I have selected “12 Key Concepts of Liberty” to examine in more detail:
- Natural Law and Natural Rights
- Private Property
- Individual Liberty
- Idea of Spontaneous Order
- Free Markets
- Limited Government
- Rule of Law
- Freedom of Speech & Religion
- Free Trade
- Peace
- Progress
- Right of Exit
See the collection of 501 Quotations about Liberty and Power at the OLL organised by topic:
501 Quotations about Liberty and Power: The Collected Quotations from the Online Library of Liberty (2004-2014) (Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 2015). at the OLL.
See also The OLL Reader: An Anthology of the Best of the Online Library of Liberty [Updated February 13, 2015 – 72 extracts] [at the OLL]2.
- Part I: Scepticism about Power
- Part II: The Basic Principles
- Part III: Political Liberty
- Part IV: Economic Liberty
- Part V: Individual Liberty
- Part VI: War and Peace
- Part VII: Key Legal and Political Documents
- Part VIII: The History of Liberty and Power
- Part IX: The Literature of Liberty
- Part X: The Critique of Socialism and Interventionism
- Part XI: Visions of the Future
See also the relevant articles in The Encyclopedia of Libertarianism, ed. Ronald Hamowy (Los Angeles: Sage, 2008. A Project of the Cato Institute). Abbreviated below as “EoL”.
(1.) Natural Law and Natural Rights
Key ideas:
- the world is governed by natural laws which are discoverable by human reason
- Tom Paine’s “imprescriptible rights”: the right to life, liberty, property, and the pursuit of happiness
- rights are not created by government but exist anterior to it
- [alternative view of utilitarianism – maximization of happiness or utility]
EoL articles:
- “Natural Law” & “Natural Rights”
- “Theories of Rights”
- “Utilitarianism”
OLL Quotations from Key Texts:
- Richard Overton shoots An Arrow against all Tyrants from the prison of Newgate into the prerogative bowels of the arbitrary House of Lords and all other usurpers and tyrants whatsoever (1646) at the OLL
- John Locke on “perfect freedom” in the state of nature (1689) at the OLL
- Sidney argues that a People’s liberty is a gift of nature and exists prior to any government (1683) at the OLL
(2.) Private Property
Key ideas:
- property rights are not created by government but exist anterior to it (i.e. they are “natural rights” not “artificial rights” (Hodgskin)
- the right of self-propriety or self-ownership (the Levellers & Locke)
- the right to create or acquire property titles in unowned resources (Locke)
- the right to exchange property titles with others (private contracts)
- the right to enjoy one’s property so long as no aggression is initiated against others (non-aggression axiom)
- property rights (in one’s person, home, possessions) create an individual, private sphere which must be protected from outside interference (by state, church, other individuals) (Humboldt & Mill)
EoL articles:
- “Private Property”
- “Nonaggression Axiom”
OLL Quotations from Key Texts:
- Gaius states that according to natural reason the first occupier of any previously unowned property becomes the just owner (2nd Century) at the OLL
- Captain John Clarke asserts the right of all men to vote in the formation of a new constitution by right of the property they have in themselves (1647) at the OLL
- Sir William Blackstone argues that occupancy of previously unowned land creates a natural right to that property which excludes others from it (1753) at the OLL
- James Mill on the natural disposition to accumulate property (1808) at the OLL
- J.B. Say on the self-evident nature of property rights which is nevertheless violated by the state in taxation and slavery (1817) at the OLL
- Thomas Hodgskin argues for a Lockean notion of the right to property (“natural”) and against the Benthamite notion that property rights are created by the state (“artificial”) (1832) at the OLL
- Wolowski and Levasseur argue that Property is “the fruit of human liberty” and that Violence and Conquest have done much to disturb this natural order (1884) at the OLL
- Lysander Spooner spells out his theory of “mine and thine”, or the science of natural law and justice, which alone can ensure that mankind lives in peace (1882) at the OLL
(3.) Individual Liberty
Key ideas:
- the dignity of the individual, individual autonomy, sanctity of life
- an individual, private sphere which is protected from outside interference
- right of voluntary association among individuals
- civil society results from voluntary association between individuals with common interests
- the Law of Equal Freedom (Spencer)
EoL articles:
- “Civil Society”
- “Individual Rights” & “Equality” (of rights)
- “Freedom” & “Political and Ethical Individualism”
