Liberalism is a political doctrine as well as a system of beliefs and values centered on a specific view of the human being conceived as free and rational and endowed by nature with certain rights; a political doctrine which is amenable to be translated into laws and institutions (the liberal state). This entry examines the conceptual and linguistic problems in defining liberalism; its historical origin in the wars of religion in Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries; its philosophical and political tenets; and some of the key figures in its development.

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