Individual contributors to
classical liberalism
Classical liberalism is a political tradition
Political culture describes how culture impacts politics. Every political system is embedded in a particular political culture.
Definition
Gabriel Almond defines it as "the particular patt ...
and political
liberalism
Liberalism is a political and moral philosophy based on the rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality and equality before the law."political rationalism, hostility to autocracy, cultural distaste for c ...
are associated with philosophers of the
Enlightenment
Enlightenment or enlighten may refer to:
Age of Enlightenment
* Age of Enlightenment, period in Western intellectual history from the late 17th to late 18th century, centered in France but also encompassing (alphabetically by country or culture): ...
. Liberalism as a specifically named ideology begins in the late 18th century as a movement towards self-government and away from
aristocracy
Aristocracy (, ) is a form of government that places strength in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocracy (class), aristocrats. The term derives from the el, αριστοκρατία (), meaning 'rule of the best'.
At t ...
. It included the ideas of self-determination, the primacy of the individual and the nation as opposed to the state and religion as being the fundamental units of law, politics and economy.
Since then liberalism has broadened to include a wide range of approaches from Americans
Ronald Dworkin
Ronald Myles Dworkin (; December 11, 1931 – February 14, 2013) was an American philosopher, jurist, and scholar of United States constitutional law. At the time of his death, he was Frank Henry Sommer Professor of Law and Philosophy at New Yo ...
,
Richard Rorty
Richard McKay Rorty (October 4, 1931 – June 8, 2007) was an American philosopher. Educated at the University of Chicago and Yale University, he had strong interests and training in both the history of philosophy and in contemporary analytic phi ...
,
John Rawls
John Bordley Rawls (; February 21, 1921 – November 24, 2002) was an American moral, legal and political philosopher in the liberal tradition. Rawls received both the Schock Prize for Logic and Philosophy and the National Humanities Medal in 1 ...
and
Francis Fukuyama
Francis Yoshihiro Fukuyama (; born October 27, 1952) is an American political scientist, political economist, international relations scholar and writer.
Fukuyama is known for his book ''The End of History and the Last Man'' (1992), which argue ...
as well as the Indian
Amartya Sen
Amartya Kumar Sen (; born 3 November 1933) is an Indian economist and philosopher, who since 1972 has taught and worked in the United Kingdom and the United States. Sen has made contributions to welfare economics, social choice theory, econom ...
and the Peruvian
Hernando de Soto
Hernando de Soto (; ; 1500 – 21 May, 1542) was a Spanish explorer and '' conquistador'' who was involved in expeditions in Nicaragua and the Yucatan Peninsula. He played an important role in Francisco Pizarro's conquest of the Inca Empire ...
. Some of these people moved away from
liberalism
Liberalism is a political and moral philosophy based on the rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality and equality before the law."political rationalism, hostility to autocracy, cultural distaste for c ...
while others espoused other
ideologies
An ideology is a set of beliefs or philosophies attributed to a person or group of persons, especially those held for reasons that are not purely epistemic, in which "practical elements are as prominent as theoretical ones." Formerly applied pri ...
before turning to liberalism. There are many different views of what constitutes liberalism, and some liberals would feel that some of the people on this list were not true liberals. It is intended to be suggestive rather than exhaustive. Theorists whose ideas were mainly typical for one country should be listed in that country's section of
liberalism worldwide
This article gives information on liberalism worldwide. It is an overview of parties that adhere to some form of liberalism and is therefore a list of liberal parties around the world.
Introduction
The definition of liberal party is highly deba ...
. Generally only thinkers are listed whereas politicians are only listed when they also made substantial contributions to liberal theory beside their active political work.
Classical contributors to liberalism
Aristotle
Aristotle
Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of phil ...
(Athens, 384–322 BC) is revered among political theorists for his seminal work ''
Politics
Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...
''. He made invaluable contributions to liberal theory through his observations on different forms of government and the nature of man.
He begins with the idea that the best government provides an active and "
happy
Happiness, in the context of mental or emotional states, is positive or pleasant emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy. Other forms include life satisfaction, well-being, subjective well-being, flourishing and eudaimonia.
Sinc ...
" life for its people. Aristotle then considers six forms of government:
Monarchy
A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state for life or until abdication. The political legitimacy and authority of the monarch may vary from restricted and largely symbolic (constitutional monarchy) ...
,
Aristocracy
Aristocracy (, ) is a form of government that places strength in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocracy (class), aristocrats. The term derives from the el, αριστοκρατία (), meaning 'rule of the best'.
At t ...
, and
Polity
A polity is an identifiable Politics, political entity – a group of people with a collective identity, who are organized by some form of Institutionalisation, institutionalized social relation, social relations, and have a capacity to mobilize ...
on one side as 'good' forms of government, and
Tyranny
A tyrant (), in the modern English usage of the word, is an absolute ruler who is unrestrained by law, or one who has usurped a legitimate ruler's sovereignty. Often portrayed as cruel, tyrants may defend their positions by resorting to rep ...
,
Oligarchy
Oligarchy (; ) is a conceptual form of power structure in which power rests with a small number of people. These people may or may not be distinguished by one or several characteristics, such as nobility, fame, wealth, education, or corporate, r ...
