title: Liberalism

text: Over time, the meaning of "liberalism" began to diverge in different parts of the world. According to the "Encyclopædia Britannica": "In the United States, liberalism is associated with the welfare-state policies of the New Deal programme of the Democratic administration of Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt, whereas in Europe it is more commonly associated with a commitment to limited government and "laissez-faire" economic policies". Consequently, in the United States, the ideas of individualism and "laissez-faire" economics previously associated with classical liberalism became the basis for the emerging school of libertarian thought and are key components of American conservatism. In this American context, the term "liberal" is often used as a pejorative.


title: Liberalism

text: In Europe and Latin America, the word "liberalism" means a moderate form of classical liberalism, unlike North America, and includes both centre-right conservative liberalism (right-liberalism) and centre-left social liberalism (left-liberalism). Unlike Europe and Latin America, the word "liberalism" in North America almost exclusively refers to social liberalism (left-liberalism). The dominant Canadian party is the Liberal Party, and the Democratic Party is usually considered liberal in the United States. In the United States, conservative liberals are usually called "conservatives" in a broad sense.


title: Liberalism

text: Liberalism—both as a political current and an intellectual tradition—is mostly a modern phenomenon that started in the 17th century, although some liberal philosophical ideas had precursors in classical antiquity and Imperial China. The Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius praised "the idea of a polity administered with regard to equal rights and equal freedom of speech, and the idea of a kingly government which respects most of all the freedom of the governed". Scholars have also recognised many principles familiar to contemporary liberals in the works of several Sophists and the "Funeral Oration" by Pericles. Liberal philosophy is the culmination of an extensive intellectual tradition that has examined and popularized some of the modern world's most important and controversial principles. Its immense scholarly output has been characterized as containing "richness and diversity", but that diversity often has meant that liberalism comes in different formulations and presents a challenge to anyone looking for a clear definition.


title: Liberalism

text: Although all liberal doctrines possess a common heritage, scholars frequently assume that those doctrines contain "separate and often contradictory streams of thought". The objectives of liberal theorists and philosophers have differed across various times, cultures and continents. The diversity of liberalism can be gleaned from the numerous qualifiers that liberal thinkers and movements have attached to the term "liberalism", including classical, egalitarian, economic, social, the welfare state, ethical, humanist, deontological, perfectionist, democratic and institutional, to name a few. Despite these variations, liberal thought does exhibit a few definite and fundamental conceptions.


title: Liberalism

text: Political philosopher John Gray identified the common strands in liberal thought as individualist, egalitarian, meliorist and universalist. The individualist element avers the ethical primacy of the human being against the pressures of social collectivism; the egalitarian element assigns the same moral worth and status to all individuals; the meliorist element asserts that successive generations can improve their sociopolitical arrangements, and the universalist element affirms the moral unity of the human species and marginalises local cultural differences. The meliorist element has been the subject of much controversy, defended by thinkers such as Immanuel Kant, who believed in human progress, while suffering criticism by thinkers such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau, who instead believed that human attempts to improve themselves through social cooperation would fail. Describing the liberal temperament, Gray claimed that it "has been inspired by scepticism and by a fideistic certainty of divine revelation ... it has exalted the power of reason even as, in other contexts, it has sought to humble reason's claims".


title: Liberalism

text: The liberal philosophical tradition has searched for validation and justification through several intellectual projects. The moral and political suppositions of liberalism have been based on traditions such as natural rights and utilitarian theory, although sometimes liberals even request support from scientific and religious circles. Through all these strands and traditions, scholars have identified the following major common facets of liberal thought:


title: Liberalism

text: Enlightenment philosophers are given credit for shaping liberal ideas. These ideas were first drawn together and systematized as a distinct ideology by the English philosopher John Locke, generally regarded as the father of modern liberalism. Thomas Hobbes attempted to determine the purpose and the justification of governing authority in post-civil war England. Employing the idea of a "state of nature" — a hypothetical war-like scenario prior to the state — he constructed the idea of a "social contract" that individuals enter into to guarantee their security and, in so doing, form the State, concluding that only an absolute sovereign would be fully able to sustain such security. Hobbes had developed the concept of the social contract, according to which individuals in the anarchic and brutal state of nature came together and voluntarily ceded some of their rights to an established state authority, which would create laws to regulate social interactions to mitigate or mediate conflicts and enforce justice. Whereas Hobbes advocated a strong monarchical commonwealth (the Leviathan), Locke developed the then-radical notion that government acquires consent from the governed, which has to be constantly present for the government to remain legitimate. While adopting Hobbes's idea of a state of nature and social contract, Locke nevertheless argued that when the monarch becomes a tyrant, it violates the social contract, which protects life, liberty and property as a natural right. He concluded that the people have a right to overthrow a tyrant. By placing the security of life, liberty and property as the supreme value of law and authority, Locke formulated the basis of liberalism based on social contract theory. To these early enlightenment thinkers, securing the essential amenities of life—liberty and private property—required forming a "sovereign" authority with universal jurisdiction.


title: Liberalism

text: His influential "Two Treatises" (1690), the foundational text of liberal ideology, outlined his major ideas. Once humans moved out of their natural state and formed societies, Locke argued, "that which begins and actually constitutes any political society is nothing but the consent of any number of freemen capable of a majority to unite and incorporate into such a society. And this is that, and that only, which did or could give beginning to any lawful government in the world". The stringent insistence that lawful government did not have a supernatural basis was a sharp break with the dominant theories of governance, which advocated the divine right of kings and echoed the earlier thought of Aristotle. One political scientist described this new thinking: "In the liberal understanding, there are no citizens within the regime who can claim to rule by natural or supernatural right, without the consent of the governed".


title: Liberalism

text: Locke had other intellectual opponents besides Hobbes. In the "First Treatise", Locke aimed his arguments first and foremost at one of the doyens of 17th-century English conservative philosophy: Robert Filmer. Filmer's "Patriarcha" (1680) argued for the divine right of kings by appealing to biblical teaching, claiming that the authority granted to Adam by God gave successors of Adam in the male line of descent a right of dominion over all other humans and creatures in the world. However, Locke disagreed so thoroughly and obsessively with Filmer that the "First Treatise" is almost a sentence-by-sentence refutation of "Patriarcha". Reinforcing his respect for consensus, Locke argued that "conjugal society is made up by a voluntary compact between men and women". Locke maintained that the grant of dominion in Genesis was not to men over women, as Filmer believed, but to humans over animals. Locke was no feminist by modern standards, but the first major liberal thinker in history accomplished an equally major task on the road to making the world more pluralistic: integrating women into social theory.


title: Liberalism

text: Locke also originated the concept of the separation of church and state. Based on the social contract principle, Locke argued that the government lacked authority in the realm of individual conscience, as this was something rational people could not cede to the government for it or others to control. For Locke, this created a natural right to the liberty of conscience, which he argued must remain protected from any government authority. In his "Letters Concerning Toleration", he also formulated a general defence for religious toleration. Three arguments are central:


title: Liberalism

text: Locke was also influenced by the liberal ideas of Presbyterian politician and poet John Milton, who was a staunch advocate of freedom in all its forms. Milton argued for disestablishment as the only effective way of achieving broad toleration. Rather than force a man's conscience, the government should recognise the persuasive force of the gospel. As assistant to Oliver Cromwell, Milton also drafted a constitution of the independents ("Agreement of the People"; 1647) that strongly stressed the equality of all humans as a consequence of democratic tendencies. In his "Areopagitica", Milton provided one of the first arguments for the importance of freedom of speech—"the liberty to know, to utter, and to argue freely according to conscience, above all liberties". His central argument was that the individual could use reason to distinguish right from wrong. To exercise this right, everyone must have unlimited access to the ideas of his fellow men in "a free and open encounter", which will allow good arguments to prevail.


title: Liberalism

text: In a natural state of affairs, liberals argued, humans were driven by the instincts of survival and self-preservation, and the only way to escape from such a dangerous existence was to form a common and supreme power capable of arbitrating between competing human desires. This power could be formed in the framework of a civil society that allows individuals to make a voluntary social contract with the sovereign authority, transferring their natural rights to that authority in return for the protection of life, liberty and property. These early liberals often disagreed about the most appropriate form of government, but all believed that liberty was natural and its restriction needed strong justification. Liberals generally believed in limited government, although several liberal philosophers decried government outright, with Thomas Paine writing, "government even in its best state is a necessary evil".


title: Liberalism

text: As part of the project to limit the powers of government, liberal theorists such as James Madison and Montesquieu conceived the notion of separation of powers, a system designed to equally distribute governmental authority among the executive, legislative and judicial branches. Governments had to realise, liberals maintained, that legitimate government only exists with the consent of the governed, so poor and improper governance gave the people the authority to overthrow the ruling order through all possible means, even through outright violence and revolution, if needed. Contemporary liberals, heavily influenced by social liberalism, have supported limited constitutional government while advocating for state services and provisions to ensure equal rights. Modern liberals claim that formal or official guarantees of individual rights are irrelevant when individuals lack the material means to benefit from those rights and call for a greater role for government in the administration of economic affairs. Early liberals also laid the groundwork for the separation of church and state. As heirs of the Enlightenment, liberals believed that any given social and political order emanated from human interactions, not from divine will. Many liberals were openly hostile to religious belief but most concentrated their opposition to the union of religious and political authority, arguing that faith could prosper independently without official sponsorship or administration by the state.


