CL Tradition

(E)n général on gouverne trop … (mais) comment s’y prendre pour simplifier une machine administrative compliquée où les intérêts privés ont gagné du terrain sur l’intérêt public, comme une gangrène qui s’avance dans un corps humain lorsqu’elle n’est pas repoussée par le principe de vie qui tend à le conserver ?. Pour guérir cette maladie … Read more

[The Molière Fountain on the rue de Richelieu (down the left). The Guillaumin firm was located at no. 14 rue de Richelieu.] Note: See also the following: my blog post on “A Publishing History of the Guillaumin Firm (1837-1910)” (5 Aug. 2022) here my summary webpage on The Paris School a brief description of the … Read more

Source of Data Benoît Malbranque, “Liste complète des titres publiés par Guillaumin (1837-1910)”, Institut Coppet (janvier 2, 2017) here. David M. Hart, “Gilbert-Urbain Guillaumin (1801-64) and the Guillaumin Publishing Firm (1837-1910)” with my list of their titles. It also contains many links to individual Guillaumin book catalogs which were often appended to the books they … Read more

[Note: This post is part of a series on the History of the Classical Liberal Tradition] In another post I focus on the “Twelve Key Ideas” which I believe defines what it means to be a “classical” liberal, rather than a modern or “new” liberal who holds views which are inconsistent (even incoherent) and is … Read more

[Note: This is an updated version of “The Key Ideas of Classical Liberalism: Foundations, Processes, Liberties” (23 June 2015) here.] [Note: This post is part of a series on the History of the Classical Liberal Tradition] In a recent post I discussed the “ends” that CLs sought and “the means” which they believed would help … Read more

Date: 22 Apr. 2022 [Note: This post is part of a series on the History of the Classical Liberal Tradition] This is an outline/overview of my Lecture/Seminar and extended paper on the history of the Classical Liberal tradition. It consists of the following sections: Introduction: What is Liberalism? CL and the State Liberal Ideas Key … Read more

[Note: This post is part of a series on the History of the Classical Liberal Tradition] Introduction Following the rise to power of Louis Napoleon, who declared himself Emperor Napoléon III in 1852, the radical French CL and political economist Gustave de Molinari (1819-1912) gave a lecture at the Musée royale de l’industrie belge in … Read more

[Note: This post is part of a series on the History of the Classical Liberal Tradition] Some people can see the logic in applying political, moral, and economic principles consistently and avoiding contradictions which make being consistent impossible. Thus for example, if you really do believe that profit, interest, and rent are immoral (as many … Read more

[Note: This post is part of a series on the History of the Classical Liberal Tradition] [See also another post on “Plotting Liberty: The Multi-Dimensionality of Classical Liberalism and the Need for a New ‘Left-Right’ Political Spectrum” (17 April, 2022) here.] Another aspect to consider is the multi-dimensional nature of liberalism. The one dimensional political … Read more

[Note: This post is part of a series on the History of the Classical Liberal Tradition] The Multi-Dimensional Nature of Liberty The full richness and complexity of the nature of Liberty is not well appreciated by most observers, especially mainstream media journalists and political scientists. In other posts I have explored the relationship between the … Read more

Francisco Goya, “The Sleep of Reason produces Monsters” Abolitionist Medallion – “Am I not a Man and Brother?” I have put online some old teaching material (both lecture notes and Seminar Reading Guides) I wrote decades ago when I was working in the Department of History at the University of Adelaide. I wanted to show … Read more

[Hyacinth Rigaud, “Louis XIV” (1701)] [Pierre-Paul Prud’hon, “Liberty” (1793) slaying the hydra monster of tyranny] I interpret “liberal history” in several ways. It might mean (1.) The history of the classical liberal tradition, which has at least two components: a history of how and when liberal ideas first emerged and then evolved over time – … Read more

Note: This post is a continuation of an earlier one on the scandalous neglect of classical liberal sociology (especially classical liberal class analysis). See “The Scandalous Neglect of Classical Liberal Sociology” (30 May, 2021). Note 2: A longer version of this was written for my website (with lengthy quotes). The writings of the economist Jean-Baptiste … Read more