, and
Democracy
Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation (" direct democracy"), or to choose gov ...
as 'bad' forms. Considering each in turn, Aristotle rejects Monarchy as infantilizing of citizens, Oligarchy as too profit-motivated, Tyranny as against the will of the people, Democracy as serving only to the poor, and Aristocracy (known today as
Meritocracy
Meritocracy (''merit'', from Latin , and ''-cracy'', from Ancient Greek 'strength, power') is the notion of a political system in which economic goods and/or political power are vested in individual people based on talent, effort, and achiev ...
) as ideal but ultimately impossible. Aristotle finally concludes that a polity—a combination between democracy and oligarchy, where most can vote but must choose among the rich and
virtuous
Virtue ( la, virtus) is moral excellence. A virtue is a trait or quality that is deemed to be morally good and thus is valued as a foundation of principle and good moral being. In other words, it is a behavior that shows high moral standards: ...
for governors—is the best compromise between
idealism
In philosophy, the term idealism identifies and describes metaphysical perspectives which assert that reality is indistinguishable and inseparable from perception and understanding; that reality is a mental construct closely connected to ide ...
and
realism
Realism, Realistic, or Realists may refer to:
In the arts
*Realism (arts), the general attempt to depict subjects truthfully in different forms of the arts
Arts movements related to realism include:
*Classical Realism
*Literary realism, a move ...
.
In addition, Aristotle was a firm supporter of
private property
Private property is a legal designation for the ownership of property by non-governmental legal entities. Private property is distinguishable from public property and personal property, which is owned by a state entity, and from collective or ...
. He refuted Plato's argument for a
collectivist society in which family and property are held in common: Aristotle makes the argument that when one's own son or land is rightfully one's own, one puts much more effort into cultivating that item, to the ultimate betterment of society. He references
barbarian
A barbarian (or savage) is someone who is perceived to be either Civilization, uncivilized or primitive. The designation is usually applied as a generalization based on a popular stereotype; barbarians can be members of any nation judged by som ...
tribes of his time in which property was held in common, and the laziest of the bunch would always take away large amounts of food grown by the most diligent.
Laozi
Laozi
Laozi (), also known by numerous other names, was a semilegendary ancient Chinese Taoist philosopher. Laozi ( zh, ) is a Chinese honorific, generally translated as "the Old Master". Traditional accounts say he was born as in the state
...
was a Chinese philosopher and writer, considered the founder of
Taoism
Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of Philosophy, philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of China, Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmo ...
. Arguing that Laozi is a
libertarian
Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's e ...
, James A. Dorn wrote that Laozi, like many 18th-century liberals, "argued that minimizing the role of government and letting individuals
develop spontaneously would best achieve social and economic harmony."
Humanism
Niccolò Machiavelli
Niccolò Machiavelli
Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli ( , , ; 3 May 1469 – 21 June 1527), occasionally rendered in English as Nicholas Machiavel ( , ; see below), was an Italian diplomat, author, philosopher and historian who lived during the Renaissance. ...
(Florence, 1469–1527), best known for his ''Il Principe'' was the founder of realist political philosophy, advocated
republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
government, citizen armies, protection of personal property, and restraint of government expenditure as being necessary to the liberties of a republic. He wrote extensively on the need for individual initiative—''virtu''—as an essential characteristic of stable government. He argued that liberty was the central good which government should protect, and that "good people" would make good laws, whereas people who had lost their virtue could maintain their liberties only with difficulty. His Discourses on Livy outlined realism as the central idea of political study and favored "Republics" over "Principalities".
Machiavelli differed from true liberal thinking however, in that he still noted the benefits of princely governance. He states that republican leaders need to "act alone" if they want to reform a republic, and offers the example of Romulus, who killed his brother and co-ruler to found a great city. Republics need to refer to arbitrary and violent measures if it is necessary to maintain the structure of the government, as Machiavelli says that they have to ignore thoughts of justice and fairness.
Anti-statist liberals consider Machiavelli's distrust as his main message, noting his call for a strong state under a strong leader, who should use any means to establish his position, whereas liberalism is an ideology of
individual freedom
Individualism is the moral stance, political philosophy, ideology and social outlook that emphasizes the intrinsic worth of the individual. Individualists promote the exercise of one's goals and desires and to value independence and self-relianc ...
and voluntary choices.
* Contributing literature:
** ''
Discorsi sopra la prima deca di Tito Livio
The ''Discourses on Livy'' ( it, Discorsi sopra la prima deca di Tito Livio, ) is a work of political history and philosophy written in the early 16th century (c. 1517) by the Italian writer and political theorist Niccolò Machiavelli, best known a ...
'', 1512–1517 (Discourse on the First Decade of Titus Livius)
Desiderius Erasmus
Desiderius Erasmus
Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus (; ; English: Erasmus of Rotterdam or Erasmus;''Erasmus'' was his baptismal name, given after St. Erasmus of Formiae. ''Desiderius'' was an adopted additional name, which he used from 1496. The ''Roterodamus'' wa ...
(Netherlands, 1466–1536) was an advocate of
humanism
Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and agency of human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry.
The meaning of the term "humani ...
, critic of entrenched interests, irrationality and superstition. Erasmusian societies formed across Europe, to some extent in response to the turbulence of the
Reformation
The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...
.
In his ''
De libero arbitrio diatribe sive collatio
' (literally ''Of free will: Discourses or Comparisons'') is the Latin title of a polemical work written by Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam in 1524. It is commonly called ''The Freedom of the Will'' in English.
