Month: August 2021

[Note: This post is part of a series on the History of the Classical Liberal Tradition] One of the most radical visions of the future written by a radical liberal was that by the Belgian-French political economist Gustave de Molinari (1819-1912)). His conception of “the political and economic organisation of the society of the future” … Read more

[Note: This post is part of a series on the History of the Classical Liberal Tradition] Part 1: Introduction We have noted elsewhere Hayek’s nearly despairing plea in 1949 for CLs to rediscover their “utopian vision” of what a free society might look like in order to inspire a new generation of young CLs to … Read more

[Note: This post is part of a series on the History of the Classical Liberal Tradition] There are numerous similarities as well as considerable differences which separate modern day CL/L (classical liberals and libertarians) similarities from their intellectual forebears – the radical and moderate liberals of the 19th century. The Similarities Like the CLs of … Read more

[Note: This post is part of a series on the History of the Classical Liberal Tradition] The Intellectual and Political History of the Liberal Tradition There is a complex relationship between the emergence and development of political and economic ideas about liberty and the actions taken by people to put these ideas into practice. Elsewhere … Read more

[Note: This post is part of a series on the History of the Classical Liberal Tradition] Introduction When it comes to identifying what Classical Liberals were FOR, as opposed to what they were AGAINST (see the previous post), I have divided them into three main categories: foundations (or grounds for belief), processes (or actions which … Read more

[Note: This post is part of a series on the History of the Classical Liberal Tradition] It is often the case that you do not articulate clearly what you are “FOR” until you are forced to, by being challenged by something you know you are “AGAINST”. I think this can be said about the CLT … Read more

[Note: This post is part of a series on the History of the Classical Liberal Tradition] The “Two Faced” Nature of CL [The revolutionary Marianne with a sword in her hand vs. the conservative Marianne with a torch and constitution in her hands.] There are two different “faces” or “aspects” to CL which it has … Read more

Eugène Delacroix, “Liberty leading the People on the Barricade” (1830) [Revised: 12 Apr. 2022] [Note: This post is part of a series on the History of the Classical Liberal Tradition] In a nutshell (1730 w) this is my view of how the Classical Liberal (CL) movement and ideas have evolved over the past 400 years: … Read more

Updated: 25 Apr. 2022 [Note: This post is part of a series on the History of the Classical Liberal Tradition] [See a larger version of this image.] A key factor in distinguishing the differences between the various strains of liberalism is their attitude towards the state (not just between liberalism and other political philosophies like … Read more

[Revised: 25 Apr. 2022] [Note: This post is part of a series on the History of the Classical Liberal Tradition] The degree to which classical liberals have upheld the principle that the state should not use (or at least minimise its use of) violence or coercion (the “non-aggression principle” (NAP)) is reflected in their attitudes … Read more

[Note: This post is part of a series on the History of the Classical Liberal Tradition] Introduction and the Problem of Definition “Liberal” and “Liberalism” as concepts have been contested since their first appearance, most probably sometime in the late 18th century, when the adjective “liberal” began to be used to describe an individual’s behaviour … Read more