title: Liberalism

text: Beyond identifying a clear role for government in modern society, liberals have also argued over the meaning and nature of the most important principle in liberal philosophy: liberty. From the 17th century until the 19th century, liberals (from Adam Smith to John Stuart Mill) conceptualised liberty as the absence of interference from government and other individuals, claiming that all people should have the freedom to develop their unique abilities and capacities without being sabotaged by others. Mill's "On Liberty" (1859), one of the classic texts in liberal philosophy, proclaimed, "the only freedom which deserves the name, is that of pursuing our own good in our own way". Support for "laissez-faire" capitalism is often associated with this principle, with Friedrich Hayek arguing in "The Road to Serfdom" (1944) that reliance on free markets would preclude totalitarian control by the state.


title: Liberalism

text: The development into maturity of modern classical in contrast to ancient liberalism took place before and soon after the French Revolution. One of the historic centres of this development was at Coppet Castle near Geneva, where the eponymous Coppet group gathered under the aegis of the exiled writer and salonnière, Madame de Staël, in the period between the establishment of Napoleon's First Empire (1804) and the Bourbon Restoration of 1814–1815. The unprecedented concentration of European thinkers who met there was to have a considerable influence on the development of nineteenth-century liberalism and, incidentally, romanticism. They included Wilhelm von Humboldt, Jean de Sismondi, Charles Victor de Bonstetten, Prosper de Barante, Henry Brougham, Lord Byron, Alphonse de Lamartine, Sir James Mackintosh, Juliette Récamier and August Wilhelm Schlegel.


title: Liberalism

text: Among them was also one of the first thinkers to go by the name of "liberal", the Edinburgh University-educated Swiss Protestant, Benjamin Constant, who looked to the United Kingdom rather than to ancient Rome for a practical model of freedom in a large mercantile society. He distinguished between the "Liberty of the Ancients" and the "Liberty of the Moderns". The Liberty of the Ancients was a participatory republican liberty, which gave the citizens the right to influence politics directly through debates and votes in the public assembly. In order to support this degree of participation, citizenship was a burdensome moral obligation requiring a considerable investment of time and energy. Generally, this required a sub-group of slaves to do much of the productive work, leaving citizens free to deliberate on public affairs. Ancient Liberty was also limited to relatively small and homogenous male societies, where they could congregate in one place to transact public affairs.


title: Liberalism

text: In contrast, the Liberty of the Moderns was based on the possession of civil liberties, the rule of law, and freedom from excessive state interference. Direct participation would be limited: a necessary consequence of the size of modern states and the inevitable result of creating a mercantile society where there were no slaves, but almost everybody had to earn a living through work. Instead, the voters would elect representatives who would deliberate in Parliament on the people's behalf and would save citizens from daily political involvement. The importance of Constant's writings on the liberty of the ancients and that of the "moderns" has informed the understanding of liberalism, as has his critique of the French Revolution. The British philosopher and historian of ideas, Sir Isaiah Berlin, has pointed to the debt owed to Constant.


title: Liberalism

text: Liberalism in Britain was based on core concepts such as classical economics, free trade, "laissez-faire" government with minimal intervention and taxation and a balanced budget. Classical liberals were committed to individualism, liberty and equal rights. Writers such as John Bright and Richard Cobden opposed aristocratic privilege and property, which they saw as an impediment to developing a class of yeoman farmers.


title: Liberalism

text: Beginning in the late 19th century, a new conception of liberty entered the liberal intellectual arena. This new kind of liberty became known as positive liberty to distinguish it from the prior negative version, and it was first developed by British philosopher Thomas Hill Green. Green rejected the idea that humans were driven solely by self-interest, emphasising instead the complex circumstances involved in the evolution of our moral character. In a very profound step for the future of modern liberalism, he also tasked society and political institutions with the enhancement of individual freedom and identity and the development of moral character, will and reason and the state to create the conditions that allow for the above, allowing genuine choice. Foreshadowing the new liberty as the freedom to act rather than to avoid suffering from the acts of others, Green wrote the following:


title: Liberalism

text: Rather than previous liberal conceptions viewing society as populated by selfish individuals, Green viewed society as an organic whole in which all individuals have a duty to promote the common good. His ideas spread rapidly and were developed by other thinkers such as Leonard Trelawny Hobhouse and John A. Hobson. In a few years, this "New Liberalism" had become the essential social and political programme of the Liberal Party in Britain, and it would encircle much of the world in the 20th century. In addition to examining negative and positive liberty, liberals have tried to understand the proper relationship between liberty and democracy. As they struggled to expand suffrage rights, liberals increasingly understood that people left out of the democratic decision-making process were liable to the "tyranny of the majority", a concept explained in Mill's "On Liberty" and "Democracy in America" (1835) by Alexis de Tocqueville. As a response, liberals began demanding proper safeguards to thwart majorities in their attempts at suppressing the rights of minorities.


title: Liberalism

text: Besides liberty, liberals have developed several other principles important to the construction of their philosophical structure, such as equality, pluralism and tolerance. Highlighting the confusion over the first principle, Voltaire commented, "equality is at once the most natural and at times the most chimeral of things". All forms of liberalism assume in some basic sense that individuals are equal. In maintaining that people are naturally equal, liberals assume they all possess the same right to liberty. In other words, no one is inherently entitled to enjoy the benefits of liberal society more than anyone else, and all people are equal subjects before the law. Beyond this basic conception, liberal theorists diverge in their understanding of equality. American philosopher John Rawls emphasised the need to ensure equality under the law and the equal distribution of material resources that individuals required to develop their aspirations in life. Libertarian thinker Robert Nozick disagreed with Rawls, championing the former version of Lockean equality.


title: Liberalism

text: To contribute to the development of liberty, liberals also have promoted concepts like pluralism and tolerance. By pluralism, liberals refer to the proliferation of opinions and beliefs that characterise a stable social order. Unlike many of their competitors and predecessors, liberals do not seek conformity and homogeneity in how people think. Their efforts have been geared towards establishing a governing framework that harmonises and minimises conflicting views but still allows those views to exist and flourish. For liberal philosophy, pluralism leads easily to toleration. Since individuals will hold diverging viewpoints, liberals argue, they ought to uphold and respect the right of one another to disagree. From the liberal perspective, toleration was initially connected to religious toleration, with Baruch Spinoza condemning "the stupidity of religious persecution and ideological wars". Toleration also played a central role in the ideas of Kant and John Stuart Mill. Both thinkers believed that society would contain different conceptions of a good ethical life and that people should be allowed to make their own choices without interference from the state or other individuals.


title: Liberalism

text: Adam Smith's "The Wealth of Nations", published in 1776, followed by the French liberal economist Jean-Baptiste Say's treatise on "Political Economy" published in 1803 and expanded in 1830 with practical applications, were to provide most of the ideas of economics until the publication of John Stuart Mill's "Principles" in 1848. Smith addressed the motivation for economic activity, the causes of prices and wealth distribution, and the policies the state should follow to maximise wealth.


title: Liberalism

text: Smith wrote that as long as supply, demand, prices and competition were left free of government regulation, the pursuit of material self-interest, rather than altruism, maximises society's wealth through profit-driven production of goods and services. An "invisible hand" directed individuals and firms to work toward the nation's good as an unintended consequence of efforts to maximise their gain. This provided a moral justification for accumulating wealth, which some had previously viewed as sinful.


title: Liberalism

text: Smith assumed that workers could be paid as low as was necessary for their survival, which David Ricardo and Thomas Robert Malthus later transformed into the "iron law of wages". His main emphasis was on the benefit of free internal and international trade, which he thought could increase wealth through specialisation in production. He also opposed restrictive trade preferences, state grants of monopolies and employers' organisations and trade unions. Government should be limited to defence, public works and the administration of justice, financed by taxes based on income. Smith was one of the progenitors of the idea, which was long central to classical liberalism and has resurfaced in the globalisation literature of the later 20th and early 21st centuries, that free trade promotes peace. Smith's economics was carried into practice in the 19th century with the lowering of tariffs in the 1820s, the repeal of the Poor Relief Act that had restricted the mobility of labour in 1834 and the end of the rule of the East India Company over India in 1858.


title: Liberalism

text: In his "Treatise" (Traité d'économie politique), Say states that any production process requires effort, knowledge and the "application" of the entrepreneur. He sees entrepreneurs as intermediaries in the production process who combine productive factors such as land, capital and labour to meet the consumers' demands. As a result, they play a central role in the economy through their coordinating function. He also highlights qualities essential for successful entrepreneurship and focuses on judgement, in that they have continued to assess market needs and the means to meet them. This requires an "unerring market sense". Say views entrepreneurial income primarily as the high revenue paid in compensation for their skills and expert knowledge. He does so by contrasting the enterprise and supply-of-capital functions, distinguishing the entrepreneur's earnings on the one hand and the remuneration of capital on the other. This differentiates his theory from that of Joseph Schumpeter, who describes entrepreneurial rent as short-term profits which compensate for high risk (Schumpeterian rent). Say himself also refers to risk and uncertainty along with innovation without analysing them in detail.


title: Liberalism

text: Say is also credited with Say's law, or the law of markets which may be summarised as "Aggregate supply creates its own aggregate demand",


title: Liberalism

text: and "Supply creates its own demand", or "Supply constitutes its own demand" and "Inherent in supply is the need for its own consumption". The related phrase "supply creates its own demand" was coined by John Maynard Keynes, who criticized Say's separate formulations as amounting to the same thing. Some advocates of Say's law who disagree with Keynes have claimed that Say's law can be summarized more accurately as "production precedes consumption" and that what Say is stating is that for consumption to happen, one must produce something of value so that it can be traded for money or barter for consumption later.


