Often-and rightly emphasizes the word-incongruenta is of political doctrines from the occidental and indigenous manifestations. This discrepancy, historically and still today, inradacinata is-at least in the case of liberalism-so much more than a consequence of adapting our political discourse to the specific socio-cultural conditions of space. From the time of formulating his even, by the pasoptista generation, and by the end of the previous parliamentary regime of World War II, Romanian liberalism has as basic coordinates two intellectual traditions which, although it presents classical liberal philosophy irizari or intersection points with this are fundamentally opposite in its essential dimensions.
The first of these has its origins in ideology in the republican mainstream and Eli-democratic or radically succeeding's, in France and in the Latin American countries in particular. The second national printed in size-and the local NGO of liberalism-conservatism reflects the contribution of German romantic inspiration. In the tradition of radical democratic, or republican-inspired plan in theory of Rousseau's philosophy to politics, politics, democracy, and as a consequence-centralism and their corollary-interventionismul are aware of the political objectives of the action, while classical liberalism individualist, is essentially anti-centralising and aware. Radical ideology-although it contains elements of common discourse with liberalism (rights and freedoms of the individual, the responsibility of the Government, the rule of law)-is fundamentally distinct both in principles and purpose of political action. Nationalism is a full component of democratic republicanism, the policy being developed under the sign of "General will" of citizens, will of all and above all at the same time. But the national Romanian liberalism borrows about organic and perenialista the nation's vision of german romanticism. In his speech and pasoptisti Liberals the next generations is a primordial nation, anistorica Union between individuals of the same blood, a spiritual and not a contractual community. Instead of rationalism specifically both classic liberal discourse and democratic militancy, when talk of the nation, the local Liberals shows entirely anti-rationalist discourse features romantic: exalted, paseism comunitarianism organicist, emanationism and obscurantism conceptually.
What will be the local liberal tradition-starting with pasoptista generation, passing through the various liberal groups that will gather within the National-Liberal Party in the second half of the nineteenth century until the establishment of the Communist regime-was born from osmosis of these two streams of thought and in the absence of a genuine liberal classic dimensions. "Bonjouristii" have known directly, on the occasion of holidays spent at the shaper Paris, Vienna, Berlin and other German cities and through contact with literature and French and German press, both democratic and Republican nationalism-romantic, in vogue in the era; and they have adopted either, having more than an ideological programme which broadly constitute the will of all future generations of Liberals.
Romanian liberalism will have, therefore, as the defining elements of the practice and theory of political centralism, nationalism, social constructivism, interventionismul and mass participation politics as a political goal. Of course, not all of these elements are materialized in the same measure in each interval. Characteristics of interventionismului, for example, are more visible only after the creation of the National Bank, the crucial moment after which the roman State, at the initiative of national-Liberals, starts an ambitious program of "sponsorship" to create a national industries; political participation and increase gradually as a result of this, public assistance, it is gradually pushed by the Liberals on the agenda of politics and made immediately after World War I through the introduction of universal suffrage, but mass participation politics has always been a goal proclaimed with much enthusiasm from the leading belong liberal.
Given the vocation of NLP "ruling party" in modern history, philosophy and politics has left its traces deep over most Romanian society. Of all, the absence of a genuine liberal in spirit sized tradition classical liberalism, it's maybe in the long run-one of the most painful. Often, rereading the past, said at this point that the classic liberal philosophy was an inadequate response to the geopolitical context of the Romanian principalities in the 19th century and the backwardness of economic, social and political territories and that, consequently, she was not able to capture the interest of the local elite. This issue requires a separate discussion; It's enough to last that there were prerequisites for an indigenous liberal traditions in the spirit of classical liberalism. Contact with liberal economists French (Jean Baptiste Say, Frédéric Bastiat, Charles or Charles Dunoyer Compte as to name only a few) had a significant influence on the Ion Ghica, considered the most liberal of the local Liberals; It also publishes a treatise on Ion Layer of political economy in which, with great vigor, his liberal vision of Say and Bastiat; but such manifestations of classical liberalism are minority and occupy a peripheral place in policy and practice in intellectual debate from the era, where they impose protectionism against his Bratianu and sociology marxista Stefan Zeletin.
It is true that, at the end of the 19th century, liberalism fell into a crisis on the entire european continent and beyond. Since the interwar period, the philosophy of liberal policy disappears for a long time from current policy and practice from the intellectual debate. We could therefore say that in this case context Romanian syncs perfectly with the general European trend; only if the rest of Europe, there is a theoretical and historical legacy of classical liberalism that has continued to inspire "inactuali" in Romania, after almost fifty years of despotism, there's the issue of inheritance than national liberalism.