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Conclusion

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 April 2025

Moritz Föllmer
Affiliation:
University of Amsterdam
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Summary

This book has historicized the quest for individual freedom in twentieth-century Europe by highlighting conflict-ridden expansion: more and more people claimed the status of free individuals, but they did so in very different ways, in various contexts, and more often than not in the face of powerful opposition. The Conclusion brings out the overarching narrative centered around ordinary Europeans’ efforts to expand their realm of control in spite of obstacles, to carve out a space for themselves, and to live freely according to their own preferred understandings. It also argues that these efforts stood in tension with various political movements that aspired to combine individual and collective freedom. This tension eased when the quest in its unheroic versions, having put both democracies and dictatorships under pressure to adapt, could be pursued in the more favorable context of détente and affluence. With the end of the Cold war, it seemed indeed to have prevailed. But the relationship between individual freedom and Europeanness was never entirely exempt from conflict and complexity and has recently become more controversial again.

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The Quest for Individual Freedom
A Twentieth-Century European History
, pp. 225 - 230
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2025

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  • Conclusion
  • Moritz Föllmer, University of Amsterdam
  • Book: The Quest for Individual Freedom
  • Online publication: 12 April 2025
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009482820.007
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  • Conclusion
  • Moritz Föllmer, University of Amsterdam
  • Book: The Quest for Individual Freedom
  • Online publication: 12 April 2025
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009482820.007
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Conclusion
  • Moritz Föllmer, University of Amsterdam
  • Book: The Quest for Individual Freedom
  • Online publication: 12 April 2025
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009482820.007
Available formats
×