title: Liberalism

text: Say argues, "products are paid for with products" (1803, p. 153) or "a glut occurs only when too much resource is applied to making one product and not enough to another" (1803, pp. 178–179).


title: Liberalism

text: Related reasoning appears in the work of John Stuart Mill and earlier in that of his Scottish classical economist father, James Mill (1808). Mill senior restates Say's law in 1808: "production of commodities creates, and is the one and universal cause which creates a market for the commodities produced".


title: Liberalism

text: In addition to Smith's and Say's legacies, Thomas Malthus' theories of population and David Ricardo's Iron law of wages became central doctrines of classical economics. Meanwhile, Jean-Baptiste Say challenged Smith's labour theory of value, believing that prices were determined by utility and also emphasised the critical role of the entrepreneur in the economy. However, neither of those observations became accepted by British economists at the time. Malthus wrote "An Essay on the Principle of Population" in 1798, becoming a major influence on classical liberalism. Malthus claimed that population growth would outstrip food production because the population grew geometrically while food production grew arithmetically. As people were provided with food, they would reproduce until their growth outstripped the food supply. Nature would then provide a check to growth in the forms of vice and misery. No gains in income could prevent this, and any welfare for the poor would be self-defeating. The poor were, in fact, responsible for their problems which could have been avoided through self-restraint.


title: Liberalism

text: Several liberals, including Adam Smith and Richard Cobden, argued that the free exchange of goods between nations would lead to world peace. Smith argued that as societies progressed, the spoils of war would rise, but the costs of war would rise further, making war difficult and costly for industrialised nations. Cobden believed that military expenditures worsened the state's welfare and benefited a small but concentrated elite minority, combining his Little Englander beliefs with opposition to the economic restrictions of mercantilist policies. To Cobden and many classical liberals, those who advocated peace must also advocate free markets.


title: Liberalism

text: Utilitarianism was seen as a political justification for implementing economic liberalism by British governments, an idea dominating economic policy from the 1840s. Although utilitarianism prompted legislative and administrative reform, and John Stuart Mill's later writings foreshadowed the welfare state, it was mainly used as a premise for a "laissez-faire" approach. The central concept of utilitarianism, developed by Jeremy Bentham, was that public policy should seek to provide "the greatest happiness of the greatest number". While this could be interpreted as a justification for state action to reduce poverty, it was used by classical liberals to justify inaction with the argument that the net benefit to all individuals would be higher. His philosophy proved highly influential on government policy and led to increased Benthamite attempts at government social control, including Robert Peel's Metropolitan Police, prison reforms, the workhouses and asylums for the mentally ill.


title: Liberalism

text: During the Great Depression, the English economist John Maynard Keynes (1883–1946) gave the definitive liberal response to the economic crisis. Keynes had been "brought up" as a classical liberal, but especially after World War I, became increasingly a welfare or social liberal. A prolific writer, among many other works, he had begun a theoretical work examining the relationship between unemployment, money and prices back in the 1920s. Keynes was deeply critical of the British government's austerity measures during the Great Depression. He believed budget deficits were a good thing, a product of recessions. He wrote: "For Government borrowing of one kind or another is nature's remedy, so to speak, for preventing business losses from being, in so severe a slump as the present one, so great as to bring production altogether to a standstill". At the height of the Great Depression in 1933, Keynes published "The Means to Prosperity", which contained specific policy recommendations for tackling unemployment in a global recession, chiefly counter cyclical public spending. "The Means to Prosperity" contains one of the first mentions of the multiplier effect.


title: Liberalism

text: Keynes's "magnum opus", "The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money", was published in 1936 and served as a theoretical justification for the interventionist policies Keynes favoured for tackling a recession. The "General Theory" challenged the earlier neo-classical economic paradigm, which had held that the market would naturally establish full employment equilibrium if it were unfettered by government interference. Classical economists believed in Say's law, which states that "supply creates its own demand" and that in a free market, workers would always be willing to lower their wages to a level where employers could profitably offer them jobs. An innovation from Keynes was the concept of price stickiness, i.e. the recognition that, in reality, workers often refuse to lower their wage demands even in cases where a classical economist might argue it is rational for them to do so. Due in part to price stickiness, it was established that the interaction of "aggregate demand" and "aggregate supply" may lead to stable unemployment equilibria, and in those cases, it is the state and not the market that economies must depend on for their salvation. The book advocated activist economic policy by the government to stimulate demand in times of high unemployment, for example, by spending on public works. In 1928, he wrote: "Let us be up and doing, using our idle resources to increase our wealth. ... With men and plants unemployed, it is ridiculous to say that we cannot afford these new developments. It is precisely with these plants and these men that we shall afford them". Where the market failed to allocate resources properly, the government was required to stimulate the economy until private funds could start flowing again—a "prime the pump" kind of strategy designed to boost industrial production.


title: Liberalism

text: Liberal feminism, the dominant tradition in feminist history, is an individualistic form of feminist theory that focuses on women's ability to maintain their equality through their actions and choices. Liberal feminists hope to eradicate all barriers to gender equality, claiming that the continued existence of such barriers eviscerates the individual rights and freedoms ostensibly guaranteed by a liberal social order. They argue that society believes women are naturally less intellectually and physically capable than men; thus, it tends to discriminate against women in the academy, the forum and the marketplace. Liberal feminists believe that "female subordination is rooted in a set of customary and legal constraints that blocks women's entrance to and success in the so-called public world". They strive for sexual equality via political and legal reform.


title: Liberalism

text: British philosopher Mary Wollstonecraft (1759–1797) is widely regarded as the pioneer of liberal feminism, with "A Vindication of the Rights of Woman" (1792) expanding the boundaries of liberalism to include women in the political structure of liberal society. In her writings, such as "A Vindication of the Rights of Woman", Wollstonecraft commented on society's view of women and encouraged women to use their voices in making decisions separate from those previously made for them. Wollstonecraft "denied that women are, by nature, more pleasure seeking and pleasure giving than men. She reasoned that if they were confined to the same cages that trap women, men would develop the same flawed characters. What Wollstonecraft most wanted for women was personhood".


title: Liberalism

text: John Stuart Mill was also an early proponent of feminism. In his article "The Subjection of Women" (1861, published 1869), Mill attempted to prove that the legal subjugation of women is wrong and that it should give way to perfect equality. He believed that both sexes should have equal rights under the law and that "until conditions of equality exist, no one can possibly assess the natural differences between women and men, distorted as they have been. What is natural to the two sexes can only be found out by allowing both to develop and use their faculties freely". Mill frequently spoke of this imbalance and wondered if women were able to feel the same "genuine unselfishness" that men did in providing for their families. This unselfishness Mill advocated is the one "that motivates people to take into account the good of society as well as the good of the individual person or small family unit". Like Mary Wollstonecraft, Mill compared sexual inequality to slavery, arguing that their husbands are often just as abusive as masters and that a human being controls nearly every aspect of life for another human being. In his book "The Subjection of Women", Mill argues that three major parts of women's lives are hindering them: society and gender construction, education and marriage.


title: Liberalism

text: Equity feminism is a form of liberal feminism discussed since the 1980s, specifically a kind of classically liberal or libertarian feminism. Steven Pinker, an evolutionary psychologist, defines equity feminism as "a moral doctrine about equal treatment that makes no commitments regarding open empirical issues in psychology or biology". Barry Kuhle asserts that equity feminism is compatible with evolutionary psychology in contrast to gender feminism.


title: Liberalism

text: Jean Charles Léonard Simonde de Sismondi's "Nouveaux principes d'économie politique, ou de la richesse dans ses rapports avec la population" (1819) represents the first comprehensive liberal critique of early capitalism and laissez-faire economics, and his writings, which were studied by John Stuart Mill and Karl Marx among many others, had a profound influence on both liberal and socialist responses to the failures and contradictions of industrial society. By the end of the 19th century, the principles of classical liberalism were being increasingly challenged by downturns in economic growth, a growing perception of the evils of poverty, unemployment and relative deprivation present within modern industrial cities, as well as the agitation of organised labour. The ideal of the self-made individual who could make his or her place in the world through hard work and talent seemed increasingly implausible. A major political reaction against the changes introduced by industrialisation and "laissez-faire" capitalism came from conservatives concerned about social balance, although socialism later became a more important force for change and reform. Some Victorian writers, including Charles Dickens, Thomas Carlyle and Matthew Arnold, became early influential critics of social injustice.


title: Liberalism

text: New liberals began to adapt the old language of liberalism to confront these difficult circumstances, which they believed could only be resolved through a broader and more interventionist conception of the state. An equal right to liberty could not be established merely by ensuring that individuals did not physically interfere with each other or by having impartially formulated and applied laws. More positive and proactive measures were required to ensure that every individual would have an equal opportunity for success.


title: Liberalism

text: John Stuart Mill contributed enormously to liberal thought by combining elements of classical liberalism with what eventually became known as the new liberalism. Mill's 1859 "On Liberty" addressed the nature and limits of the power that can be legitimately exercised by society over the individual. He gave an impassioned defence of free speech, arguing that free discourse is a necessary condition for intellectual and social progress. Mill defined "social liberty" as protection from "the tyranny of political rulers". He introduced many different concepts of the form tyranny can take, referred to as social tyranny and tyranny of the majority. Social liberty meant limits on the ruler's power through obtaining recognition of political liberties or rights and establishing a system of "constitutional checks".


title: Liberalism

text: His definition of liberty, influenced by Joseph Priestley and Josiah Warren, was that the individual ought to be free to do as he wishes unless he harms others. However, although Mill's initial economic philosophy supported free markets and argued that progressive taxation penalised those who worked harder, he later altered his views toward a more socialist bent, adding chapters to his "Principles of Political Economy" in defence of a socialist outlook and defending some socialist causes, including the radical proposal that the whole wage system be abolished in favour of a co-operative wage system.