History
' was written expressly to ...
'' (1524), he analyzes the Lutheran exaggeration of the obvious limitations on human freedom.
* Contributing literature
** ''Stultitiae Laus'', 1509 (''
The Praise of Folly
''In Praise of Folly'', also translated as ''The Praise of Folly'' ( la, Stultitiae Laus or ), is an essay written in Latin in 1509 by Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam and first printed in June 1511. Inspired by previous works of the Italian hum ...
''
Internet History Sourcebooks
** ''De libero arbitrio diatribe sive collatio'', 1524
Étienne de La Boétie
Étienne de La Boétie
Étienne or Estienne de La Boétie (; oc, Esteve de La Boetiá; 1 November 1530 – 18 August 1563) was a French magistrate, classicist, writer, poet and political theorist, best remembered for his intense and intimate friendship with essayist ...
(France, 1530–1563) was a French writer, magistrate and political theorist. According to Etienne the chief question of political philosophy was the question of how people come to accept the will of
tyrant
A tyrant (), in the modern English usage of the word, is an absolute ruler who is unrestrained by law, or one who has usurped a legitimate ruler's sovereignty. Often portrayed as cruel, tyrants may defend their positions by resorting to rep ...
s.
* Contributing literature
**
Discourse on Voluntary Servitude
The ''Discourse on Voluntary Servitude'' (french: Discours de la servitude volontaire) is an essay by Étienne de La Boétie. The text was published clandestinely in 1577.
The date of preparation of the ''Discourse on Voluntary Servitude'' is un ...
, 1577
Hugo Grotius
Hugo Grotius (Netherlands 1583–1645)
* Contributing literature
**
Mare Liberum
''Mare Liberum'' (or ''The Freedom of the Seas'') is a book in Latin on international law written by the Dutch jurist and philosopher Hugo Grotius, first published in 1609. In ''The Free Sea'', Grotius formulated the new principle that the sea ...
, 1606
** ''
De jure belli ac pacis
''De iure belli ac pacis'' (English: ''On the Law of War and Peace'') is a 1625 book in Latin, written by Hugo Grotius and published in Paris, on the legal status of war. It is now regarded as a foundational work in international law. The work t ...
, 1625''
Thomas Hobbes
Thomas Hobbes
Thomas Hobbes ( ; 5/15 April 1588 – 4/14 December 1679) was an English philosopher, considered to be one of the founders of modern political philosophy. Hobbes is best known for his 1651 book ''Leviathan'', in which he expounds an influent ...
(England, 1588–1679) theorized that government is the result of individual actions and human traits, and that it was motivated primarily by "interest", a term which would become crucial in the development of a liberal theory of government and political economy, since it is the foundation of the idea that individuals can be self-governing and self-regulating. His work ''Leviathan'', did not advocate this viewpoint, but instead that only a strong government could restrain unchecked interest: it did, however, advance a proto-liberal position in arguing for an inalienable "right of nature," the right to defend oneself, even against the state. Though his own ideological position is open to debate, his work influenced Locke, Hamilton, Jefferson, Madison and many other liberals, leading
Strauss
Strauss, Strauß or Straus is a common Germanic surname. Outside Germany and Austria ''Strauß'' is always spelled ''Strauss'' (the letter " ß" is not used in the German-speaking part of Switzerland). In classical music, "Strauss" usually ref ...
to identify Hobbes as the .
* Contributing literature:
** ''
Leviathan
Leviathan (; he, לִוְיָתָן, ) is a sea serpent noted in theology and mythology. It is referenced in several books of the Hebrew Bible, including Psalms, the Book of Job, the Book of Isaiah, the Book of Amos, and, according to some ...
'', 1651 (Theologico-Political Treatise)
Baruch Spinoza
Baruch Spinoza
Baruch (de) Spinoza (born Bento de Espinosa; later as an author and a correspondent ''Benedictus de Spinoza'', anglicized to ''Benedict de Spinoza''; 24 November 1632 – 21 February 1677) was a Dutch philosopher of Portuguese-Jewish origin, b ...
(Netherlands, 1632–1677) is in his ''Tractatus Theologico-Politicus'' and ''Tractatus Politicus'' a proto-liberal defending the value of
separation of church and state
The separation of church and state is a philosophical and jurisprudential concept for defining political distance in the relationship between religious organizations and the state. Conceptually, the term refers to the creation of a secular sta ...
as well as forms of
democracy
Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation (" direct democracy"), or to choose gov ...
. In the first mentioned book, Spinoza expresses an early criticism of religious intolerance and a defense of
secular
Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin ''saeculum'', "worldly" or "of a generation"), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. Anything that does not have an explicit reference to religion, either negativ ...
government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...
. Spinoza was a thoroughgoing
determinist
Determinism is a philosophical view, where all events are determined completely by previously existing causes. Deterministic theories throughout the history of philosophy have developed from diverse and sometimes overlapping motives and consi ...
who held that absolutely everything that happens occurs through the operation of
necessity
Necessary or necessity may refer to:
* Need
** An action somebody may feel they must do
** An important task or essential thing to do at a particular time or by a particular moment
* Necessary and sufficient condition, in logic, something that is ...
. For him, even human behaviour is fully determined, freedom being our capacity to know we are determined and to understand why we act as we do. So freedom is not the possibility to say "no" to what happens to us but the possibility to say "yes" and fully understand why things should necessarily happen that way.