- “Presumption of Liberty”
OLL Quotations from Key Texts:
- Wilhelm von Humboldt argued that freedom was the “Grand and Indispensable Condition” for individual flourishing (1792) at the OLL
- In Percy Shelley’s poem Liberty liberty is compared to a force of nature sweeping the globe, where “tyrants and slaves are like shadows of night” which will disappear in “the van of the morning light” (1824) at the OLL
- Harriet Taylor wants to see “freedom and admissibility” in all areas of human activity replace the system of “privilege and exclusion” (1847) at the OLL
- J.S. Mill’s great principle was that “over himself, over his own body and mind, the individual is sovereign” (1859) at the OLL
- J.S. Mill spoke in Parliament in favour of granting women the right to vote, to have “a voice in determining who shall be their rulers” (1866) at the OLL
- Lysander Spooner on the idea that laws against “vice” (victimless crimes) are unjust (1875) at the OLL
- Lord Acton writes to Bishop Creighton that the same moral standards should be applied to all men, political and religious leaders included, especially since “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely” (1887) at the OLL
(4.) Idea of Spontaneous Order
Key ideas:
- institutions emerge spontaneously and evolve over time
- by pursuing their own selfish interests in a voluntary manner they are led as if by an “invisible hand” (Adam Smith) to promote the welfare of others
- e.g. language, money, private law, markets
EoL articles:
- “Spontaneous Order”
OLL Quotations from Key Texts:
- Adam Smith on the natural ordering Tendency of Free Markets, or what he called the “Invisible Hand” (1776) at the OLL
- Adam Ferguson observed that social structures of all kinds were not “the result of human action, but not the execution of any human design” (1782) at the OLL
- Bernard Mandeville uses a fable about bees to show how prosperity and good order comes about through spontaneous order (1705) at the OLL
- Spencer on spontaneous order produced by “the beneficent working of social forces” (1879) at the OLL
(5.) Free Markets
Key ideas:
- domestic free markets and international free trade (A. Smith, F. Bastiat, L. von Mises)
- voluntary exchanges are mutually beneficial (ex ante)
- division of labour
- freely set market prices (information about supply & demand – Hayek)
- private ownership of economic assets
- private contracts for exchange of property
- legal protection of property rights
- decentralized decision-making – “I, Pencil” – Hayek’s “problem of knowledge”
- no regulation outside of legal protection of property rights (tort law for fraud, damages)
- complete freedom of movement of people (labour), capital, and goods (laissez-faire, laissez-passer)
- minimal/no taxes, balanced government budgets
- no subsidies or protection for favoured individuals or groups
- the incentive of profit and the disincentive of losses
EoL articles:
- “Capitalism”
- “Laissez-Faire Policy” & “Competition”
- “Division of Labor”
- “Entrepreneurship” & “Free-Market Economy”
OLL Quotations from Key Texts:
- Adam Smith on the greater productivity brought about by the division of labor and technological innovation (1760s) at the OLL
- Adam Smith argued that the “propensity to truck, barter, and exchange” was inherent in human nature and gave rise to things such as the division of labour (1776) at the OLL
- Nassau Senior objected to any government regulation of factories which meant that a horde of inspectors would interfere with the organization of production (1837) at the OLL
- Mises on how price controls lead to socialism (1944) at the OLL
- Mises on the gold standard as the symbol of international peace and prosperity (1949) at the OLL
- Ludwig von Mises argues that monopolies are the direct result of government intervention and not the product of any inherent tendency within the capitalist system (1949) at the OLL
- Ludwig von Mises argues that the division of labor and human cooperation are the two sides of the same coin and are not antagonistic to each other (1949) at the OLL
- Kirzner defines economics as the reconciliation of conflicting ends given the existence of inescapable scarcity (1960) at the OLL
(6.) Limited Government
Key ideas:
- governments rule with the consent of the governed (Locke)
- strictly defined powers limited by constitution or bill of rights (Jefferson, Madison)
- right to choose one’s rulers/representatives (elections); elections to periodically remove bad governments (Philosophic Radicals – Mill)
- checks & balances to limit power of branches of government (Montesquieu, US Constitution)
- decentralization of power (federalism, states rights, municipal govt.)