title: Liberalism

text: Another early liberal convert to greater government intervention was Thomas Hill Green. Seeing the effects of alcohol, he believed that the state should foster and protect the social, political and economic environments in which individuals will have the best chance of acting according to their consciences. The state should intervene only where there is a clear, proven and strong tendency of liberty to enslave the individual. Green regarded the national state as legitimate only to the extent that it upholds a system of rights and obligations most likely to foster individual self-realisation.


title: Liberalism

text: The New Liberalism or social liberalism movement emerged in about 1900 in Britain. The New Liberals, including intellectuals like L. T. Hobhouse and John A. Hobson, saw individual liberty as something achievable only under favourable social and economic circumstances. In their view, the poverty, squalor and ignorance in which many people lived made it impossible for freedom and individuality to flourish. New Liberals believed these conditions could be ameliorated only through collective action coordinated by a strong, welfare-oriented, interventionist state. It supports a mixed economy that includes public and private property in capital goods.


title: Liberalism

text: Principles that can be described as social liberal have been based upon or developed by philosophers such as John Stuart Mill, Eduard Bernstein, John Dewey, Carlo Rosselli, Norberto Bobbio and Chantal Mouffe. Other important social liberal figures include Guido Calogero, Piero Gobetti, Leonard Trelawny Hobhouse and R. H. Tawney. Liberal socialism has been particularly prominent in British and Italian politics.


title: Liberalism

text: Classical liberalism advocates free trade under the rule of law. Anarcho-capitalism goes one step further, with law enforcement and the courts being provided by private companies. Various theorists have espoused legal philosophies similar to anarcho-capitalism. One of the first liberals to discuss the possibility of privatizing the protection of individual liberty and property was France's Jakob Mauvillon in the 18th century. Later in the 1840s, Julius Faucher and Gustave de Molinari advocated the same. In his essay "The Production of Security", Molinari argued: "No government should have the right to prevent another government from going into competition with it, or to require consumers of security to come exclusively to it for this commodity". Molinari and this new type of anti-state liberal grounded their reasoning on liberal ideals and classical economics. Historian and libertarian Ralph Raico argued that what these liberal philosophers "had come up with was a form of individualist anarchism, or, as it would be called today, anarcho-capitalism or market anarchism". Unlike the liberalism of Locke, which saw the state as evolving from society, the anti-state liberals saw a fundamental conflict between the voluntary interactions of people, i.e. society, and the institutions of force, i.e. the state. This society versus state idea was expressed in various ways: natural society vs artificial society, liberty vs authority, society of contract vs society of authority and industrial society vs militant society, to name a few. The anti-state liberal tradition in Europe and the United States continued after Molinari in the early writings of Herbert Spencer and thinkers such as Paul Émile de Puydt and Auberon Herbert. However, the first person to use the term anarcho-capitalism was Murray Rothbard. In the mid-20th century, Rothbard synthesized elements from the Austrian School of economics, classical liberalism and 19th-century American individualist anarchists Lysander Spooner and Benjamin Tucker (while rejecting their labour theory of value and the norms they derived from it). Anarcho-capitalism advocates the elimination of the state in favour of individual sovereignty, private property and free markets. Anarcho-capitalists believe that in the absence of statute (law by decree or legislation), society would improve itself through the discipline of the free market (or what its proponents describe as a "voluntary society").


title: Liberalism

text: In a theoretical anarcho-capitalist society, law enforcement, courts and all other security services would be operated by privately funded competitors rather than centrally through taxation. Money and other goods and services would be privately and competitively provided in an open market. Anarcho-capitalists say personal and economic activities under anarcho-capitalism would be regulated by victim-based dispute resolution organizations under tort and contract law rather than by statute through centrally determined punishment under what they describe as "political monopolies". A Rothbardian anarcho-capitalist society would operate under a mutually agreed-upon libertarian "legal code which would be generally accepted, and which the courts would pledge themselves to follow". Although enforcement methods vary, this pact would recognize self-ownership and the non-aggression principle (NAP).


title: Liberalism

text: Isolated strands of liberal thought have existed in Western philosophy since the Ancient Greeks and in Eastern philosophy since the Song and Ming periods. These ideas were first drawn together and systematized as a distinct ideology by the English philosopher John Locke, generally regarded as the father of modern liberalism. The first major signs of liberal politics emerged in modern times. These ideas began to coalesce at the time of the English Civil War. The Levellers, a largely ignored minority political movement that primarily consisted of Puritans, Presbyterians, and Quakers, called for freedom of religion, frequent convening of parliament and equality under the law. The Glorious Revolution of 1688 enshrined parliamentary sovereignty and the right of revolution in Britain and was referred to by author Steven Pincus as the "first modern liberal revolution". The development of liberalism continued throughout the 18th century with the burgeoning Enlightenment ideals of the era. This period of profound intellectual vitality questioned old traditions and influenced several European monarchies throughout the 18th century. Political tension between England and its American colonies grew after 1765 and the Seven Years' War over the issue of taxation without representation, culminating in the American Revolutionary War and, eventually, the Declaration of Independence. After the war, the leaders debated about how to move forward. The Articles of Confederation, written in 1776, now appeared inadequate to provide security or even a functional government. The Confederation Congress called a Constitutional Convention in 1787, which resulted in the writing of a new Constitution of the United States establishing a federal government. In the context of the times, the Constitution was a republican and liberal document. It remains the oldest liberal governing document in effect worldwide.


title: Liberalism

text: The two key events that marked the triumph of liberalism in France were the abolition of feudalism in France on the night of 4 August 1789, which marked the collapse of feudal and old traditional rights and privileges and restrictions, as well as the passage of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen in August, itself based on the U.S. Declaration of Independence from 1776. During the Napoleonic Wars, the French brought Western Europe the liquidation of the feudal system, the liberalization of property laws, the end of seigneurial dues, the abolition of guilds, the legalization of divorce, the disintegration of Jewish ghettos, the collapse of the Inquisition, the end of the Holy Roman Empire, the elimination of church courts and religious authority, the establishment of the metric system and equality under the law for all men. His most lasting achievement, the Civil Code, served as "an object of emulation all over the globe" but also perpetuated further discrimination against women under the banner of the "natural order".


title: Liberalism

text: The development into maturity of classical liberalism took place before and after the French Revolution in Britain. Adam Smith's "The Wealth of Nations", published in 1776, was to provide most of the ideas of economics, at least until the publication of John Stuart Mill's "Principles" in 1848. Smith addressed the motivation for economic activity, the causes of prices and wealth distribution, and the policies the state should follow to maximise wealth. The radical liberal movement began in the 1790s in England and concentrated on parliamentary and electoral reform, emphasizing natural rights and popular sovereignty. Radicals like Richard Price and Joseph Priestley saw parliamentary reform as a first step toward dealing with their many grievances, including the treatment of Protestant Dissenters, the slave trade, high prices and high taxes.


title: Liberalism

text: In Latin America, liberal unrest dates back to the 18th century, when liberal agitation in Latin America led to independence from the imperial power of Spain and Portugal. The new regimes were generally liberal in their political outlook and employed the philosophy of positivism, which emphasized the truth of modern science, to buttress their positions. In the United States, a vicious war ensured the integrity of the nation and the abolition of slavery in the South. Historian Don Doyle has argued that the Union victory in the American Civil War (1861–1865) greatly boosted to the course of liberalism.


title: Liberalism

text: During the 19th and early 20th century, in the Ottoman Empire and the Middle East, liberalism influenced periods of reform, such as the Tanzimat and Al-Nahda; the rise of secularism, constitutionalism and nationalism; and different intellectuals and religious groups and movements, like the Young Ottomans and Islamic Modernism. Prominent of the era were Rifa'a al-Tahtawi, Namık Kemal and İbrahim Şinasi. However, the reformist ideas and trends did not reach the common population successfully, as the books, periodicals, and newspapers were accessible primarily to intellectuals and segments of the emerging middle class. Many Muslims saw them as foreign influences on the world of Islam. That perception complicated reformist efforts made by Middle Eastern states. These changes, along with other factors, helped to create a sense of crisis within Islam, which continues to this day. This led to Islamic revivalism.


title: Liberalism

text: Abolitionist and suffrage movements spread, along with representative and democratic ideals. France established an enduring republic in the 1870s. However, nationalism also spread rapidly after 1815. A mixture of liberal and nationalist sentiments in Italy and Germany brought about the unification of the two countries in the late 19th century. A liberal regime came to power in Italy and ended the secular power of the Popes. However, the Vatican launched a counter-crusade against liberalism. Pope Pius IX issued the "Syllabus of Errors" in 1864, condemning liberalism in all its forms. In many countries, liberal forces responded by expelling the Jesuit order. By the end of the nineteenth century, the principles of classical liberalism were being increasingly challenged, and the ideal of the self-made individual seemed increasingly implausible. Victorian writers like Charles Dickens, Thomas Carlyle and Matthew Arnold were early influential critics of social injustice.


title: Liberalism

text: Liberalism gained momentum at the beginning of the 20th century. The bastion of autocracy, the Russian Tsar, was overthrown in the first phase of the Russian Revolution. The Allied victory in the First World War and the collapse of four empires seemed to mark the triumph of liberalism across the European continent, not just among the victorious allies but also in Germany and the newly created states of Eastern Europe. Militarism, as typified by Germany, was defeated and discredited. As Blinkhorn argues, the liberal themes were ascendant in terms of "cultural pluralism, religious and ethnic toleration, national self-determination, free market economics, representative and responsible government, free trade, unionism, and the peaceful settlement of international disputes through a new body, the League of Nations".