* Contributing literature:
** ''
Tractatus Theologico-Politicus
Written by the Dutch philosopher Benedictus Spinoza, the ''Tractatus Theologico-Politicus'' (''TTP'') or ''Theologico-Political Treatise'' was one of the most controversial texts of the early modern period. In it, Spinoza expounds his view ...
'', 1670 (Theologico-Political Treatise
Theologico-Political Treatise – Part 1
** ''Tractatus Politicus'', 1677 (Political Treatise)
From Locke to Mill
John Locke
John Locke
John Locke (; 29 August 1632 – 28 October 1704) was an English philosopher and physician, widely regarded as one of the most influential of Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment thinkers and commonly known as the "father of liberalism ...
's (England, 1632–1704) notion that a "
government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...
with the
consent of the governed
In political philosophy, the phrase consent of the governed refers to the idea that a government's legitimacy and moral right to use state power is justified and lawful only when consented to by the people or society over which that political powe ...
" and man's
natural rights
Some philosophers distinguish two types of rights, natural rights and legal rights.
* Natural rights are those that are not dependent on the laws or customs of any particular culture or government, and so are ''universal'', ''fundamental'' and ...
—
life
Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energ ...
,
liberty
Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom.
In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...
, and
estate (
property
Property is a system of rights that gives people legal control of valuable things, and also refers to the valuable things themselves. Depending on the nature of the property, an owner of property may have the right to consume, alter, share, r ...
) as well on
tolerance
Tolerance or toleration is the state of tolerating, or putting up with, conditionally.
Economics, business, and politics
* Toleration Party, a historic political party active in Connecticut
* Tolerant Systems, the former name of Veritas Software ...
, as laid down in ''A letter concerning toleration'' and ''Two treatises of government''—had an enormous influence on the development of
liberalism
Liberalism is a political and moral philosophy based on the rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality and equality before the law."political rationalism, hostility to autocracy, cultural distaste for c ...
. Developed a theory of property resting on the actions of individuals, rather than on descent or nobility.
* Some literature:
** ''
A Letter Concerning Toleration
''A Letter Concerning Toleration'' by John Locke was originally published in 1689. Its initial publication was in Latin, and it was immediately translated into other languages. Locke's work appeared amidst a fear that Catholicism might be taking ...
'', 168
** ''
The Second Treatise of Civil Government
''Two Treatises of Government'' (or ''Two Treatises of Government: In the Former, The False Principles, and Foundation of Sir Robert Filmer, and His Followers, Are Detected and Overthrown. The Latter Is an Essay Concerning The True Original, ...
'', 168
FB88 - Link Vào Nhà Cái FB88 Mới Nhất 2022 , Gutenberg
John Trenchard
John Trenchard (United Kingdom, 1662–1723) was co-author, with Thomas Gordon of ''Cato's Letters''. These newspaper essays condemned
tyranny
A tyrant (), in the modern English usage of the word, is an absolute ruler who is unrestrained by law, or one who has usurped a legitimate ruler's sovereignty. Often portrayed as cruel, tyrants may defend their positions by resorting to rep ...
and advanced principles of
freedom of conscience
Freedom of thought (also called freedom of conscience) is the freedom of an individual to hold or consider a fact, viewpoint, or thought, independent of others' viewpoints.
Overview
Every person attempts to have a cognitive proficiency by ...
and
freedom of speech
Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recogni ...
and were a main vehicle for spreading the
concept
Concepts are defined as abstract ideas. They are understood to be the fundamental building blocks of the concept behind principles, thoughts and beliefs.
They play an important role in all aspects of cognition. As such, concepts are studied by s ...
s that had been developed by
John Locke
John Locke (; 29 August 1632 – 28 October 1704) was an English philosopher and physician, widely regarded as one of the most influential of Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment thinkers and commonly known as the "father of liberalism ...
.
* Some literature:
** ''
Cato's Letters
''Cato's Letters'' were essays by British writers John Trenchard and Thomas Gordon, first published from 1720 to 1723 under the pseudonym of Cato (95–46 BC), the implacable foe of Julius Caesar and a famously stalwart champion of Roman trad ...
'' / John Trenchard & Thomas Gordon, 1720–1723
Charles de Montesquieu
Charles de Montesquieu
Charles Louis de Secondat, Baron de La Brède et de Montesquieu (; ; 18 January 168910 February 1755), generally referred to as simply Montesquieu, was a French judge, man of letters, historian, and political philosopher.
He is the principal ...
(France, 1689–1755)
In ''The Spirit of Law'', Montesquieu expounded the separation of powers in government and society. In government, Montesquieu encouraged division into the now standard legislative, judicial and executive branches; in society, he perceived a natural organization into king, the people and the aristocracy, with the latter playing a mediating role. "I do not write to censor that which is established in any country whatsoever," Montesquieu disclaimed in the ''Laws''; however, he did pay special attention to what he felt was the positive example of the constitutional system in England, which in spite of its evolution toward a fusion of powers, had moderated the power of the monarch, and divided Parliament along class lines.
Montesquieu's work had a seminal impact on the American and French revolutionaries. Ironically, the least liberal element of his thought—his privileging of the aristocracy—was belied by both revolutions. Montesquieu's system came to fruition in America, a country with no aristocracy; in France, political maneuvering by the aristocracy led to the convocation of the 1789 Estates-General and popular revolt.
