Histories of liberalism have neglected the existence of a distinctive Spanish liberalism. Influenced in part by British and French thinkers, Spanish liberals also sought to reconnect Spanish political thought with the tradition of the Scholastics. The resulting liberalism combined the two traditions, incorporating both individualist and communitarian features. This article exhibits this unique liberalism through an examination of Francisco Martínez Marina and the 1812 Constitution which he influenced. A proper understanding of this work is important both for developing a more comprehensive understanding of liberalism’s history and for its subsequent influence in Spain and Spanish America.
This essay examines the role of “critical spectatorship” in the writings of two distinguished European intellectuals, José Ortega y Gasset (1883–1955) and Raymond Aron (1905–1983). We begin the paper by commenting on the struggle between civilization and barbarism, a fundamental topic in their works. We then examine the rhetoric of going beyond the political left and right, which both Ortega and Aron used in their writings. Next, we turn to the concept of “critical spectatorship” that is central to their thought and comment on the similarities and differences between their forms of social and political criticism. We conclude by drawing a few conclusions on the relevance of Ortega's and Aron's ideas for us today.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.