be guaranteed to individuals. The Code Napoleon preserved much of the rights gained by the revolution, but not of those of women and children. The French Revolution ended feudal privileges in France and substituted instead an individualist society where advancement was based upon merit, not what class you were in when you were born. Near the end of this time in history the mercantilist economic system was slowly declining in favor of laissez-faire and its emphasis on individual initiative and profit as the best means of benefiting the larger community, especially in England. Individualism in the 19th and early 20th century spread wide abroad, and many countries were quite accepting of it. Most constitutions granted during the 19th century, civil liberties based upon individual freedoms were guaranteed. But not everyone agreed with individualism. Political and economic liberals urge for less government regulation in the interest of freeing individuals to promote their own well being, like those in England or France. But in Russia, the socialists argue that too much individualism was harmful to society. Liberals such as Jeremy Bentham agreed that when greater rights for some cause greater misery for many, like in the factories in the Industrial Revolution, then the government must intervene. To socialists, society must be reorganized to consider the good of the many even if this means restricting or qualifying individual rights. Individualism in the 19th to 20th century has drastically changed the ways of women. They have finally gotten the right to participate in government and the right to vote unlike in earlier times where it was just the adult males (Manhood Suffrage). The right to be treated as an individual rather than part of a group, especially one that may be subject to discrimination, has been strengthened by the appointment of ombudsmen and human rights commissions. Even though all these changes have occurred that has made indi...