* Some literature:
** ''De l'esprit des lois'', 1748 (''
The Spirit of Law
''The Spirit of Law'' (French: ''De l'esprit des lois'', originally spelled ''De l'esprit des loix''), also known in English as ''The Spirit of the Laws'', is a treatise on political theory, as well as a pioneering work in comparative law, publis ...
''
** ''
Encyclopédie, ou dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers'' (together with others), 1751–1772 (Encyclopaedia, or Reasoned Dictionary of the Sciences, Arts, and Trade
The Encyclopedia of Diderot & d'Alembert Collaborative Translation Project
Thomas Gordon
Thomas Gordon (United Kingdom, 169?–1750) was co-author, with John Trenchard of ''Cato's Letters''. These newspaper essays condemned
tyranny
A tyrant (), in the modern English usage of the word, is an absolute ruler who is unrestrained by law, or one who has usurped a legitimate ruler's sovereignty. Often portrayed as cruel, tyrants may defend their positions by resorting to rep ...
and advanced principles of
freedom of conscience
Freedom of thought (also called freedom of conscience) is the freedom of an individual to hold or consider a fact, viewpoint, or thought, independent of others' viewpoints.
Overview
Every person attempts to have a cognitive proficiency by ...
and
freedom of speech
Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recogni ...
and were a main vehicle for spreading the
concept
Concepts are defined as abstract ideas. They are understood to be the fundamental building blocks of the concept behind principles, thoughts and beliefs.
They play an important role in all aspects of cognition. As such, concepts are studied by s ...
s that had been developed by
John Locke
John Locke (; 29 August 1632 – 28 October 1704) was an English philosopher and physician, widely regarded as one of the most influential of Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment thinkers and commonly known as the "father of liberalism ...
.
* Some literature:
** ''
Cato's Letters
''Cato's Letters'' were essays by British writers John Trenchard and Thomas Gordon, first published from 1720 to 1723 under the pseudonym of Cato (95–46 BC), the implacable foe of Julius Caesar and a famously stalwart champion of Roman trad ...
'' / John Trenchard & Thomas Gordon, 1720–1723
François Quesnay
François Quesnay
François Quesnay (; 4 June 1694 – 16 December 1774) was a French economist and physician of the Physiocratic school. He is known for publishing the "Tableau économique" (Economic Table) in 1758, which provided the foundations of the ideas of ...
(France, 1694–1774)
* Some literature:
** ''
Tableau économique
The Tableau économique () or ''Economic Table'' is an economic model first described by French economist François Quesnay in 1758, which laid the foundation of the Physiocratic school of economics.Henry William Spiegel (1983) ''The Growth of Ec ...
'', 1758
** ''
Encyclopédie, ou dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers'' (together with others), 1751–1772 (Encyclopaedia, or Reasoned Dictionary of the Sciences, Arts, and Trade
The Encyclopedia of Diderot & d'Alembert Collaborative Translation Project
Voltaire
Voltaire
François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778) was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his ...
(France, 1694–1778)
* Some literature:
** ''Lettres Philosophiques sur les Anglais'', 1734 (Philosophical Letters on the English)
** ''
Encyclopédie, ou dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers'' (together with others), 1751–1772 (Encyclopaedia, or Reasoned Dictionary of the Sciences, Arts, and Trade
The Encyclopedia of Diderot & d'Alembert Collaborative Translation Project
** ''Essai sur l'histoire génerale et sur les moeurs et l'espirit des nations'', 1756 (Essay on the Manner and Spirit of Nations and on the Principal Occurrences in History)
** ''Traité sur la Tolérance à l'occasion de la mort de Jean Calas'', 1763 (Treatise on Toleration In Connection with the Death of Jean Calas)
** ''Dictionnaire Philosophique'', 1764 (Philosophical Dictionary)
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment throughout Europe, as well as aspects of the French Revolu ...
(Switzerland, 1712–1778)
* Some literature:
** ''
Discourse on Inequality
''Discourse on the Origin and Basis of Inequality Among Men'' (french: Discours sur l'origine et les fondements de l'inégalité parmi les hommes), also commonly known as the "Second Discourse", is a 1755 work by philosopher Jean-Jacques Roussea ...
'', 1755
** ''
On the Social Contract
''The Social Contract'', originally published as ''On the Social Contract; or, Principles of Political Right'' (french: Du contrat social; ou, Principes du droit politique), is a 1762 French-language book by the Genevan philosopher Jean-Jacques ...
'', 1762
Denis Diderot
Denis Diderot
Denis Diderot (; ; 5 October 171331 July 1784) was a French philosopher, art critic, and writer, best known for serving as co-founder, chief editor, and contributor to the ''Encyclopédie'' along with Jean le Rond d'Alembert. He was a promine ...
(France, 1713–1784)
* Some literature:
** ''
Encyclopédie, ou dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers'' (together with others), 1751–1772 (Encyclopaedia, or Reasoned Dictionary of the Sciences, Arts, and Trade
The Encyclopedia of Diderot & d'Alembert Collaborative Translation Project
Jean le Rond d'Alembert
Jean le Rond d'Alembert
Jean-Baptiste le Rond d'Alembert (; ; 16 November 1717 – 29 October 1783) was a French mathematician, mechanician, physicist, philosopher, and music theorist. Until 1759 he was, together with Denis Diderot, a co-editor of the ''Encyclopédie ...
