Classical liberalism

Classical liberalism (sometimes called English liberalism, and historically called Whiggism) is a political philosophy and a 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. Classical liberalism, contrary to liberal branches like social liberalism or modern liberalism in the United States, looks more negatively on social policies, taxation and state involvement in the lives of individuals, and it advocates deregulation.

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. By modern standards, in the United States, the bare term liberalism often means social or progressive liberalism and is associated with the center-left, but in Europe and Australia, the bare term liberalism often means classical liberalism.

Classical liberalism developed in the early 18th century, building on ideas dating back to the 16th century, and was foundational to the American Revolution and the "American Project" more broadly. Notable liberal individuals whose ideas contributed to classical liberalism include John Locke, François Quesnay, Jean-Baptiste Say, Montesquieu, David Hume, Edward Gibbon, Denis Diderot, Voltaire, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, 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. In contemporary times, Ayn Rand, 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. However, other scholars have made reference to these contemporary thoughts as neoclassical liberalism, distinguishing them from 18th-century classical liberalism.