Ali Fuat Başgil's understanding of liberalism

Liberalism is a worldview which is shaped on the concepts of individual rights and freedoms and then divided into different kinds within itself. As a concept, liberalism has never been as popular in western countries as a way of thinking that has caused considerable debate in the West since its emergence. Contrary to the concept of individualism, which is at the core of liberalism, the social structure and culture that Turkey possesses can be shown as one of the reasons for its more community focused characteristics. On the other hand, intellectuals are also thought to play an important role in the not internalization of liberal values in Turkey. At this point, Başgil's proliberal views are regarded as important for the idea of liberalism, which can not be settled and developed in Turkey, to be combined with the notion of democracy in addition to individual rights and freedoms. In this context, while the first part of the study mentions the concept of liberalism in general, the second part explores the idea of liberalism in Turkey in the years when Başgil was active in the history of Turkish thought and Turkish political life and also focuses on the life of Başgil. The last part of the study focuses on Başgil's understanding of liberalism within the framework of the basic principles of liberalization. It can be said that in this thesis, in which Başgil's ideas on the concept of liberalism are tried to be elaborated in detail, his considerations regarding liberalism in his view are quite contributing to the development of this understanding in Turkey. His mention of individual rights and freedoms at a time when the statism regime was in effect reveals his belief in rule of law, democracy and especially in liberalism. As a result of this work, the conclusions about the thought structure of Başgil will help us to get important ideas about the his understanding of liberalism. In addition, it is thought that this study, in which as an important person in Turkish political and academic life Başgil's thoughts on liberalism are examined, will contribute to the literatüre, in context of liberalism regarding Başgil. Keywords : Ali Fuat Başgil, liberalism, democracy, political ideologies