(France, 1717–1783)
* Some literature:
** ''
Encyclopédie, ou dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers'' (together with others), 1751–1772 (Encyclopaedia, or Reasoned Dictionary of the Sciences, Arts, and Trade
The Encyclopedia of Diderot & d'Alembert Collaborative Translation Project
Richard Price
Richard Price
Richard Price (23 February 1723 – 19 April 1791) was a British moral philosopher, Nonconformist minister and mathematician. He was also a political reformer, pamphleteer, active in radical, republican, and liberal causes such as the French ...
(United Kingdom, 1723–1791)
* Some literature:
** ''Appeal to the Public on the Subject of the National Debt'', 1771
** ''Observations on Reversionary Payments'', 1771
** ''Observations on Civil Liberty and the Justice and Policy of the War with America'', 1776
Anders Chydenius
Anders Chydenius
Anders Chydenius (; 26 February 1729 – 1 February 1803) was a Sweden–Finland, Swedish-Finnish Lutheran priest and a member of the Swedish Riksdag of Sweden, Riksdag, and is known as the leading classical liberalism, classical liberal of Nordi ...
(Finland (then a part of the Swedish realm), 1729–1803)
His book ''Den Nationale Winsten'' (engl. ''The National Gain'') proposed roughly same the ideas as
Adam Smith
Adam Smith (baptized 1723 – 17 July 1790) was a Scottish economist and philosopher who was a pioneer in the thinking of political economy and key figure during the Scottish Enlightenment. Seen by some as "The Father of Economics"——— ...
's ''Wealth of Nations'', a decade earlier, including foundations of
liberalism
Liberalism is a political and moral philosophy based on the rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality and equality before the law."political rationalism, hostility to autocracy, cultural distaste for c ...
and
capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for Profit (economics), profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, pric ...
and (roughly) the ''
invisible hand
The invisible hand is a metaphor used by the British moral philosopher Adam Smith that describes the unintended greater social benefits and public good brought about by individuals acting in their own self-interests. Smith originally mention ...
''. He demanded complete economic and individual freedom, including the freedom of religion (although he was a priest), worker's rights to freely move and choose their professions and employers, the freedom of speech and trade and abolitions of all privileges and price and wage controls.
He was also a member of the Swedish four-estates parliament, elected three times as representative of the clergy in the northern and western parts of Finland. In his first parliamentary session, 1765–1766, he was very successful as a member of the subcommittee that wrote Sweden's famous Constitutional Law of the Freedom of Printing,
Tryckfrihetsförordningen, of 1766. In this law Chydenius combined freedom of the press, and abolishment of the political
censorship
Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governments ...
, with free access for the citizens to most government documents. Chydenius liberal system, where transparency reinforces press freedom, and the right for everyone to print the public document reinforces transparency, has been a fundamental constitutional principle in Sweden ever since, except for the years of royal autocracy 1772–1809. Chydenius model for press freedom and freedom of information was reestablished and strengthened in the Swedish Constitution 1809. It is now the foundation of the present
Tryckfrihetsförordningen of 1949, which is one of the fundamental laws of Sweden.
In diluted form, and without the strong constitutional protection of the Swedish free press model, the principle of free access to public documents that originated in Chydenius law of 1766, has in recent decades been spread from Sweden to the
Freedom of Information Acts of many countries. This way, Anders Chydenius, has become one of the older liberal thinkers that has most practical influence on politics and public administration of modern western societies.
An edition of Anders Chydenius Complete Works, in Finnish, Swedish and English, is under preparation by the Chydenius Foundation in Finland.
* Some literature:
** ''Americanska Näfwerbåtar'', 1753 (''American birchbark canoes'')
** ''Källan Til Rikets Wan-Magt'', 1765 (''The cause of the weakness of the Kingdom'')
** ''Den Nationnale Winsten'', 1765 (''
The National Gain
''The National Gain'' (Swedish title: ''Den Nationnale Winsten'') is the main work of the Swedish-Finnish scientist, philosopher and politician Anders Chydenius, published in 1765. In this thesis Chydenius argues in favour of free export trade ...
''
Anders Chydenius-säätiö
Adam Smith
Adam Smith
Adam Smith (baptized 1723 – 17 July 1790) was a Scottish economist and philosopher who was a pioneer in the thinking of political economy and key figure during the Scottish Enlightenment. Seen by some as "The Father of Economics"——— ...
(Great Britain, 1723–1790), often considered the founder of modern
economics
Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services.
Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...
, was a key figure in formulating and advancing economic doctrine of free trade and competition. In his ''
Wealth of Nations
''An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations'', generally referred to by its shortened title ''The Wealth of Nations'', is the ''magnum opus'' of the Scottish economist and moral philosopher Adam Smith. First published in 1 ...
'' Adam Smith outlined the key idea that if the economy is basically left to its own devices, limited and finite resources will be put to ultimately their most efficient use through people acting purely in their self-interest. This concept has been quoted out of context by later economists as the
invisible hand
The invisible hand is a metaphor used by the British moral philosopher Adam Smith that describes the unintended greater social benefits and public good brought about by individuals acting in their own self-interests. Smith originally mention ...
of the market.
