislation
was centred on the promotion of justice in society. An example of this is Gladstone?s
abolition of the purchase of commissions in the army, meaning that aristocrats
no longer had the right to run the army, irrelevant of their aptitude to do
so.
Gladstone?s belief in individualism can be seen in the way that his policies
reflect his desire to create ?a state in which the individual can flourish and
achieve.? While he believed that the individual should be self-sufficient and
independent of state support, he was anxious to ensure that institutions within
the state should assist and not impede his efforts in achieving this. This can
be seen in the simple fact that almost all of this period?s measures were about
the reform of governmental institutions. Examples of this include, the introduction,
in 1870, of a public competitive examination to determine entry into the civil
service, thus giving the ambitious and well-educated middle classes the potential
to succeed. Furthermore, the University Tests Act of 1871 showed Gladstone?s
wish to not just maximise the individual?s opportunities, but to create a more
just society.
As a firm believer in Christianity, and in the idea of individualism, the
1870 Education Act is a prominent display of these two views. Having had the
industrial revolution Victorian Britain found itself in a rapidly industrialising
economy. The workforce needed to have at least a basic education, simply so
they could operate increasingly complex machinery. More significant than this
though, were the religious implications of the Act. Gladstone liked the idea
that he could spread Christianity through literacy, and the schools were very
closely linked with the church.
A further hallmark of this ministry was the modernisation of the army. Whilst
Cardwell, and not Gladstone, devised this scheme, it is rich in Gladstonian
philosophy. He again reduced the power of aristocratic generals by making the
Commandering Chief of the Army sub-ordinate to the Minister of War. The size
of the army was increased, by allowing recruits to sign on for shorter periods
of time, not simply for life. Perhaps the most Gladstonian measure of all us
the introduction of the Martini Henry rifle ? simple and efficient.
Gladstone?s desire for efficiency is again reflected in 1873?s Judicature
Act. This modernised the judicial system, and prevented long delays created
by an ornate infrastructure. This dramatically reduced unnecessary administration
and established one supreme court, abolishing courts such as Queen?s Bench,
and Common Pleas.
One of the key themes of Gladstonian Liberalism was that income tax should,
if it had to exist, be as low as possible, as it was seen as a burden to the
striving individual. This theory is portrayed by the fact that social security
during this period was very limited ? the workhouse was still very much in operation,
and Gladstone?s utter aversion to the idea of war.
Gladstonian Liberals confidently believed that, given freedom, people would
respond constructively and, in possession of rights and responsibilities, become
self-reliant and display innate good sense. Sadly, in practise, this was never
quite the way it was, and so in 1872 the Licensing Act was introduced, limiting
the opening hours of public houses. Whilst it can still be said to be a measure
designed to help the individual, it is the only major legislation of Gladstone?s
first ministry which is a direct intervention in people?s lives.
In conclusion, Gladstonian Liberalism is an ideology carrying the theme of
simple and efficient government. It was formulated mainly with religious influence,
and relied on moral people seeking to prosper in a moral environment. Gladstone
believed his task to be to create such a moral environment and give each person
a good chance to earn success. It is, in its roots, quite a Conservative, and
an extremely capitalist principle, and, judging by the large Conservative election
victory in 1874, was not as successful as, perhaps, with more social reforms,
it could have been. The domestic legislation of this ministry truly reflects
the idea of Gladstonian Liberalism. His reforms targeted the improvement of
governmental institutions, and went a long way towards doing so. At the end
of his first spell in office it is fair to say that the population had an improved
chance of success than in 1868. His fundamental flaw was in simply establishing
a reformed and improved system and not in pushing the working classes into drawing
all they could from it. It is perhaps a shame that Gladstone felt that social
reform, with its implications of vastly increased expenditure, discouraged self-help,
and so moved away from one of his primary philosophies ? low taxation. Otherwise
the impact of Gladstonian Liberalism would surely have been much more widely
felt.
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