What is classical liberalism? Its a set of ideas that places the freedom of the individual as its central feature. Classical
liberalsists disagree about many things, but they agree, I think on ten 10 core principles.
Number one is that liberty is the primary political value. We all have lots of different
values. We all care about our family, our church, but when it comes to deciding what
to do politically, what should the government do; classical liberals have one clear standard.
Does this increase or does it reduce the freedom of the individual? The government should only
act to prevent harm to others. Second principle: Individualism. That the individual is more
important than the collective. We should not sacrifice the interest of the individuals
for what some people argue is the common good. This was the central feature of communism
and fascism, that individuals didn't matter. Every individual matters. Every individual
is worthy of respect. Third principle: Skepticism about power. Power is the ability to get
other people to do what you want that otherwise they would not do. Government, for example,
often claims, we're forcing you to do x because it s in your own interest to do
so. Whereas very often, when people in power do that, it's really because it's good
for themselves. Classical liberals believe that the individual is the best judge of their
own interests. We can try and recommend things, but in the end the individual is the best
judge of their own interests. Other people should not force them to do things that they
do not want to do. Fourth: The rule of law. This is the idea that there are some higher
principles by which we should examine what government does, laws that are passed, and
government actions, just like the U.S. Supreme Court will sometimes strike down pieces of
legislation that Congress has passed and the president has signed because it goes against
certain principles embodied in the U.S. Constitution. Classical liberals believe that the certain
principles of the rule of law should be applied to the rule of law to what every government
does anywhere in the world. A classic example is equality before the law. People should
be treated the same regardless of their race or gender or sexual orientation. That's why
classical liberalists have always objected to the idea that there should be laws that
people should treat, say, blacks and whites differently. Five: Civil society. Civil society
are those voluntary organizations that exist between the individual and the state. Classical
liberals believe that most social problems can be more effectively dealt with through
these voluntary organizations, like the family, like the church, like charitable organizations,
because they have the knowledge about the individuals in which they re dealing with.
Civil society is much more effective than government bureaucracies and inflexible rules
that can't change depending on people's individual circumstances. So the civil society can do
many of the things that we now look to for the welfare state to do. Six: Spontaneous
order. Order it means the existence of regularity and predictability in the world. When people
are making decisions about what to do, they need to be able to predict what the results
of making those decisions should be. Many people seem to assume that order requires
some institution, somebody to manipulate and organize things. Classical liberals don t
believe that. They believe that order can arise spontaneously. People through their
voluntary interaction create the rules by which people can live by. A classic example
is that of language. Nobody invented the English language. It arose in terms of people communicating
with each other. And yet certain rules have applied through that process. We don t need
people to plan our lives. Seven: Free markets. Thate economic exchange should be left to
voluntary activity between individuals. Government should not tell people what to wear to work,
how to save, what to build, what to produce. This should be left to voluntary interaction
by people. You need private property to be able to do that, and you need to
ensure that when there are disputes, they can be peacefully resolved. But history shows
us that leaving things to free markets rather than government planning or organization increases
prosperity, reduces poverty, increases jobs. It provides goods that people want to buy.
Eight: Toleration. Toleration is the belief that one should not interfere with things
of which one disapproves. Toleration does not mean that you allow people to do things
because you agree with it, because you think it's a good thing. It s a question of having
certain moral principles. I think this action is wrong, but I will not try and force my
opinions, for example, through government, to stop the things that I disapprove
of. A classic case of that for classical liberals is free speech. People should be allowed to
say things of which we strongly disapprove. We're tolerating tolerate things even though
we dislike and disapprove it. Nine: Peace. Peace is a state where we can go about our
business without violence or war. That's best achieved, according to classical liberals,
is not by interfering in other countries. In other words, they favor a non interventionist
foreign policy. Their view in terms of our interactions, it should be with other nations
is based on what's commonly called the four freedoms. There should be free movement of
capital and labor, people, goods, and services. And I would add something as well, the free
movement of ideas. If we have a world in which this free movement is embraced, then I think
we ll have a world, classical liberals believe we would have a world based on peace. And
finally, limited government. There are very few things which the government should do.
The goal of the government is simply to protect our life, liberty, and property. And anything
beyond that is not justifiable; a strictly limited government. So these are the ten 10
principles of classical liberalism. Are you a classical liberal?
