The Classical Liberal Tradition
Blog Posts (2021-2022)

[Created: 13 August, 2024] [Updated: 22 August, 2024]

The Classical Liberal / Libertarian Tradition

This page is part of a collection which deals with the history of the classical liberal / liberterian tradition. It includes university courses I have taught, lectures, study guides, blog posts, anthologies I have compiled, and many papers and essays. For more information see this page. The image on the left is Titian's the punishment of “Sisyphus” (1548-49).

Introduction

These blog posts were written during 2021-2022 on the following topics:

• The current state of Liberty and the threats it faces
• The history and theory of classical liberalism
• Some things to read

The Master list of blog posts (44) : “A List of Posts on the Current State of Liberty and the Threats it faces” (5 July, 2022) [Online]

 

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The current state of Liberty and the threats it faces

The threats to liberty and strategies to counter them:

1. “The Negative Political Party” (11 July, 2022) [Online]
2. “On Making the Argument/s for Liberty” (10 July, 2022) [Online]
3. “The Threats to Liberty Part 2: The Size and Power of the State” (7 July, 2022) [Online]
4. “The “Big Picture”: Part 1” (7 July 2022) [Online]
5. “The “Big Picture”: Part 2” (7 July 2022) [Online]
6. “Liberty in Australia and the Asia-Pacific Region” (5 July, 2022) [Online]
7. “The Threats to Liberty Part 1: Government Expenditure” (29 June, 2022) [Online]
8. “The Prospects for Liberty: The Threats it faces and how to counter them” (23 March, 2022) [Online]

The state of liberty and liberalism in Australia and elsewhere:

1. “Liberty in Australia and the Asia-Pacific Region” (5 July, 2022) [Online]
2. “Some Thoughts on the May 2022 Federal Election in Australia” (26 May 2022) [Online]
3. On the “Linoleum Party” (LINO): “The Incoherence and Contradictions inherent in Modern Liberal Parties (and one in particular)” (21 Oct. 2021) [Online]
4. “The Myth of a liberal ‘Australian Way of Life’” (20 June 2021) [Online]
5. “The State of the Libertarian Movement after 50 Years (1970-2020): Some Observations” (25 March, 2021) [Online]
6. “The Presumption of Government Failure” (1 Jan. 2021) [Online]
7. “What is to be Done? The Rise of Hygiene Socialism and the Prospects for Liberty” (2 December, 2020) [Online]
8. “The Work of Sisyphus: the Urgent Need for Intellectual Change” (25 April, 2020) [Online]

The history and theory of classical liberalism

A Brief Overview:

1. “The History of Classical Liberalism in 1,730 words (and one picture)” (11 Aug. 2021; Revised 12 Apr. 2022) [Online]
2. “The Classical Liberal Tradition – A 400 Year History Of Ideas And Movements: Lecture/Seminar Outline” (22 Apr. 2022) [Online]
3. “Liberty as the Sum of All Freedoms” (26 April, 2022) <http://davidmhart.com/wordpress/archives/1391) . 4. “Twelve Key Concepts of Liberty” (25 Apr. 2022) [Online]

The Many Faces of Liberalism:

1. “The Multi-Dimensionality of Classical Liberalism” (19 April, 2022) [Online]
2. “Plotting Liberty: The Multi-Dimensionality of Classical Liberalism and the Need for a New ‘Left-Right’ Political Spectrum” (17 April, 2022) [Online]
3. “ ‘Hyphenated’ Liberalism and the Problem of Definition” (9 Aug. 2021) [Online]
4. “Hyphenated Liberalism Part II: Utopian, Democratic, Revolutionary, and State Liberalism” (12 Oct. 2021) [Online]
5. “The Conservative and Revolutionary Faces of Classical Liberalism” (11 Aug. 2021) [Online]
6. “How Modern Day CL/Libertarians Differ From “Classical” Classical Liberals” (24 Aug. 2021) [Online]
7. “On the (im)Possibility of finding a “Third Way” between Liberalism and Socialism” (19 Apr. 2022) [Online]

Classical Liberals on the Role and Power of the State:

1. “The Spectrum of State Power: or a New Way of Looking at the Political Spectrum” (10 Aug., 2021; updated: 25 Apr. 2022) [Online]
2. “Classical Liberals on the Size and Functions of the State” (10 Aug. 2021; updated: 25 Apr. 2022) [Online]

What CLs were FOR and AGAINST:

1. “What Classical Liberals were Against” (12 Aug. 2021) [Online]
2. “What Classical Liberals were For” (13 Aug. 2021) [Online]
3. “What CLs were For – Part 2: Ends and Means” (19 Oct., 2021) [Online]

CL Visions of the Future Free Society:

1. “Classical Liberal Visions of the Future I” (27 August, 2021) [Online]
2. “Classical Liberal Visions of the Future II: The Contribution of Gustave de Molinari (1819-1912)” (29 Aug. 2021) [Online]
3. “Classical Liberal Visions of the Future III: Liberal Experiments, Frameworks, and Archipelagos” (11 Oct. 2021) [Online]
4. “Hayek on a Liberal Utopia” (11 Sept. 2021) [Online]

CL Movements and Crusades for Liberty:

1. “Classical Liberal Movements: A Four Hundred Year History” (17 Aug. 2021) [Online]
2. “Classical Liberalism as a Revolutionary Ideology of Emancipation” (13 Oct. 2021) [Online]
3. “Classical Liberalism as the Philosophy of Emancipation II: The “True Radical Liberalism” of Peter Boettke” (17 Oct. 2021) [Online]

CL’s Successes and Failures:

1. “The Success of Liberal Ideas has led to the Decline of Radical Liberal Parties” (6 Sept. 2021) [Online]
2. “A Balance Sheet of the Success and Failures of Classical Liberalism” (21 Apr. 2022) [Online]

Some things to read:

1. “The Classical Liberal Tradition: A 400 Year History of Ideas and Movements. An Introductory Reading List” (20 May, 2021; updated: 22 Apr. 2022) [Online]
2. “One Volume Surveys of Classical Liberal Thought” (11 Jan. 2021) [Online]
3. “600 Quotations about Liberty and Power” (28 Apr. 2022) [Online]