title: Liberalism

text: In the Middle East, liberalism led to constitutional periods, like the Ottoman First and Second Constitutional Era and the Persian constitutional period, but it declined in the late 1930s due to the growth and opposition of Islamism and pan-Arab nationalism. However, many intellectuals advocated liberal values and ideas. Prominent liberals were Taha Hussein, Ahmed Lutfi el-Sayed, Tawfiq al-Hakim, Abd El-Razzak El-Sanhuri and Muhammad Mandur.


title: Liberalism

text: In the United States, modern liberalism traces its history to the popular presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt, who initiated the New Deal in response to the Great Depression and won an unprecedented four elections. The New Deal coalition established by Roosevelt left a strong legacy and influenced many future American presidents, including John F. Kennedy. Meanwhile, the definitive liberal response to the Great Depression was given by the British economist John Maynard Keynes, who had begun a theoretical work examining the relationship between unemployment, money and prices back in the 1920s. The worldwide Great Depression, starting in 1929, hastened the discrediting of liberal economics and strengthened calls for state control over economic affairs. Economic woes prompted widespread unrest in the European political world, leading to the rise of fascism as an ideology and a movement against liberalism and communism, especially in Nazi Germany and Italy. The rise of fascism in the 1930s eventually culminated in World War II, the deadliest conflict in human history. The Allies prevailed in the war by 1945, and their victory set the stage for the Cold War between the Communist Eastern Bloc and the liberal Western Bloc.


title: Liberalism

text: In Iran, liberalism enjoyed wide popularity. In April 1951, the National Front became the governing coalition when democratically elected Mohammad Mosaddegh, a liberal nationalist, took office as the Prime Minister. However, his way of governing conflicted with Western interests, and he was removed from power in a coup on 19 August 1953. The coup ended the dominance of liberalism in the country's politics.


title: Liberalism

text: Among the various regional and national movements, the civil rights movement in the United States during the 1960s strongly highlighted the liberal efforts for equal rights. The Great Society project launched by President Lyndon B. Johnson oversaw the creation of Medicare and Medicaid, the establishment of Head Start and the Job Corps as part of the War on Poverty and the passage of the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964, an altogether rapid series of events that some historians have dubbed the "Liberal Hour".


title: Liberalism

text: The Cold War featured extensive ideological competition and several proxy wars, but the widely feared World War III between the Soviet Union and the United States never occurred. While communist states and liberal democracies competed against one another, an economic crisis in the 1970s inspired a move away from Keynesian economics, especially under Margaret Thatcher in the United Kingdom and Ronald Reagan in the United States. This trend, known as neoliberalism, constituted a paradigm shift away from the post-war Keynesian consensus, which lasted from 1945 to 1980. Meanwhile, nearing the end of the 20th century, communist states in Eastern Europe collapsed precipitously, leaving liberal democracies as the only major forms of government in the West.


title: Liberalism

text: At the beginning of World War II, the number of democracies worldwide was about the same as it had been forty years before. After 1945, liberal democracies spread very quickly but then retreated. In "The Spirit of Democracy", Larry Diamond argues that by 1974 "dictatorship, not democracy, was the way of the world" and that "barely a quarter of independent states chose their governments through competitive, free, and fair elections". Diamond says that democracy bounced back, and by 1995 the world was "predominantly democratic". However, liberalism still faces challenges, especially with the phenomenal growth of China as a model combination of authoritarian government and economic liberalism.


title: Liberalism

text: Liberalism has drawn criticism and support from various ideological groups in its history. Less friendly to the goals of liberalism has been conservatism. Edmund Burke, considered by some to be the first major proponent of modern conservative thought, offered a blistering critique of the French Revolution by assailing the liberal pretensions to the power of rationality and the natural equality of all humans.


title: Liberalism

text: Some confusion remains about the relationship between social liberalism and socialism, although many variants of socialism distinguish themselves markedly from liberalism by opposing capitalism, hierarchy and private property. Socialism formed as a group of related yet divergent ideologies in the 19th century, such as Christian socialism, communism (with the writings of Karl Marx) and social anarchism (with the writings of Mikhail Bakunin), the latter two influenced by the Paris Commune. These ideologies—as with liberalism and conservatism—fractured into several major and minor movements in the following decades. Marx rejected the foundational aspects of liberal theory, hoping to destroy both the state and the liberal distinction between society and the individual while fusing the two into a collective whole designed to overthrow the developing capitalist order of the 19th century. Today, socialist parties and ideas remain a political force with varying degrees of power and influence on all continents leading national governments in many countries.


title: Liberalism

text: Vladimir Lenin stated that—in contrast with Marxism—liberal science defends wage slavery. However, some proponents of liberalism, like George Henry Evans, Silvio Gesell and Thomas Paine, were critics of wage slavery. One of the most outspoken critics of liberalism was the Roman Catholic Church, which resulted in lengthy power struggles between national governments and the Church. In the same vein, conservatives have also attacked what they perceive as the reckless liberal pursuit of progress and material gains, arguing that such preoccupations undermine traditional social values rooted in community and continuity. However, a few variations of conservatism, like liberal conservatism, expound some of the same ideas and principles championed by classical liberalism, including "small government and thriving capitalism".


title: Liberalism

text: Social democracy, an ideology advocating progressive modification of capitalism, emerged in the 20th century and was influenced by socialism. Broadly defined as a project that aims to correct through government reformism what it regards as the intrinsic defects of capitalism by reducing inequalities, social democracy was also not against the state. Several commentators have noted strong similarities between social liberalism and social democracy, with one political scientist calling American liberalism "bootleg social democracy" due to the absence of a significant social democratic tradition in the United States that liberals have tried to rectify. Another movement associated with modern democracy, Christian democracy, hopes to spread Catholic social ideas and has gained a large following in some European nations. The early roots of Christian democracy developed as a reaction against the industrialisation and urbanisation associated with "laissez-faire" liberalism in the 19th century. Despite these complex relationships, some scholars have argued that liberalism actually "rejects ideological thinking" altogether, largely because such thinking could lead to unrealistic expectations for human society.


title: Liberalism

text: Fascists accuse liberalism of materialism and a lack of spiritual values. In particular, fascism opposes liberalism for its materialism, rationalism, individualism and utilitarianism. Fascists believe that the liberal emphasis on individual freedom produces national divisiveness, but many fascists agree with liberals in their support of private property rights and a market economy.


title: Liberalism

text: Leftists accuse the economic doctrines of liberalism, such as individual economic freedom, of giving rise to what they view as a system of exploitation that goes against the democratic principles of liberalism. Right-wingers accuse the social doctrines of liberalism, such as secularism and individual rights, of breaking down communities and dissolving the social fabric they believe a country needs to prosper.


title: Liberalism

text: Scholars have praised the influence of liberal internationalism, claiming that the rise of globalisation "constitutes a triumph of the liberal vision that first appeared in the eighteenth century" while also writing that liberalism is "the only comprehensive and hopeful vision of world affairs".


title: Liberalism

text: According to Russian President Vladimir Putin, as reported in the "Financial Times", "liberalism has become obsolete". He claims that the vast majority of people in the world oppose multiculturalism, immigration, and rights for people who are LGBT.


title: Liberalism

text: Deng Xiaoping criticized that liberalization would destroy the political stability of the People's Republic of China and the Chinese Communist Party, making it difficult for development to take place, and is inherently capitalistic. He termed it bourgeois liberalization.


title: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

text: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is a 2016 American superhero film based on the DC Comics characters Batman and Superman. Distributed by Warner Bros., it is a follow-up to the 2013 film "Man of Steel" and the second film in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU). The film was directed by Zack Snyder, written by Chris Terrio and David S. Goyer, and features an ensemble cast that includes Ben Affleck as Batman and Henry Cavill as Superman, alongside Amy Adams, Jesse Eisenberg, Diane Lane, Laurence Fishburne, Jeremy Irons, Holly Hunter, and Gal Gadot. "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" is the first live-action film to feature Batman and Superman together, as well as the first live-action cinematic portrayal of Wonder Woman. In the film, criminal mastermind Lex Luthor manipulates Batman into a preemptive battle with Superman, who Luthor is obsessed with destroying.


title: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

text: The film was announced at the 2013 San Diego Comic-Con after the release of "Man of Steel". Snyder stated that the film would take inspiration from the "Batman" comic book series "The Dark Knight Returns" by Frank Miller but clarified that it would follow an original premise. The incarnation of Batman in the film is different from the character's previous portrayal by Christian Bale in "The Dark Knight Trilogy", serving as a cinematic reboot of the character. The film is also inspired by narrative elements from the "Death of Superman". Pre-production began at East Los Angeles College in October 2013 and principal photography started in May 2014 in Detroit. Additional filming also took place in Illinois and New Mexico, concluding that December.


title: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

text: "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" premiered at the Auditorio Nacional in Mexico City on March 19, 2016, and was released in the United States on March 25, 2016. Following a strong debut that set new box office records, the film experienced a historic drop in its second weekend and never recovered. Despite grossing $873.6 million worldwide, making it the seventh-highest-grossing film of 2016, it performed below expectations and received generally unfavorable reviews from critics. An extended cut, dubbed the "Ultimate Edition", features 31 minutes of additional footage and was released to home media formats later in 2016.