Smith also advanced property rights and personal
civil liberties
Civil liberties are guarantees and freedoms that governments commit not to abridge, either by constitution, legislation, or judicial interpretation, without due process. Though the scope of the term differs between countries, civil liberties may ...
, including stopping slavery, which today partly form the basic liberal ideology. He was also opposed to stock-holding companies, what today is called a "corporation", because he predicated the self-policing of the free market upon the free association of moral individuals.
* Some literature:
** ''
An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations
''An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations'', generally referred to by its shortened title ''The Wealth of Nations'', is the ''Masterpiece, magnum opus'' of the Scottish people, Scottish economist and moral philosopher Ada ...
'', 177
Wealth of Nations: Table of Contents.** ''
The Theory of Moral Sentiments
''The Theory of Moral Sentiments'' is a 1759 book by Adam Smith. It provided the ethics, ethical, Philosophy, philosophical, Economics, economic, and Methodology, methodological underpinnings to Smith's later works, including ''The Wealth of Nat ...
'', 1759
Immanuel Kant
Immanuel Kant
Immanuel Kant (, , ; 22 April 1724 – 12 February 1804) was a German philosopher and one of the central Enlightenment thinkers. Born in Königsberg, Kant's comprehensive and systematic works in epistemology, metaphysics, ethics, and ...
(Germany, 1724–1804)
* Some literature:
** ''
Grundlegung zur Metaphysik der Sitten'', 1785 (Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysic of Moral
** ''
Kritik der praktischen Vernunft'', 1788 (Critique of Practical Reaso
** ''Über den Gemeinspruch: Das mag in der Theorie richtig sein, taugt aber nicht für die Praxis'', 1793 (On the common saying: this may be true in theory but it does not apply in practice)
** ''Zum ewigen Frieden'', 1795 (Perpetual Peac
Kant Zum ewigen Frieden
** ''Metaphysik der Sitten'', 1797 (Metaphysics of Moral
Anne Robert Jacques Turgot
Anne Robert Jacques Turgot, Baron de Laune, Anne Robert Jacques Turgot (France, 1727–1781)
* Some literature:
** ''Le Conciliateur'', 1754
** ''Lettre sur la tolérance civile'', 1754
** ''Réflexions sur la formation et la distribution des richesses'', 1766
** '' Lettres sur la liberté du commerce des grains'', 1770
Joseph Priestley
Joseph Priestley
Joseph Priestley (; 24 March 1733 – 6 February 1804) was an English chemist, natural philosopher, separatist theologian, grammarian, multi-subject educator, and liberal political theorist. He published over 150 works, and conducted exp ...
(United Kingdom/United States, 1733–1804)
* Some literature:
** ''Essay on the First Principles of Government'', 1768
** ''The Present State of Liberty in Great Britain and her Colonies'', 1769
** ''Remarks on Dr Blackstone's Commentaries'', 1769
** ''Observations on Civil Liberty and the Nature and Justice of the War with America'', 1772
August Ludwig von Schlözer
August Ludwig von Schlözer
August Ludwig von Schlözer (5 July 1735, in Gaggstatt – 9 September 1809, in Göttingen) was a German historian and pedagogist who laid foundations for the critical study of Russian medieval history. He was a member of the Göttingen School ...
(Germany, 1735–1809)
Patrick Henry
Patrick Henry
Patrick Henry (May 29, 1736June 6, 1799) was an American attorney, planter, politician and orator known for declaring to the Second Virginia Convention (1775): " Give me liberty, or give me death!" A Founding Father, he served as the first an ...
(United States, 1736–1799)
* Some literature:
** ''
Liberty or Death'', 177
Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death
Thomas Paine
Thomas Paine
Thomas Paine (born Thomas Pain; – In the contemporary record as noted by Conway, Paine's birth date is given as January 29, 1736–37. Common practice was to use a dash or a slash to separate the old-style year from the new-style year. In th ...
(United Kingdom/United States, 1737–1809)
* Some literature:
** ''
Rights of Man
''Rights of Man'' (1791), a book by Thomas Paine, including 31 articles, posits that popular political revolution is permissible when a government does not safeguard the natural rights of its people. Using these points as a base it defends the ...
'', 1791–9
The Rights of Man from Project Gutenberg** ''
Agrarian Justice
''Agrarian Justice'' is the title of a pamphlet written by Thomas Paine and published in 1797, which proposed that those who possess cultivated land owe the community a ground rent, which justifies an estate tax to fund universal old-age and dis ...
'', 1797
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 18 ...
(United States, 1743–1826) was the third
President of the United States
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...
and author of the
Declaration of Independence
A declaration of independence or declaration of statehood or proclamation of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the ...
. He also wrote ''
Notes on the State of Virginia
''Notes on the State of Virginia'' (1785) is a book written by the American statesman, philosopher, and planter Thomas Jefferson. He completed the first version in 1781 and updated and enlarged the book in 1782 and 1783. It originated in Jeffers ...
'' and the
Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom
The Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom was drafted in 1777 by Thomas Jefferson in Fredericksburg, Virginia, and introduced into the Virginia General Assembly in Richmond in 1779. On January 16, 1786, the Assembly enacted the statute into the st ...
. He was a champion of inalienable individual rights and the separation of church and state. His ideas were repeated in many other liberal revolutions around the world, including the (early)
French Revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...
