Editing Classical liberalism (section)

=== Great Britain ===
French [[physiocracy]] heavily influenced British classical liberalism, which traces its roots to the [[Whigs (British political party)|Whigs]] and [[Radicals (UK)|Radicals]]. Whiggery had become a dominant ideology following the [[Glorious Revolution]] of 1688 and was associated with supporting the British Parliament, upholding the rule of law, defending [[landed property]] and sometimes included freedom of the press and freedom of speech. The origins of rights were seen as being in an [[ancient constitution]] existing from [[time immemorial]]. Custom rather than as [[natural rights]] justified these rights. Whigs believed that executive power had to be constrained. While they supported limited suffrage, they saw voting as a privilege rather than as a right. However, there was no consistency in Whig ideology and diverse writers including [[John Locke]], [[David Hume]], [[Adam Smith]] and [[Edmund Burke]] were all influential among Whigs, although none of them were universally accepted.{{sfn|Vincent|pp=28–29}}

From the 1790s to the 1820s, British radicals concentrated on parliamentary and electoral reform, emphasising natural rights and popular sovereignty. [[Richard Price]] and [[Joseph Priestley]] adapted the language of Locke to the ideology of radicalism.{{sfn|Vincent|pp=28–29}} The radicals saw parliamentary reform as a first step toward dealing with their many grievances, including the treatment of [[English Dissenters|Protestant Dissenters]], the slave trade, high prices, and high taxes.<ref>{{cite book|first=Michael J.|last=Turner|year=1999|title=British Politics in an Age of Reform|location=Manchester|publisher=Manchester University Press|isbn=978-0719051869|page=86}}</ref> There was greater unity among classical liberals than there had been among Whigs. Classical liberals were committed to individualism, liberty, and equal rights, as well as some other important tenants of [[Left-wing politics|leftism]], since classical liberalism was introduced in the late 18th century as a leftist movement.<ref name=":1" /> They believed these goals required a free economy with minimal government interference. Some elements of Whiggery were uncomfortable with the commercial nature of classical liberalism. These elements became associated with conservatism.{{sfn|Vincent|pp=29–30}}

[[File:1846 - Anti-Corn Law League Meeting.jpg|left|thumb|A meeting of the [[Anti-Corn Law League]] in [[Exeter Hall]] in 1846]]

Classical liberalism was the dominant political theory in Britain from the early 19th century until the First World War. Its notable victories were the [[Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829]], the [[Reform Act 1832]] and the repeal of the [[Corn Laws]] in 1846. The [[Anti-Corn Law League]] brought together a coalition of liberal and radical groups in support of free trade under the leadership of [[Richard Cobden]] and [[John Bright]], who opposed aristocratic privilege, militarism, and public expenditure and believed that the backbone of Great Britain was the [[yeoman]] farmer. Their policies of low public expenditure and low taxation were adopted by [[William Ewart Gladstone|William Gladstone]] when he became [[Chancellor of the Exchequer]] and later [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|Prime Minister]]. Classical liberalism was often associated with religious dissent and [[Nonconformist (Protestantism)|nonconformism]].{{sfn|Gray|pp=26–27}}

Although classical liberals aspired to a minimum of state activity, they accepted the principle of [[government intervention]] in the economy from the early 19th century on, with passage of the [[Factory Acts]]. From around 1840 to 1860, ''laissez-faire'' advocates of the [[Manchester capitalism|Manchester School]] and writers in ''[[The Economist]]'' were confident that their early victories would lead to a period of expanding economic and personal liberty and world peace, but would face reversals as government intervention and activity continued to expand from the 1850s. [[Jeremy Bentham]] and [[James Mill]], although advocates of ''laissez-faire'', non-intervention in foreign affairs, and individual liberty, believed that social institutions could be rationally redesigned through the principles of [[utilitarianism]]. The [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] Prime Minister [[Benjamin Disraeli]] rejected classical liberalism altogether and advocated [[Tory democracy]]. By the 1870s, [[Herbert Spencer]] and other classical liberals concluded that historical development was turning against them.{{sfn|Gray|p=28}} By the First World War, the [[Liberal Party (UK)|Liberal Party]] had largely abandoned classical liberal principles.{{sfn|Gray|p=32}}

The changing economic and social conditions of the 19th century led to a division between neo-classical and social (or welfare) liberals, who while agreeing on the importance of individual liberty differed on the role of the state. Neo-classical liberals, who called themselves "true liberals", saw Locke's ''[[Two Treatises of Government#Second Treatise|Second Treatise]]'' as the best guide and emphasised "limited government" while social liberals supported government regulation and the welfare state. Herbert Spencer in Britain and [[William Graham Sumner]] were the leading neo-classical liberal theorists of the 19th century.{{sfn|Ishiyama|Breuning|p=596}} The evolution from classical to social/welfare liberalism is for example reflected in Britain in the evolution of the thought of [[John Maynard Keynes]].<ref>See the studies of Keynes by [[Roy Harrod]], [[Robert Skidelsky]], [[Donald Moggridge]] and [[Donald Markwell]].</ref>

Helena Vieira, writing for the [[London School of Economics]], argued that classical liberalism "may contradict some fundamental democratic principles as they are inconsistent with the ''principle of unanimity'' (also known as the ''[[Pareto principle|Pareto Principle]]'') – the idea that if everyone in society prefers a policy A to a policy B, then the former should be adopted."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Vieira |first=Helena |date=2017-02-01 |title=The contradiction of classical liberalism and libertarianism |url=https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/businessreview/2017/02/01/the-contradiction-of-classical-liberalism-and-libertarianism/ |access-date=2023-07-03 |website=LSE Business Review}}</ref>