title: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

text: In a flashback to his childhood, Bruce Wayne runs from his parents' funeral. He falls into a cave, where a circling vortex of bats elevates him back to the surface. Back in the present, eighteen months after the battle between Superman and General Zod in Metropolis, Superman has become a controversial figure. Bruce is now a billionaire who has operated in Gotham City as the vigilante Batman for twenty years. Having witnessed the chaos of that battle in person, he sees Superman as an existential threat to humanity.


title: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

text: After learning of Batman's form of justice, Clark Kent (Superman's civilian identity) seeks to expose him via "Daily Planet" articles. Bruce learns that Russian weapon trafficker Anatoli Knyazev has been contacting LexCorp mogul Lex Luthor. Meanwhile, Luthor attempts to persuade Senator June Finch to allow him to import kryptonite discovered after Zod's terraforming attempt, so that it can be used as a deterrent against future Kryptonian and metahuman threats. She declines, but Luthor makes alternative plans with Finch's subordinate, granting him access to Zod's body and the Kryptonian scout ship.


title: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

text: Bruce attends a gala at LexCorp to steal encrypted data from the company's mainframe, but antiquities dealer Diana Prince takes it from him; she returns it after failing to access the information. While decrypting the drive, Bruce dreams of a postapocalyptic world where he leads rebels against an evil Superman. He is awakened by an unidentified person, appearing through a portal, who tells him that Lois Lane "is the key" and urges him to find "the others" before vanishing. The decrypted drive reveals Luthor's files on several metahumans across the globe. One is Diana, who appears in a photo from World War I. Wayne tells Alfred Pennyworth that he plans to steal and weaponize the kryptonite to go to war with Superman.


title: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

text: A widely publicized congressional hearing, led by Finch, is held to question Superman's actions against Zod. A bomb smuggled in by Luthor detonates, killing everyone present except Superman. Superman blames himself for not detecting it in time and self-imposes exile. Elsewhere, Batman breaks into LexCorp and steals the kryptonite. He builds a powered exoskeleton, a kryptonite grenade launcher, and a kryptonite-tipped spear. Meanwhile, Luthor enters the Kryptonian ship and accesses its vast database of technology.


title: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

text: Luthor lures Superman out of exile by kidnapping Lois and Martha Kent, Clark's adoptive mother. He pushes Lois off the LexCorp building. Superman saves her and confronts Luthor, who reveals he manipulated him and Batman by fueling their distrust. Luthor demands he kill Batman in exchange for Martha's life. Superman tries to explain this to Batman, who instead attacks him and eventually subdues him using a kryptonite gas. As Batman prepares to move in for the kill using the spear, Superman pleads with him to "save Martha" – the same name as Batman's mother. Batman hesitates in confusion long enough for Lois to arrive and explain what Superman meant. Coming to his senses about how far he has fallen from grace, he promises to rescue Martha. Superman regains his strength and confronts Luthor on the scout ship.


title: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

text: Luthor executes his backup plan, unleashing a monster genetically engineered from DNA from both Zod's body and his own. Diana arrives, joining Batman and Superman in their fight against the creature. Superman realizes its vulnerability to kryptonite and retrieves the spear, fatally impaling the creature with it. In its dying moments, the creature stabs Superman, who was weakened by kryptonite exposure, killing him.


title: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

text: Following Luthor's arrest, Batman confronts him in prison, warning him that he will always be watching. Luthor gloats that Superman's death has made the world vulnerable to powerful alien threats. A memorial is held for Superman in Metropolis. Clark is also declared dead, and Bruce and Diana both attend his funeral in Smallville. Martha gives Lois an envelope containing an engagement ring from Clark. Bruce tells Diana that he regrets having failed Superman in life. He asks her help to form a team of metahumans, starting with those named in Luthor's files, to protect the world in Superman's absence. As they depart, the dirt atop Clark's coffin levitates.


title: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

text: Robin Atkin Downes performed the motion capture and voice work for the creature at the film's climax. Although the character is not named directly, it was revealed later to be that of Doomsday. The role was kept under such heavy secrecy that Downes did not know who he was playing until the second trailer was released. On his role, Downes stated that he was proud to be part of the film and expressed his admiration in helping bring Doomsday to life in "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice". Snyder has confirmed Doomsday will return in the DCEU, stating "Well, you have Doomsday, right? He doesn't just crawl out of the ground. He has his own mythology, right? So that has to be explored." Downes has previously provided voice roles for various DC animated films and shows as well as DC video games.


title: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

text: Additionally, Jeffrey Dean Morgan portrays Thomas Wayne in an uncredited appearance and Lauren Cohan portrays Martha Wayne, Bruce Wayne's deceased parents, Patrick Wilson (who later portrayed Ocean Master in "Aquaman" and its sequel) portrays the President of the United States in a voice role, and Michael Cassidy portrays Jimmy Olsen, a CIA agent. Reprising their roles from "Man of Steel" are Harry Lennix as Secretary Calvin Swanwick, Christina Wren as Major Carrie Farris, Kevin Costner as Jonathan Kent, Rebecca Buller as Jenny Jurwich, Chad Krowchuk as Glen Woodburn, and Carla Gugino as the Kryptonian AI Kelor. The corpse of General Zod also appears in the film in a crucial role; however, Michael Shannon did not film any scenes for the film and the corpse was created using the physique of fitness model Greg Plitt and a head-shot of Shannon. Hugh Maguire portrays Jack O'Dwyer, an executive of Wayne Enterprises.


title: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

text: Ezra Miller, Jason Momoa, and Ray Fisher are introduced as Barry Allen / The Flash, Arthur Curry / Aquaman, and Victor Stone / Cyborg respectively in brief appearances, which led to their inclusion in the "Justice League" film. Joe Morton appears in a role as Silas Stone, Victor's father. U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy makes a cameo appearance as Senator Purrington, whilst U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow also makes a cameo as the Governor of New Jersey. Neil deGrasse Tyson, Soledad O'Brien, Anderson Cooper, Nancy Grace, Charlie Rose, Dana Bash, Andrew Sullivan, and Vikram Gandhi appear as themselves. Sammi Rotibi was cast as General Amajagh, while Wunmi Mosaku portrays Kahina Ziri, a woman from Nairomi who initially testifies to the U.S. Congress against Superman. Jena Malone was cast as S.T.A.R. Labs scientist Jenet Klyburn, but her scenes were cut from the theatrical release, along with "Man of Steel" characters Coburn Goss as Father Leone, Joseph Cranford as Pete Ross and Emily Peterson as Lana Lang; they were restored for the "Ultimate Edition" home media release. Talk show host Jon Stewart has a cameo in the extended cut. To further establish the interconnection between the films of the shared universe, Chris Pine, Saïd Taghmaoui, Ewen Bremner, and Eugene Brave Rock appear on Diana Prince's photo as Steve Trevor, Sameer, Charlie, and Chief Napi, all characters who would appear in the "Wonder Woman" film. Snyder himself also makes a cameo as one of Knyazev's goons holding a rifle at the warehouse standoff.


title: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

text: "Batman v Superman" has been interpreted as an allegory about contemporary American politics, particularly America's response to 9/11.


title: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

text: Writing for "The Commercial Appeal", John Beifuss noted the similarities between the Metropolis battle at the beginning of the film and 9/11: "The idea is that just as 9/11 had a transformative existential impact on the psyche of America, the battle of Metropolis – and the subsequent realization that an all-powerful alien could destroy his adopted planet with ease – has altered human consciousness, creating new standards of morality and levels of fear – "the feeling of powerlessness that turns good men cruel," in the words of Wayne's butler, Alfred (Jeremy Irons)." He says that Batman comes out of the Metropolis battle scene as "a changed – and even more deranged – man."


title: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

text: Kofi Outlaw of "ComicBook.com" interpreted the allegory as Batman representing "the right-wing hawk reaction to 9/11... an America that prefers security over civil liberties; the Bush-era mentality of stopping threats pro-actively before they can threaten close to home". Meanwhile, Superman, Outlaw writes, represents "the more left-wing, liberal, American ideal", while Luthor represents "insidious opportunists who exploited (and still exploit) the turmoil of a post-9/11, war-torn, world for personal gain." Outlaw suggests that the scene where Batman and Superman find common ground in their mothers is parallel to the notion that conflicting political ideologies still have similarities.


title: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

text: Writing for "Screen Rant", Andrew Dyce wrote "Bruce has, like so many political figures and nations, given up the moral high ground, rationalized his extreme methods as necessary, identified an enemy he does not seek to understand, and abandoned the spirit, if not the explicit values upon which his country – rather, upon which "his mission" was founded."


title: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

text: Writing for "Vice", Kaleem Aftab wrote that the film "was intended as an unpleasant lambast of the government and the popular reaction to 9/11." He compared Superman's character to the Muslim American experience, concluding that the film "is a condemnation of what America is becoming, a place where immigrants, especially those unfairly tainted because of the mass destruction caused by a few, are no longer part of a viable American dream."


title: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

text: Writing for "The New Yorker", Richard Brody analyzed the allegory differently: Batman, according to Brody, represents the Democratic Party, whereas Superman represents the Republican Party. Brody feels this notion is supported by the fact that Batman's eyes glow blue when he is wearing the exoskeleton and Superman's glow red when he uses his heat vision. Brody criticized this allegory as "salacious" for suggesting that the Democratic Party allies itself with evil, which he says "has no relationship to contemporary politics". However, he called it "a powerful metaphor" for suggesting "there'd be much less of an urge to find a superhero—or to magnify demagogues who pretend to be one—if politicians merely did their jobs competently and sensitively."