- the problem of defining the limits of govt. power (classical Smithian view, nightwatchman state (JB Say, Bastiat), anarcho-capitalism (Molinari, Spencer, Rothbard)
- the problem of keeping government limited (Public Choce, “who guards the guardians?)
EoL articles:
- “Constitutionalism” & “Limited Government”
- “Bill of Rights, U.S.” & “Federalism”
- “Minimal State” & “State”
- “Anarchism” & “Anarcho-Capitalism”
OLL Quotations from Key Texts:
- Edmund Burke asks a key question of political theory: “quis custodiet ipsos custodes?” (how is one to be defended against the very guardians who have been appointed to guard us?) (1756) at the OLL
- James Madison on the need for the “separation of powers” because “men are not angels,” Federalist 51 (1788) at the OLL
- Bentham on the proper role of government: “Be Quiet” and “Stand out of my sunshine” (1843) at the OLL
- Frédéric Bastiat on the state as the great fiction by which everyone seeks to live at the expense of everyone else (1848) at the OLL
- Bastiat asks the fundamental question of political economy: what should be the size of the state? (1850) at the OLL
- John Stuart Mill on the need for limited government and political rights to prevent the “king of the vultures” and his “minor harpies” in the government from preying on the people (1859) at the OLL
- The Australian radical liberal Bruce Smith lays down some very strict rules which should govern the actions of any legislator (1887) at the OLL
(7.) Rule of Law
Key ideas:
- rule of laws not of men
- law applies equally to all (including agents of the state)
- common law
- independent courts
- common law, trial by jury, right to habeas corpus
- abolition of “cruel & unusual punishment” (torture, death penalty)
EoL articles:
- “Coercion” & “Constitutionalism”
- “Common Law” & “Law Merchant”
OLL Quotations from Key Texts:
- Sir Edward Coke defends British Liberties and the Idea of Habeas Corpus in the Petition of Right before Parliament (1628) at the OLL
- Sir William Blackstone provides a strong defence of personal liberty and concludes that to “secretly hurry” a man to prison is a “dangerous engine of arbitrary government” (1753) at the OLL
- The IVth Amendment to the American Constitution states that the people shall be secure in their persons against unreasonable searches and seizures and that no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause (1788) at the OLL
- J.S. Mill in a speech before parliament denounced the suspension of Habeas Corpus and the use of flogging in Ireland, saying that those who ordered this “deserved flogging as much as any of those who were flogged by his orders” (1866) at the OLL
- Pollock on “our lady” the common law and her devoted servants (1911) at the OLL
(8.) Freedom of Speech & Religion
Key ideas:
- freedom of the press
- the right of assembly and right to engage in peaceful protest
- no state-enforced religion
- right to practice the religion of one’s choice
- liberty of political belief and practice (18th & 19thC, JS Mill)
- toleration of all unorthodox thought and (non injurious) behaviour
EoL articles:
- “Conscience” (liberty of)
- “Cosmopolitanism”
- “Freedom of Speech” & “Freedom of Thought”
- “Religion and Liberty” & “Separation of Church and State”
OLL Quotations from Key Texts:
- John Milton opposed censorship for many reasons but one thought sticks in the mind, that “he who destroys a good book, kills reason itself” (1644) at the OLL
- John Locke believed that the magistrate should not punish sin but only violations of natural rights and public peace (1689) at the OLL
- Pierre Bayle begins his defence of religious toleration with this appeal that the light of nature, or Reason, should be used to settle religious differences and not coercion (1708) at the OLL
- David Hume argues that “love of liberty” in some individuals often attracts the religious inquisitor to persecute them and thereby drive society into a state of “ignorance, corruption, and bondage” (1757) at the OLL
- Voltaire notes that where Commerce and Toleration predominate, a Multiplicity of Faiths can live together in Peace and Happiness (1764) at the OLL
- Jefferson’s preference for “newspapers without government” over “government without newspapers” (1787) at the OLL
- Benjamin Constant and the Freedom of the Press (1815) at the OLL
(9.) Free Trade
Key ideas:
- complete freedom of movement of people and goods (laissez-faire, laissez-passer) domestic free markets and international free trade (A. Smith, F. Bastiat, L. von Mises)
- natural harmony of interests leads to peace
- benefits of division of labour, comparative advantage (David Ricardo) exist between households, cities, regions, and “nation states”
- no subsidies or protection for favoured individuals or groups
