What is Classical Liberalism/Libertarianism

A video in which Dr. Nigel Ashford from the Institute for Humane Studies (IHS) explains the 10 core principles of the classical liberal & libertarian view of society and the proper role of government:

1) Liberty as the primary political value

2) Individualism

3) Skepticism about power

4) Rule of Law

5) Civil Society

6) Spontaneous Order

7) Free Markets

8) Toleration

9) Peace

10) Limited Government

Dr. Ashford is Senior Program Officer at the Institute for Humane Studies (IHS) at George Mason University.

Transcript:

What is Classical Liberalism? It is a set of ideas that places the freedom of the individual as its central feature. Classical liberals disagree about many things, but they agree I think on 10 core principles.

Number one is that liberty is the primary political value. We all have lots of different values, we care about our family, our church, but when it comes to 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 individuals for what some people argue is the 'common good,' this was a 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 are forcing you to do X because it is in your own interest to do so. Where very often when people with 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 plan recommend things, but in the end the individual is the best judge o their own interests. Other people should not force them to do things that they do not want them to do for them.

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, government actions. Just like the US Supreme Court will sometimes strike down pieces of legislation that Congress has passed and the President assigned, because it goes against certain principles embodied in the US Constitution. Classical liberals believe that certain principles of the rule of law should be applied 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 liberalism always objected to the idea that there should be laws that treat say blacks and whites differently.

Five: Civil Society. Civil societies 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 childhood organizations, because they have the knowledge about the individuals with which they are dealing with. Civil society is much more effective than government bureaucracies and inflexible rules, they 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 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 from making those decisions should be. Many people seem to assume that order requires some institutions, some body, 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. Classic example is that of language. Nobody invented the English language, it arose in terms of people communicting with each other, and yet certain rules have applied through that process. We don't need people to plan our lives.

Seven: Free Markets. That economic exchange should be left to voluntary activity between individuals. Governent should not tell people where 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 is dispute, they can be peacefully resolved. But history shows us that leaving things to free market, rather than government planning or organization, increases prosperity, reduces poverty, increases jobs, 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.e. I think this action is wrong, but I will not try enforce my opinions through 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 are tolerating 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, no, they favor a non-interventionist foreign policy. Their view in terms of our interaction with other nations, it should be based on what is commonly called the four freedoms: there should be free movement of capital and labor - people, goods, and services. 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 as 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 a life, liberty, and property. Anything beyond that is not justifiable. A strictly limited government. So these are the ten principles of classical liberalism, are you a classical liberal?

Original content taken from: http://www.learnliberty.org/content/what-classical-liberalism