J. Antall szerk.: Medical history in Hungary. Presented to the XXII. International Congress for the History of Medicine / Orvostörténeti Közlemények – Supplementum 4. (Budapest, 1970)
ESSAYS-LECTURES - J. Antall: Absolutism and Liberalism in Health Policy in Hungary (in English)
the state; churches are private associations of religious individuals; science, the arts and literature are equally free civilian activities—this is the somewhat oversimplified summary of the program of Hungarian liberalism. Its first outstanding figure was József Hajnóczy, one of the leaders in the tragic-ended Martinovicsconspiracy. In the political philosophy of Széchenyi, who was greatly influenced by the model of England, one can find both conservatism and liberalism, in accordance with his great personality, not free of contradictions. The classical representatives of liberalism in the Age of Reforms were Miklós Wesselényi, Lajos Kossuth, and Ferenc Deák. Though there were differences in their political programs, but it was more in the question of national independence or policy towards the nationalities, than in the field of social reforms. Within the adherents of liberalism there was a distinct group, however, formed by the followers of Eötvös, the so called "Centralists". In the wide current of the process of transformation a very considerable role was played by the "doctrinaires", as the Centralist group around József Eötvös, László Szalay, and Ágoston Trefort was called by their opponents. They demanded the reform of the obsolete county organization, central parliamentary administration, and a modern state apparatus. Their political program in more than one question set them against both Kossuth and Deák, who lead the main forces of the policy of reforms. Even if they sometimes made mistakes in questions of tactics, for the planning of the model of the modern bourgeois state, and for the formulation of the legal and constitutional system of 1848 and 1867 respectively, we are mainly indebted to them. The centralists unquestionably represented the most conscious, theoretically and politically best trained faction of Hungarian liberalism. It was not by accident that the most profound work of the age in political science was written by Eötvös under the title "The Influence of the Dominant Ideas of the 19th Century on the State", but Imre Madách, the author of the famous philosophical drama, "The Tragedy of Man", also belonged to their group. The formulation of the theory of social balance, the preaching of social reforms as the means to prevent outbursts were equally part of their political philosophy. They took under examination even the various socialistic-communistic schools, naturally rendering their criticism from the vantage point of liberalism. They professed the raising of the culture and assuring the welfare of the people, with a view to the prevention of revolutionary movements [9]. It is easier to find one's way among the various factions of Hungarian liberalism if in examining the difference between classical liberalism and the policy of Eötvös one refers to similar tendencies in European liberalism [10]. The attempt to check the development of liberalism towards radicalism was manifested especially after the revolutions of 1848, though it was noticeable even earlier. Eötvös had some connections with Ch. A.H. de Tocqueville, to whom he sent a copy of his work mentioned. The similarity in the political philosophy of the two is reflected in de Tocqueville*s letter of July 1st 1858, expressing his thanks. "I must restrict myself to speak to you about the noble sentiments that enliven the whole work : the love of real and lawful liberty, the respect showed for the dignity of the individual man, and the desire to keep the legacy of Christian 151
