Editing Classical liberalism (section)

{{short description|Ideology supporting both civil and economic liberties}}
{{about|the branch of liberalism that advocates civil liberties with an emphasis on economic freedom|the liberal economic system organized on individual lines|Economic liberalism|the branch of liberalism that endorses a regulated market economy and the expansion of civil and political rights|Social liberalism}}
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{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2018}}
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'''Classical liberalism''' is a [[political tradition]] and a [[History of liberalism|branch]] of [[liberalism]] that advocates [[free market]] and [[laissez-faire]] economics and [[civil liberties]] under the [[rule of law]], with special emphasis on individual autonomy, [[limited government]], [[economic freedom]], [[political freedom]] and [[freedom of speech]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Classical liberalism |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/classical-liberalism |website=www.britannica.com |publisher=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] |access-date=17 October 2023 |date=6 September 2023}}</ref> Classical liberalism, contrary to progressive branches like [[social liberalism]], looks more negatively on [[Social policy|social policies]], [[tax]]ation and the state involvement in the lives of individuals, and it advocates [[deregulation]].<ref>M. O. Dickerson et al., ''An Introduction to Government and Politics: A Conceptual Approach'' (2009) p. 129</ref>

Until the [[Great Depression]] and the rise of social liberalism, classical liberalism was called [[economic liberalism]]. Later, the term was applied as a [[retronym]], to distinguish earlier 19th-century liberalism from social liberalism.{{sfn|Richardson|p=52}} By modern standards, in [[Liberalism in the United States|the United States]], the bare term ''liberalism'' often means social or progressive liberalism, but in [[Liberalism in Europe|Europe]] and [[Liberalism in Australia|Australia]], the bare term ''liberalism'' often means classical liberalism.<ref name=":0">{{cite news |last=Goldfarb |first=Michael |date=20 July 2010 |title=Liberal? Are we talking about the same thing? |language=en-GB |publisher=[[BBC News]] |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-10658070 |access-date=6 August 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Greenberg |first=David |date=12 September 2019 |title=The danger of confusing liberals and leftists |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2019/09/12/stop-calling-bernie-sanders-alexandria-ocasio-cortez-liberals/ |access-date=6 August 2020}}</ref>

Classical liberalism gained full flowering in the early 18th century, building on ideas dating at least as far back as the 16th century, within the Iberian, French, British, and Central European contexts, and it was foundational to the [[American Revolution]] and "American Project" more broadly.<ref>{{cite book |last=Douma |first=Michael |title=What is Classical Liberal History? |date=2018 |publisher=Lexington Books |isbn=978-1-4985-3610-3}}</ref>{{sfn|Dickerson|Flanagan|O'Neill|p=129}}<ref>{{cite web |last=Renshaw |first=Catherine |date=2014-03-18 |title=What is a 'classical liberal' approach to human rights? |url=http://theconversation.com/what-is-a-classical-liberal-approach-to-human-rights-24452 |access-date=2022-08-12 |website=The Conversation}}</ref> Notable liberal individuals whose ideas contributed to classical liberalism include [[John Locke]],<ref name="Steven M. Dworetz 1994">Steven M. Dworetz (1994). ''The Unvarnished Doctrine: Locke, Liberalism, and the American Revolution''.</ref> [[François Quesnay]], [[Jean-Baptiste Say]], [[Montesquieu]], [[Voltaire]], [[Marquis de Condorcet]], [[Thomas Paine]], [[Thomas Malthus]], and [[David Ricardo]]. It drew on [[classical economics]], especially the economic ideas espoused by [[Adam Smith]] in Book One of ''[[The Wealth of Nations]]'', and on a belief in [[natural law]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Appleby |first=Joyce |author-link=Joyce Appleby |title=Liberalism and Republicanism in the Historical Imagination |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=83HlqTJjLcgC&pg=PA58 |publisher=[[Harvard University Press]] |date=1992 |page=58 |isbn=978-0674530133}}</ref> In contemporary times, [[Murray Rothbard]], [[Friedrich Hayek]], [[Milton Friedman]], [[Ludwig von Mises]], [[Thomas Sowell]], [[Walter E. Williams]], [[George Stigler]], [[Larry Arnhart]], [[Ronald Coase]] and [[James M. Buchanan]] are seen as the most prominent advocates of classical liberalism.<ref>{{cite book |last=Dilley |first=Stephen C. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XAIQOVWz2hEC |title=Darwinian Evolution and Classical Liberalism: Theories in Tension |date=2013-05-02 |publisher=Lexington Books |isbn=978-0-7391-8107-2 |pages=13–14}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Peters |first=Michael A. |date=2022-04-16 |title=Hayek as classical liberal public intellectual: Neoliberalism, the privatization of public discourse and the future of democracy |journal=Educational Philosophy and Theory |volume=54 |issue=5 |pages=443–449 |doi=10.1080/00131857.2019.1696303 |s2cid=213420239 |issn=0013-1857|doi-access=free}}</ref> However, other scholars have made reference to these contemporary thoughts as ''[[neoclassical liberalism]]'', distinguishing them from 18th-century classical liberalism.<ref name="Mayne 1999 p. 124">Mayne, Alan James (1999). ''From Politics Past to Politics Future: An Integrated Analysis of Current and Emergent Paradigmss''. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 124–125. {{ISBN|0275961516}}.</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Ishiyama |first1=John T. |title=21st Century Political Science A Reference Handbook |last2=Breuning |first2=Marijke |collaboration=Ellen Grigsby |publisher=SAGE Publications, Inc. |year=2011 |isbn=978-1-4129 6901-7 |pages=596–603 |chapter=Neoclassical liberals}}</ref>

In its defense of economic liberties, classical liberalism may be described as conservative or [[Right-wing politics|right wing]],<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |title=The Desk Encyclopedia of World History |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-7394-7809-7 |editor-last=Wright |editor-first=Edmund |location=New York |pages=370}}</ref><ref name=":2" /> while in its defense of civil liberties, it has more in common with modern liberalism ([[Left-wing politics|the left]]). Despite this, classical liberals tend to reject [[Conservatism in the United States|the right]]'s higher tolerance for [[protectionism|economic protectionism]] and the left's inclination for collective [[Individual and group rights|group rights]] due to classical liberalism's central principle of [[individualism]].<ref name=":2">{{cite web |last1=Goodman |first1=John C. |title=Classical Liberalism vs. Modern Liberalism and Modern Conservatism |url=https://www.goodmaninstitute.org/about/how-we-think/classical-liberalism-vs-modern-liberalism-and-modern-conservatism/ |website=Goodman Institute |access-date=2 January 2022}}</ref> Additionally, in the United States, classical liberalism is considered closely tied to, or synonymous with, [[Libertarianism in the United States|American libertarianism]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-04-06 |title=Libertarianism vs. Classical Liberalism: Is there a Difference? |url=https://reason.com/volokh/2023/04/06/libertarianism-vs-classical-liberalism-is-there-a-difference/ |access-date=2023-09-22 |website=Reason.com |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Klein |first=Daniel B. |date=2017-05-03 |title=Libertarianism and Classical Liberalism: A Short Introduction {{!}} Daniel B. Klein |url=https://fee.org/articles/libertarianism-and-classical-liberalism-a-short-introduction/ |access-date=2022-03-08 |website=fee.org |language=en}}</ref>