Tuesday, August 24th, 2010

Classical liberalism vs Conservatism?

Sorry if i sound ignorant, i am only 16.

the way i feel about it is that classical liberalism is more of a conservative-libertarian philosophy. Am I right by that?
yeah, because i figured that classical liberalism came about during the enlightenment and what not. Also when the french were protesting the monarchy and the three estates, hence these people were called liberals.

In a very broad sense, you are correct. Classical Liberalism was very much defined by adherence to free markets, democracy, and civil liberties. This was in contrast to the conservatives of their day, who were monarchists, and who favored a controlled Mercantilist economy.

However, modern conservatives and modern liberals can now be described as centre-right and centre-left. Classical Liberals would have been (by our standards) considered far-right economically and far-left socially. So while it is generally true that conservatism (at least in rhetoric) is pro-business (which leads most people to label it pro-free market), a classical liberal is as every bit a relative of modern liberals in the sense that classical liberals called for the separation of church and state and the reduction of government interference in social matters.

14 Comments on “Classical liberalism vs Conservatism?”

  1. Jack

    i must be ignorant then cuz I dont know
    References :

  2. Chas3r

    Screw Liberals. The Dems use to be the best but now they are a bunch idiots…GO REPUBLICANS!
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  3. Johnny

    Yes, classical liberalism is very similar to Goldwater Conservatism, which has a strong libertarian bent to it.

    In general, Goldwater Conservatism = Libertarianism = Classical Liberalism.

    Of course there might be some nuances and different proponents of this particular brand of political thought may not always agree, but in general, they have much more in common than they don’t.
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  4. Conservative in Exile

    No to totally different things. Dont worry you are not ignorant. The only bad question is the one never asked.
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  5. TestTubeBaby

    That sounds right to me. Classic liberal = educated nut. Conservatism = Michael Landon on a prairie. Which, oh which, to be?
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  6. FugQ2

    No, but I see how you could make that comparison.
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  7. Boss H

    YEs you are right.
    Libertarians and liberals are the closest things to classical liberals that exist.

    All other conservatives that think they are, aren’t even close.

    what separates libertarians and liberals are the Thomas Green influence on liberals.

    but you would have to know a little about politics to comprehend why that is.
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  8. jhillftp

    Correct :)

    The current definition is far off from its classical definition. They have replaced the word Communism with current liberalism…
    References :
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classical_liberalism

  9. MJR

    In a very broad sense, you are correct. Classical Liberalism was very much defined by adherence to free markets, democracy, and civil liberties. This was in contrast to the conservatives of their day, who were monarchists, and who favored a controlled Mercantilist economy.

    However, modern conservatives and modern liberals can now be described as centre-right and centre-left. Classical Liberals would have been (by our standards) considered far-right economically and far-left socially. So while it is generally true that conservatism (at least in rhetoric) is pro-business (which leads most people to label it pro-free market), a classical liberal is as every bit a relative of modern liberals in the sense that classical liberals called for the separation of church and state and the reduction of government interference in social matters.
    References :

  10. Jacob W

    Yes, Classical Liberalism was far more about personal liberty than modern Liberalism. See section 2 of the parts one and two from this Stanford Encyclopedia.

    *
    References :
    http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/liberalism/

  11. Classical Liberal

    yes you are.
    Classical liberalism stresses individual freedom, free markets, and limited government. It is essentially the fusion of the economic and political liberalism of the late 1700’s-early 1800’s. It’s also a way for me to make modern liberals who think their form of liberalism is the end-all-be-all scratch their heads in bewilderment.
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  12. assamite36

    Well…. Classical liberalism has centered on two principles: personal liberty/autonomy and representative government. Unfortunately, the term has been hijacked by corporatists in the Chicago School of Economics who only believe in liberty and representation for corporations and wealthy individuals.

    Read up on your Enlightenment thinkers such as Voltaire, Locke, and Rousseau. Then read the dreck that Milton Friedman and Friedrich Hayek come out with. The anti-tyranny rhetoric is the same, but these later authors put a LOT more emphasis on keeping one’s own money.

    To Hayek’s credit, he pointed out that "conservative" and "libertarian" are contradictory terms. The whole essence of conservatism is the continuing enforcement of social norms regardless of their effects on liberty. See: Religious Right, segregation, prohibition, "temperance"…
    References :
    "MAN is born free; and everywhere he is in chains." – Rousseau
    http://www.constitution.org/jjr/socon_01.htm

  13. addiction

    classical liberal is a libertarian
    conservative can be anything but usually is classical liberalism
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  14. Dan

    Yeah if you want to look at it that way. Labels can be deceiving, especially these days. Classic liberalism was the philosophy of Jefferson and many of the founders that embraced personal freedoms and individual rights, while the conservatives at that time opposed revolution and the breaking from England. I guess you’d call that libertarian or whatever. Left wing-right wing views have become rooted in cliches at present, and things really can’t be generalized.
    References :
    comprehensive research/analysis
    http://www.informationliberation.com/

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