- policy of unilateral free trade is beneficial to consumers
EoL articles:
- “Free Trade”
- “Natural Harmony of Interests”
OLL Quotations from Key Texts:
- John Ramsay McCulloch argues that smuggling is “wholly the result of vicious commercial and financial legislation” and that it could be ended immediately by abolishing this legislation (1899) at the OLL
- Richard Cobden’s “I have a dream” speech about a world in which free trade is the governing principle (1846) at the OLL
- Harriet Martineau condemns tariffs as a “vicious aristocratic principle” designed to harm the ordinary working man and woman (1861) at the OLL
- Yves Guyot accuses all those who seek Protection from foreign competition of being “Socialists” (1893) at the OLL
(10.) Peace
Key ideas:
- non-interference in the affairs of other nations (Washington, Cobden)
- international arbitration to solve disputes
- free trade between all nations
- war leads to higher taxes, debt, growth in size of government
- opposed taxation, conscription, national debt to fund “standing army” & fight wars
- favoured local, volunteer militias (US Bill of Rights) – irregular, guerrilla war (Am. Rev)
- “war is the health of the state” (R. Bourne) & Robert Higgs’ “ratchet effect”
- modern military is anti-individualistic, command economy (Mises), socialist institution
- free and open immigration/emigration
EoL articles:
- “Peace and Pacifism”
OLL Quotations from Key Texts:
- Grotius on Moderation in Despoiling the Country of one’s Enemies (1625) at the OLL
- Trenchard on the dangers posed by a standing army (1698) at the OLL
- Madison argued that war is the major way by which the executive office increases its power, patronage, and taxing power (1793) at the OLL
- George Washington on the Difference between Commercial and Political Relations with other Countries (1796) at the OLL
- James Mill likens the expence and economic stagnation brought about by war to a “pestilential wind” which ravages the country (1808) at the OLL
- Cobden urges the British Parliament not to be the “Don Quixotes of Europe” using military force to right the wrongs of the world (1854) at the OLL
- William Graham Sumner denounced America’s war against Spain and thought that “war, debt, taxation, diplomacy, a grand governmental system, pomp, glory, a big army and navy, lavish expenditures, political jobbery” would result in imperialism (1898) at the OLL
- Ludwig von Mises laments the passing of the Age of Limited Warfare and the coming of Mass Destruction in the Age of Statism and Conquest (1949) at the OLL
(11.) Progress
Key ideas:
- through hard work and initiative both individuals and society can be improved indefinitely
- wealth creation is a product of the free market and trade
- savings create pool of wealth to benefit current & next generation
- goal of individual flourishing (Humboldt)
EoL articles:
- “Economic Development”
- “Material Progress”
- “Progress”
OLL Quotations from Key Texts:
- Voltaire on the Benefits which Trade and Economic Abundance bring to People living in the Present Age (1736) at the OLL
- Montesquieu thought that commerce improves manners and cures “the most destructive prejudices” (1748) at the OLL
- Condorcet writes about the inevitability of the spread of liberty and prosperity while he was in prison awaiting execution by the Jacobins (1796) at the OLL
- Lord Macaulay writes a devastating review of Southey’s Colloquies in which the Poet Laureate’s ignorance of the real condition of the working class in England is exposed (1830) at the OLL
(12.) Right of Free Movement (Exit/Entry)
Key ideas:
- internal (personal & geographical) – right to free movement within the state (no slavery, being tied to the land (serfs), internal passports & controls)
- external (personal & geographical) – right to emigrate/immigrate, right to cross political borders
- internal (govt, leave its “jurisdiction”)
- right to change one’s government (“throw the bastards out” in free elections, problem of “serial bastardry”)
- right of rebellion against unjust state, resistance to tyranny
- the right to secede
- the right to ignore the state (Spencer)
EoL articles:
- “Right of Revolution” & “Secessionism”
- Freedom of Movement – Emigration & “Immigration”
OLL Quotations from Key Texts:
- Jefferson on the right to change one’s government (1776) at the OLL
- Jefferson feared that it would only be a matter of time before the American system of government degenerated into a form of “elective despotism” (1785) at the OLL
- Herbert Spencer concludes from his principle of equal freedom that individuals have the Right to Ignore the State (1851) at the OLL
- John Stuart Mill on “the sacred right of insurrection” (1862) at the OLL