title: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

text: Mark Hughes writing for "Forbes" notes that the film inverts the politics of "The Dark Knight Returns" by having Superman as the outsider character who is questioned by the government and media. He writes "This is a reversal of sorts from the comic, where Superman represents the establishment perspective while Batman is the outcast under constant press, public, and government scrutiny." He also noted how Batman sees Superman as human for the first time during the Martha scene: "he's never looked at Superman as a real person or as a man before. Then suddenly Superman is vulnerable, he has a regular guy's name and a woman who loves him crying over him, and a mom – his last words are basically "save my mother." We see, very emotionally, how Batman realizes what he's doing and that he's the bad guy, a painful but very human revelatory moment."


title: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

text: Richard Newby writing for "The Hollywood Reporter", wrote the Martha scene "is Bruce's opportunity to reconnect with his own humanity and the humanity of Superman. Batman doesn’t end the fight because their mothers have the same name, but because he recognizes Superman as someone with a mother, and thus a human, despite his alien origins. The battle against Superman is ultimately Bruce’s realization that he can be better and reconnect with humanity again. It’s not a redemption, or a full change, as he does kill mercenaries at the warehouse in the following scene, but it is a start."


title: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

text: Ben Affleck said he liked the "idea of showing accountability and the consequences of violence and seeing that there are real people in those buildings", with the scene of Bruce Wayne at the battle of Metropolis.


title: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

text: In June 2013, Warner Bros. announced that director Zack Snyder and screenwriter David S. Goyer would return for a "Man of Steel" sequel, with the studio considering a 2015 release for the film. The following month, Snyder confirmed at San Diego Comic-Con International that the follow-up to "Man of Steel" would feature Superman and Batman meeting for the first time on film. Goyer and Snyder would co-write the story, and Goyer would write the script despite saying in 2006 that a 'Batman Vs. Superman' film "is where you go when you admit to yourself that you've exhausted all possibilities ... an admission that this franchise is on its last gasp". Christopher Nolan was involved in an advisory role as executive producer. According to Snyder, the film would take inspiration from the comic "The Dark Knight Returns".


title: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

text: In November 2013, Snyder clarified his film would not be based upon the aforementioned graphic novel. "If you were going to do that, you would need a different Superman. We're bringing Batman into the universe that now this Superman lives in." "Batman v Superman" marks the first appearance of Wonder Woman in a live-action, theatrical film, which Warner Bros. had been developing as far back as 1996. In December 2013, Chris Terrio was hired to rewrite the script, due to Goyer's commitments to other projects. Further commenting on the influences, Terrio revealed that the film would draw inspiration from Nolan's Batman trilogy, Italian semiotician Umberto Eco's 1972 essay ""The Myth of Superman"", and the W.H. Auden poem ""Musée des Beaux Arts"" which contrasts the quotidian details of normal people's lives with the epic struggles of mythological figures. According to him, "In superhero stories, Batman is Pluto, god of the underworld, and Superman is Apollo, god of the sky. That began to be really interesting to me — that their conflict is not just due to manipulation, but their very existence." The Joker and the Riddler were supposed to appear in the film, but Snyder ultimately decided to cut them from the final script.


title: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

text: The film's official title, "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice", was revealed in May 2014. Snyder stated that having the "v" in the title instead of "vs." was a way "to keep it from being a straight 'versus' movie, even in the most subtle way". Henry Cavill later stated, "I wouldn't call this a Superman sequel [...] This is Batman versus Superman. It's a separate entity altogether. It's introducing the Batman character and expanding upon the universe, which was kicked off by "Man of Steel"." "Forbes" noted that although the film originated as a sequel to "Man of Steel", it was "revamped into a backdoor pilot for "Justice League" and/or an eventual stand-alone Batman movie." As part of a settlement with his heirs, this is the first Batman production that lists Bill Finger as a co-creator. In April 2021, Terrio revealed that his script was never titled "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice", while Snyder indicated that the name of the film was decided by studio executives and that he fought for the abbreviation of the word "versus" in the title. Potential titles that the pair had initially wanted included "Justice League: Foundations", "Justice League: Rising", and "Son of Sun and Knight of Night".


title: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

text: Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Kevin Costner, Diane Lane, Laurence Fishburne, Harry Lennix and Christina Wren reprise their roles from "Man of Steel". Joining the cast are Ben Affleck as Batman, Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor, Jeremy Irons as Alfred Pennyworth, Ray Fisher as Cyborg, Jason Momoa as Aquaman, Ezra Miller as The Flash and Tao Okamoto as Luthor's assistant Mercy Graves. Scoot McNairy and Callan Mulvey were cast as Wallace Keefe and Anatoli Knyazev, while Jena Malone was cast as Jenet Klyburn, a character that was featured exclusively in the "Ultimate Edition" home media release.


title: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

text: "Dawn of Justice" is Affleck's second film as a comic book superhero; he played Daredevil in the 2003 film of the same name, and was initially reluctant to accept playing Batman, citing that he "felt [he] didn't fit the traditional mold", but he became excited after Snyder showed him the concept and reassured him that the film would be different from Nolan's trilogy.


title: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

text: Snyder cast an older Batman to be a layered juxtaposition against a younger Superman; while "bear[ing] the scars of a seasoned crime fighter, but retain[ing] the charm that the world sees in billionaire Bruce Wayne." Nolan was involved with the casting of Affleck and he was the first actor Snyder approached for the part. Ryan Gosling, Joe Manganiello, Richard Armitage, Max Martini and Matthew Goode were considered for the role. The director had also discussed the part with Josh Brolin. Christian Bale admitted he wanted to play Batman again after "The Dark Knight Rises", though he stated that his Batman does not belong in any other film and he was never approached by Warner Bros. to play the role again. Jason Momoa auditioned for Batman, but was cast as Aquaman instead.


title: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

text: On casting Eisenberg as Lex Luthor, Snyder offered, "Having Jesse in the role allows us to explore that interesting dynamic, and also take the character in some new and unexpected directions". Producer Charles Roven revealed that this incarnation of Wonder Woman would use the character's origins from 2011's The New 52 reboot of the DC continuity, wherein the character would be a demigoddess, and the daughter of Zeus. This deviates from the character's original origins, where she was "a clay figure brought to life by the gods". Olga Kurylenko, Jaimie Alexander and Élodie Yung were considered for the role of Wonder Woman before Gadot was cast. "Dawn of Justice" is Ray Fisher's feature film debut, and the first live-action film to feature Cyborg, whose role originally was to become more significant in future DC Comics films. It is also the live-action theatrical debut of Aquaman. Snyder almost cast Adam Driver as Dick Grayson/Nightwing and Carla Gugino as Catwoman.


title: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

text: The casting of Affleck, Gadot, and Eisenberg was criticized. Affleck's casting caused significant backlash from comic book fans, with multiple online petitions demanding his removal from the role; unlike previous Batman actors, he was not considered intimidating enough for the role by the protesters. Conversely, "PopMatters" journalist J.C. Maçek III supported Affleck's casting as Batman, stating, "Way back when the news was new I wrote a PopMatters article defending the choice of Ben Affleck as Batman. I'll let that one speak for itself." Via social media, fans criticized Gadot's small frame in contrast to Wonder Woman's warrior-like build in the comics. Responding to this, Gadot stated that she had been participating in various training regimens to achieve a body that stays closer to the source material. Fans also criticized Eisenberg's casting, feeling that the then-30-year-old was too young for the role, and not physically imposing enough. Upon the film's release, both Affleck and Gadot received considerable praise for their performances, despite the overall negative reception of the film itself.


title: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

text: Michael Wilkinson reprised his duties as costume designer. He updated the Superman suit from "Man of Steel" so that it "feels fresh and right for this installment of Zack Snyder's comic-book universe". The first Batsuit featured in the film is influenced by "The Dark Knight Returns"; unlike the suits seen in previous live-action Batman films, it is made of cloth instead of armor and is a cast of the physique of fitness model Rossano Rea. An image of the Wonder Woman costume was revealed at the 2014 San Diego Comic-Con, in which the costume desaturates the red, blue, and gold colors that make up the costume of most versions of the character.


title: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

text: A second Batsuit was also unveiled at Comic-Con, and unlike the first, it is armored. Aquaman's look in this film shows him "tattooed in Maori-like patterns", and wearing a suit "decked out in shades of gold, black and silver armor". According to the Warner Bros. Studios lot, the next generation Batmobile combined inspiration from both the sleek, streamlined design of classic Batmobiles and the high-suspension, military build from the more recent Tumbler from "The Dark Knight Trilogy". Designed by production designer Patrick Tatopoulos, the Batmobile is about 20 feet long and 12 feet wide. The glasses Cavill wears as Clark Kent are made by British spectacle designer Tom Davies.


title: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

text: In September 2013, Larry Fong joined the crew as cinematographer, having previously worked with Zack Snyder on "300", "Watchmen", and "Sucker Punch". Initial filming commenced on October 19, 2013, at East Los Angeles College, to shoot an American football game between Gotham City University and rival Metropolis State University. At the end of the month, construction began on the Kent farm seen in "Man of Steel" for the film. Principal photography involving the main cast of the film began on May 19, 2014, in Detroit, Michigan, with scenes featuring Gal Gadot as Diana Prince being filmed early on May 16. While filming in Michigan, the production spent a total of $199million in the state. The scene of a state funeral at the Arlington National Cemetery, a tribute by the United States Army, was actually filmed in Michigan as well, using green screen.