Created: 24 Oct. 2021 (with 25 posts) Updated: 28 Apr. 2022 (31 posts) [Eugène Delacroix, “Liberty leading the People on the Barricade” (1830)] A Brief Overview “The History of Classical Liberalism in 1,730 words (and one picture)” (11 Aug. 2021) here. [Revised 12 Apr. 2022.] “The Classical Liberal Tradition – A 400 Year History Of … Read more

Revised: 28 Apr. 2022 [Note: This post is part of a series on the History of the Classical Liberal Tradition] In his survey of the history of liberalism, The Making of Modern Liberalism (Princeton University Press, 2012), the Oxford political philosopher and scholar of the thought of J.S. Mill, Alan Ryan, observed that everything that … Read more

[Note: This post is part of a series on the History of the Classical Liberal Tradition] Liberal Ends require Liberal Means to build Liberal Institutions Introduction Here are some further thoughts to add to my earlier post on “What Classical Liberals were For” (13 Aug. 2021). They have been stimulated and enriched by my reading … Read more

[Note: This post is part of a series on the History of the Classical Liberal Tradition] This year Peter Boettke from George Mason University and the Mercatus Center has published a collection of his talks and papers on The Struggle For A Better World (Arlington, Virginia: Mercatus Center, 2021). See the table of contents here … Read more

[Liberty has overturned the Hydra (monster) of Tyranny and smashed the yoke of Despotism (1793)] [Note: This post is part of a series on the History of the Classical Liberal Tradition] Several CL/L thinkers have regarded the efforts of groups of people over the past 400 or so years to create a freer society as … Read more

[Eugène Delacroix, “Liberty leading the People on the Barricade” (1830)] [Note: This post is part of a series on the History of the Classical Liberal Tradition] I thought it might be interesting when discussing the different kinds of “liberalism” to borrow from the common practice of distinguishing between the different types of socialism which have … Read more

[Note: This post is part of a series on the History of the Classical Liberal Tradition] Introduction Having a single utopian vision is the hallmark of the statist or the socialist and it is a vision which they want to impose on others by force if necessary. Only in this way can all the errors … Read more

Some Questions and Discussion Topics to Consider Hayek’s Terminology FAH used a special set of terms in his theory which can get confusing for the reader. Here is a list of some of them (see the detailed table of contents of the three volume Law , Legislation and Liberty for an overview): Law: “nomos (the … Read more

[Friedrich Hayek (1899-1992)] [Note: This post is part of a series on the History of the Classical Liberal Tradition] Since so many contemporary CL/Ls quote Hayek’s 1949 appeal for the rediscovery of a liberal utopia to guide and motivate liberals in their intellectual struggle against fascism, socialism, and other forms of government interventionism I thought … Read more

[The Chimera on a red-figure Apulian plate, c. 350–340 BC (Musée du Louvre)] [Note: This post is part of a series on the History of the Classical Liberal Tradition] In a rather unfair and perhaps perverse result of its success over the past 250 years, the impressive success of CL ideas and organised movements (Richard … Read more

[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

[Delacroix’s “Liberty leading the People on the Barricade” (1830)] Date: 20 May, 2021 Revised: 22 Apr. 2022 [Note: This post is part of a series on the History of the Classical Liberal Tradition] An Essential Reference Work An accessible and very comprehensive introduction to CL /Libertarianism can be found in the Cato Institute’s The Encyclopedia … Read more

I first came across the name William Hearn in Rothbard’s history of economic thought where he discusses some early precursors of Austrian economics. ((Volume II: Classical Economics (2006), “14.8 Plutology: Hearn and Donisthorpe,” pp. 463-65. See Hearn’s bio page for an extract from this here.)) That he lived and worked in Australia at the University … Read more

A Paper given at the Southern Economics Association 2015 Annual Meeting New Orleans, November 21-23, 2015 An online version of this paper is available here: HTML and PDF. Abstract: Austrian capital theory is applied to the study of how ideas (in this case classical liberal or libertarian ideas) have been produced, distributed, and consumed. It … Read more

[Note: This post is part of a series on the History of the Classical Liberal Tradition] This idea map is designed to give you an overview of what I think are the essential features of the classical liberal tradition as it has evolved over the past 400 years. See my Study Guides on the Classical … Read more