Miguel de Unamuno's political thought: its relationship with Liberalism

Recent studies into Unamuno's political thought have ascribed it to liberalism without inserting his thought in the historical development of liberal thought. In this article we undertake a more semanticallyprecised assessment of Unamuno's liberalism by locating his ideas in the history of liberal philosophy. This leads us to qualify the political labels that Unamuno has been given, and also to reach the following conclusions: 1) Unamuno lacked a deep knowledge of liberalism as it was consolidated in the political philosophy of his time; 2) his liberalism oscillates between social liberalism and individualistic liberalism, 3) and in the 1930s Unamuno's political thought leaned towards the individualistic liberalism of Mill and Spencer, which was the precursor of liberal conservatism.