title: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

text: Additional filming began in Chicago, Illinois in November 2014. Other locations included the Michigan Motion Picture Studios, the Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum at Michigan State University, Yorkville, Illinois, the South Pacific, and New Mexico. Sequences of the film, including a scene depicting the murder of Bruce Wayne's parents, were filmed using IMAX cameras. The planned shoot in Morocco was shifted to New Mexico due to incidents related to the 2014 Ebola outbreak. Principal photography wrapped on December 5, 2014.


title: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

text: Hans Zimmer composed the film score, emphasizing a challenge not to reuse the themes he established with the Batman character from Christopher Nolan's trilogy. Junkie XL, who provided additional music in "Man of Steel", also returned for this film, helping to compose the theme for Batman. Originally, Zimmer enlisted Junkie XL to compose the Batman material, with Zimmer planning to focus solely on the Superman side of the score, but the final Batman theme was written by both composers as a collaboration. Zimmer noted that he had significant trouble in finding a new angle from which to tell the story and after the release of the film, Zimmer announced that he was retired from superhero films, though he has since retracted this. The soundtrack album of the film was released on March 18, 2016, by WaterTower Music.


title: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

text: Songs featured in the film include: "Kang Ling (An Instrument Made From A Human Thigh Bone)", a traditional song performed by the monks of the Dip Tse Chok Ling Monastery, Dharamshala; "Night and Day" and "Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye" written by Cole Porter and performed by Richard Cheese; "Shostakovich: Waltz II (Jazz Suite No. 2)" written by Dmitri Shostakovich performed by the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra conducted by Riccardo Chailly; and "Amazing Grace" arranged and performed by John Allan and again performed by the Canadian Scottish Regiment Pipes and Drums and the United States Third Marine Aircraft Wing Band.


title: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

text: An estimated $165million marketing effort helped promote "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice". At the 2014 San Diego Comic-Con International, Snyder introduced the film's first footage intended to be exclusive to the event. A teaser trailer was scheduled to be screened in selected cinemas on April 20, 2015. However, on April 16, the trailer leaked online, and within a few hours Snyder officially released the trailer to Twitter. At the 2015 San Diego Comic-Con International, Snyder and the cast attended to present an initial trailer of the film. The trailer was, unlike the teaser, which received mixed response, positively received by attendees, who gave the trailer a standing ovation. Mark Hughes of "Forbes" said the trailers "both set the stage for a story about the world's distrust and fear of Superman, Batman's rage at Superman and intention to duke it out with the Man of Steel, and Wonder Woman's participation in a big fight featuring the 'Trinity.'"


title: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

text: Warner Bros. Consumer Products partnered-up with "a powerhouse slate of global licensees for a broad, multi-category licensing and merchandising program", including Mattel, Lego, Rubies, Funko, Thinkway Toys, Hot Toys, Junkfood, Bioworld, Pez, Seiko, Converse and among many other licensees to sell merchandise related to the film. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles was also a licensee for the film, offering a special edition Jeep Renegade in exchange for a near-exclusive product placement deal; aside from Bruce Wayne's Aston Martin, all vehicles in the film were either from Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram, or Iveco. "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice – Cross Fire", an original companion novel tied to the film, telling a tie-in story set before the events of the movie, was published by Scholastic Corporation.


title: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

text: Also, there are a series of four minicomics found in "Batman v Superman"-branded General Mills cereals. Additionally, those who purchased "Batman v Superman"-themed Doritos Family Fun Mix at Walmart received the comic book prequel "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice – Upstairs/Downstairs". Rocksteady Studios released downloadable content for the video game "" that featured the Batmobile and Batsuit from the film.


title: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

text: The third trailer debuted on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" on December 3, 2015. It received positive responses, with Scott Mendelson of "Forbes" calling the trailer a "Saturday morning cartoon nerd's wildest dreams." Molly Driscoll of "CS Monitor" stated that it looks like the film "will continue the trend of adapting comic book stories as timely tales." Graeme McMillan of "The Hollywood Reporter" noted that based on the trailer's content, the film might be the anti-"Civil War", referring to Marvel's "" as "Superman and Batman complete the comic book trope by overcoming their differences to fight a common foe, alongside a third hero, who saves them both — that feels the most fresh, especially in light of the "Civil War" trailer. While that ended with a showdown between three heroes, this trailer moves beyond that to show three heroes standing united." However, it was criticized for revealing that, with Rob Tornoe of "NewsWorks" pointing out that this trailer was targeting the "broadest audience" rather than just fans, as studios try to "maximize a film's opening day box office."


title: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

text: Warner Bros. did not buy a Super Bowl 50 commercial; instead, they worked with Turkish Airlines to put together a pair of "Batman v Superman"-themed airline commercials. McMillan of "The Hollywood Reporter" stated that the spots "inform interested parties about the culture, geography and history of Batman and Superman's individual stomping grounds, each one filled with Easter eggs for the comic book faithful and newcomer alike." Jesse Eisenberg's part as Lex Luthor in these commercials was praised, as Dirk Libbey of "CinemaBlend" noted that "he matches up well with Bruce Wayne by playing the welcoming billionaire business man. It's a far cry from the somewhat cartoonish villain we've seen in the clips from the film."


title: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

text: The final trailer was released to the public on February 11, 2016, which was described as "intense" by Kwame Opam of "The Verge". Mendelson of "Forbes" felt that Warner Bros. "probably wouldn't have even dropped this one had the prior trailer back in December been received better. So now we have this fourth and final sell, and at least they are going out on a high note." Jonathon Dornbush of "Entertainment Weekly" said that the footage "works to establish Batman as his own independent crime fighting force, while also providing a deeper look at his existential struggle against Superman."


title: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

text: In February 2016, Warner Bros. and Doritos formed a partnership, creating a website offering fans the opportunity to enter codes found on Doritos purchases branded with the film's logo, and enter to win movie tickets, tech toys, and a trip the premiere in New York City. Warner Bros also partnered with Omaze to give fans who donated a chance to win "The Ultimate "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" Experience", while benefiting three nonprofit organizations nominated by Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill and Jesse Eisenberg. "The Ultimate "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" Experience" offered a fan and their friend the chance to win tickets to the premiere of the film, as well as fly on a helicopter with Cavill or ride in the Batmobile with Affleck. Hendrick Motorsports drivers Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr.. drove cars based on Superman and Batman respectively, at Auto Club Speedway on March 20, 2016. A tie-in endless runner video game to the film, entitled "Batman vs Superman – Who Will Win?", debuted March 16, 2016, released by Warner Bros. International Enterprises.


title: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

text: In November 2013, Warner Bros. announced that "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" would be released on July 17, 2015. In January 2014, however, the studio announced that it was delayed from its original release date of July 17, 2015, and moved to May 6, 2016, in order to give the filmmakers "time to realize fully their vision, given the complex visual nature of the story." The release date was moved once again in August 2014 from May 6, 2016, to March 25, 2016, with a Warner Bros. insider saying the studio was "not flinching" in regards to the previous opening date being on the same day as Marvel Studios' "", but instead stating that March 2016 was a "fantastic corridor" for them. According to sources obtained by "The Hollywood Reporter", Warner Bros. considered the possibility of having a 70mm release for the film, which was partially shot in the 65mm IMAX format.


title: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

text: "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" premiered at Auditorio Nacional in Mexico City on March 19, 2016, followed by a New York City premiere on March 20 at Radio City Music Hall. Following the 2016 Brussels bombings, Warner Bros. originally cancelled the red carpet of the London premiere, but decided to carry on with the premiere for the fans. The film was released in the United States and the United Kingdom on March 25 in 3D. It opened simultaneously in North America, China and Japan, the world's three largest film markets, as well as additional international territories, with the exception of Poland, where theaters do not open on Good Friday. The film debuted simultaneously across 30,000 screens in nearly every major foreign territory across 61 markets, including China. In the United States, it opened across roughly 4,242 locations, of which 3,500 theaters (85%) were in 3D, 390 IMAX screens, 470 PLF locations, 150 D-Box theaters and ten 70 mm prints.


title: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

text: The film grossed $166million in the United States and Canada in its opening weekend, the eighth-biggest opening of all time, ahead of "The Dark Knight Rises" $160.9million. The film had a worldwide opening of $422.5million, which stands as the second-biggest for Warner Bros. and the fifth-biggest of all time at the time of its release. It became the fourth film to have a global opening above $400million. It also had an IMAX worldwide opening weekend total of $36million from 945 IMAX screens, the third-biggest ever, behind "" ($48million) and "Jurassic World" ($44million). However, both inside and outside of the United States, "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" experienced a notable poor Friday-to-Sunday hold and set a new record for the worst Friday-to-Sunday drop for a superhero movie release in modern box office history with a 58% decline, which was previously held by 2015's "Fantastic Four".


title: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

text: In its second weekend, "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" experienced a "historic" box-office drop, with an 81.2% decline on Friday that was "one of the biggest Friday-to-Friday drops any blockbuster has ever seen", and an overall 68.4% drop for the weekend despite not "facing any big competition at the box office", making it the second largest decline for a marquee superhero title, behind only 2003's "Hulk". Brad Brevet, writing for Box Office Mojo, reported that "it appeared "Batman v Superman" was looking at a drop anywhere from 58–68% and it ended up settling in on the wrong side of those expectations." Scott Mendelson, writing for "Forbes", said "Whether or not the movie is any good, and whether or not audiences respond to the picture, is best measured by the second and third weekends...Yes, we're still talking about a $15.35million second Friday and a $50m+ second weekend, but in terms of legs, this film sadly doesn't seem to have any." Continuing this trend, in its third weekend, the film dropped by 54.3% in which Brad Brevet concluded in a follow-up for Box Office Mojo that "the legs on this one are proving quite short."