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I have often described myself, here and in many other venues, as a "classic liberal." It is not a phrase that is commonly used, but it describes a philosophy that was dominant among the Founding Fathers, and from which both modern liberalism and conservatism have descended, as well as modern libertarianism.

The philosophy is simply expressed in the Declaration of Independence: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. —That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,"

The legitimate uses of government, then, are to protect the life, liberty, and property of the governed. Government is not to be trusted; it is a necessary evil. As such, small government is to be preferred to large government, and Henry David Thoreau's dictum, "That government is best which governs least."

As a consequence of this philosophy, the Constitution of the United States along with the Bill of Rights is fundamentally a document limiting,, rather than empowering the government it creates. As far as I can tell, it is historically unique in making distrust of the government a central principle in the design of that government. Note that nearly all of the rights enumerated are "negative rights," or the right to be left alone by government, rather than "positive rights," or claims of entitlement to receive something.

Liberties can, very broadly, be categorized as political and economic. The right not to be silenced, whether in the exercise of religion or speech, is a political liberty, while the right hold property without excessive taxation is an economic liberty. Classic liberals strongly support both categories, and are skeptical about restrictions in either.

Liberalism was not the only major philosophy of the Eighteenth Century. As the writings of John Locke defined liberalism, Edmund Burke defined Conservatism. Burke elucidated six basic principles, two of which are shared by classic liberals: distrust of government, and the belief that liberty is more important than equality; one which is neither shared or opposed, that of patriotism, and three completely at odds with classic liberalism: trust in existing institutions and hierarchies, distrust of change, and elitism.

Not everyone falls completely within either camp; most people fit somewhere between the poles on most issues. In the United States, those with more conservative tendencies would in time form the Federalists, who pushed for the adoption of the New Constitution with increased central authority, while the more liberal largely became the "anti-Federalists," which opposed adoption of the new Constitution and the increased central power. Nonetheless, classic liberal notions of the fundamental and inherent rights of man guided both groups.

Over time, other philosophies descended from liberalism, one of which now bears its name. Today's "liberals" still strongly support political liberties, but are less concerned about economic liberty. This is not usually because they are hostile to economic liberties, but because they turn economic security into a positive right. While very few people object to the economic security of the less well off, the programs which guarantee such security must be paid for, requiring higher levels of taxation, thus limiting economic rights. The willingness to limit economic rights occurs in other areas, as well—in particular, some forms of environmental protection inherently limit the ability of owners to use their property. Though opponents often accuse them as being hostile to economic rights, it is more fair to describe them as more concerned with economic security and other issues than with economic freedom.

Today's "conservatives" are harder to describe. The label is used for (at least) three different groups, who at times share nothing more than disagreement with modern liberals. Classic liberals, such as former Senator Phil Graham and Antonin Scalia, are often mischaracterized (sometimes by themselves) as not only conservative, but very conservative. Ronald Reagan probably belongs in this group. His rhetoric was certainly classic liberal, though some reasonable minds conclude that, at least at times, his government belonged to one of the other groups. A classical conservative would be also be labeled a conservative today, as would the "Christian Right" and others groups which wish to use the power of government to enforce virtue or other values, a stance at odd with political freedom. Those for whom "law and order" is the most important issue will fall in this group, with the willingness to trade political liberties, such as protections from search and seizure, for physical security. Except for the classic liberals, these groups are all willing to trade at least some political freedom for physical security or other ends which they find valuable.

Finally, today's "Libertarians" are another, though more direct, offshoot of classic liberalism. Libertarians do not so much give up any classic liberal position as take them further. While classic liberals thought of government as a necessary evil, the most "extreme" libertarians deny the necessity. They are joined in this by by the less known remainder of the Thoreau quote above: "and I should like to see it acted up to more rapidly and systematically. Carried out, it finally amounts to this, which I also believe,—'That government is best which governs not at all;' and when men are prepared for it, that will be the kind of government which they will have." While most classic liberals, both in the eighteenth century and today, admit to at least a small roll for government in bettering society, Libertarians generally do not.

With this many groups with varying differences, the basic "left-right" axis is wholly insufficient to describe politics, grouping mutually antagonistic groups together—which will be presented next week.

© Richard Edmund Hawkins, MMV

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Links of interest

Information about John Locke

A short biography of John Locke, with summaries of his thought and various links. Read

Writings of John Locke

Freely downloadable writings by John Locke from the Gutenberg Project. Read

Writings of Henry David Thoreau

Freely downloadable writings of Thoreau from the Gutenberg Project. The quote comes from the first paragraph of Civil Disobedience Read

Ronald Reagan as a classic liberal

The author descirbes the late President as a classic liberal, emphasizing how his philosophy split from conservatism. Read

A short biography of Edmund Burke

A biography and chronicle of Burke's career. Read

Edmund Burke's Legacy

An enthusiastic tribute to Burke with summaries of each tenet of his conservatism. Read

Writings of Edmund Burke

Freely downloadable writings of Edumnd Burke from the Gutenberg Project. Read

Read

Dr. Hawkins is a statistician, antitrust attorney, and Assistant Professor of Economics at the Pennsylvania State University.

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