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?