Classical Liberals and Classical Liberalism

 

Source:Learn Liberty- Our Founding Liberals.

"This piece was adapted from the transcript of the Learn Liberty video, “What is Classical Liberalism?“

If you ask most people what classical liberalism is, they’ll say that it’s essentially free-market economics: low taxes, laissez faire, and reducing the government intervention in the economy.

But that’s a rather impoverished and narrow idea of what classical liberalism is. It’s actually a comprehensive philosophy, a way of thinking about human society, human life, and the world. And as such, it has made major contributions in all of the different academic disciplines over the last 250 years or so." 

From Learn Liberty 

"Liberal democracy, also referred to as Western democracy, is a political ideology and a form of government in which representative democracy operates under the principles of liberalism. It is characterised by elections between multiple distinct political parties, a separation of powers into different branches of government, the rule of law in everyday life as part of an open society, a market economy with private property, and the equal protection of human rights, civil rights, civil liberties and political freedoms for all people. To define the system in practice, liberal democracies often draw upon a constitution, either codified (such as in the United States)[1] or uncodified (such as in the United Kingdom), to delineate the powers of government and enshrine the social contract. After a period of expansion in the second half of the 20th century, liberal democracy became a prevalent political system in the world." 

From Wikipedia 

For anyone who is curious, I'm a Liberal (or Classical Liberal, if you prefer) who self-identifies as liberal, not classical or modern. 

The reason why we have terms like Classical Liberals and Classical Liberalism, is because we now have people who are called Modern Liberals who supposedly practice modern liberalism, even though a lot of what they believe is actually illiberal and even regressive. And seem to have more respect for Communists and communism, instead of Liberals and liberal democracy. 

Communism is probably the most illiberal political philosophy in the world and yet there are Americans who call themselves Liberals, who would be called Socialists everywhere else, at least in the developed world.  

This page is about Liberals and liberalism and what Liberals believe and what liberalism actually is, not Socialists and socialism. This blog comes from a liberal vantage point and everything that this blog covers in the arena of current affairs and public policy is about promoting individual freedom, not bigger government or more dependence, but individualism and self-reliance, not collectivism.  

Classical Liberalism 

Milton Friedman 

Free Speech 

Liberal Democracy 

"Expert economist Manuel Hinds examines our national past and present (up to and including the 2020 presidential election) to warn us about the danger of abandoning our democratic principles precisely when we most need them.

Merging expert historical, political, and economic analysis, In Defense of Liberal Democracy shows how our recent technological revolution—what Hinds calls the Connectivity Revolution—has led to a crisis of division. Assessing the angry rhetoric and polarization of current political and social discourse in the United States, Hinds considers the dangers of seeking populist solutions to our current upheaval and shows how the traditions and institutions of liberal democracy restored prosperity, freedom, and social equity during the Industrial Revolution, the Great Depression, and other periods of political upheaval." 

From Charlesbridge