.
Marquis de Condorcet
Marquis de Condorcet
Marie Jean Antoine Nicolas de Caritat, Marquis of Condorcet (; 17 September 1743 – 29 March 1794), known as Nicolas de Condorcet, was a French philosopher and mathematician. His ideas, including support for a liberal economy, free and equal pu ...
(France, 1743–1794)
* Some literature:
** ''Esquisse d'un tableau historique des progrés de l'esprit humain'', 1795 (Sketch for a Historical Picture of the Progress of the Human Mind)
Jeremy Bentham
Jeremy Bentham
Jeremy Bentham (; 15 February 1748 Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates">O.S._4_February_1747.html" ;"title="Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Old Style and New Style dates">O.S. 4 February 1747">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.htm ...
(United Kingdom, 1748–1832)
An early advocate of
utilitarianism
In ethical philosophy, utilitarianism is a family of normative ethical theories that prescribe actions that maximize happiness and well-being for all affected individuals.
Although different varieties of utilitarianism admit different charact ...
,
animal welfare
Animal welfare is the well-being of non-human animals. Formal standards of animal welfare vary between contexts, but are debated mostly by animal welfare groups, legislators, and academics. Animal welfare science uses measures such as longevity ...
and women's rights. He had many students all around the world, including
John Stuart Mill
John Stuart Mill (20 May 1806 – 7 May 1873) was an English philosopher, political economist, Member of Parliament (MP) and civil servant. One of the most influential thinkers in the history of classical liberalism, he contributed widely to ...
and several political leaders. Bentham demanded economic and individual freedom, including the separation of the state and church, freedom of expression, completely equal rights for women, the end of slavery and colonialism, uniform democracy, the abolition of physical punishment, also on children, the right for divorce, free prices, free trade and no restrictions on interest. Bentham was not a
libertarian
Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's e ...
: he supported inheritance tax, restrictions on monopoly power, pensions, health insurance and other social security, but called for prudence and careful consideration in any such governmental intervention.
Adamantios Korais
Adamantios Korais
Adamantios Korais or Koraïs ( el, Ἀδαμάντιος Κοραῆς ; la, Adamantius Coraes; french: Adamance Coray; 27 April 17486 April 1833) was a Greek scholar credited with laying the foundations of modern Greek literature and a major ...
(Smyrna, 1748–1833) A major figure of the Greek Enlightenment, Korais helped shape the modern Greek state with his theories on classical education, language, religion, secular law and constitutional government, with passionate views on the necessity of democracy. He corresponded with leading figures of the American republic, especially with Thomas Jefferson.
* Some literature:
** ''Report on the Present State of Civilization in Greece'', 1803
** ''What Should We Greeks Do in the Present Circumstances?'', 1805
** ''The Library of Greek Literature'', 1805–1826
** ''Parerga'', 1809–1827
Emmanuel Sieyès
Emmanuel Joseph Sieyès
Emmanuel-Joseph Sieyès (3 May 174820 June 1836), usually known as the Abbé Sieyès (), was a French Roman Catholic '' abbé'', clergyman, and political writer who was the chief political theorist of the French Revolution (1789–1799); he also ...
'(France, 1748–1836) played an important role in the opening years of the
French Revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...
, drafting the
Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen
The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (french: Déclaration des droits de l'homme et du citoyen de 1789, links=no), set by France's National Constituent Assembly in 1789, is a human civil rights document from the French Revolu ...
, expanding on the theory of
national sovereignty
Westphalian sovereignty, or state sovereignty, is a principle in international law that each state has exclusive sovereignty over its territory. The principle underlies the modern international system of sovereign states and is enshrined in the Un ...
,
popular sovereignty
Popular sovereignty is the principle that the authority of a state and its government are created and sustained by the consent of its people, who are the source of all political power. Popular sovereignty, being a principle, does not imply any ...
, and
representation
Representation may refer to:
Law and politics
*Representation (politics), political activities undertaken by elected representatives, as well as other theories
** Representative democracy, type of democracy in which elected officials represent a ...
implied in his pamphlet ''
What is the Third Estate?
''What Is the Third Estate?'' (french: Qu'est-ce que le Tiers-État?) is a political pamphlet written in January 1789, shortly before the outbreak of the French Revolution, by the French writer and clergyman Abbé Emmanuel Joseph Sieyès (1748 ...
''.
Charles James Fox
Charles James Fox
Charles James Fox (24 January 1749 – 13 September 1806), styled ''The Honourable'' from 1762, was a prominent British Whig statesman whose parliamentary career spanned 38 years of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He was the arch-riv ...
(United Kingdom, 1749–1806) a
Whig politician and
member of parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
who spent most of his career in opposition. He opposed tyranny of any sort or the threat of it. For this reason he was a staunch critic of
King George III
George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...
whom he regarded as an aspiring tyrant. He was an
abolitionist
Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people.
The British ...
and supporter of American Patriots and of the
French Revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...
. He attacked
Pitt's wartime legislation and defended the liberty of religious minorities and political radicals. After Pitt's death in January 1806, Fox served briefly as Foreign Secretary in the '
Ministry of All the Talents' of
William Grenville
William Wyndham Grenville, 1st Baron Grenville, (25 October 175912 January 1834) was a British Pittite Tory politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1806 to 1807, but was a supporter of the Whigs (British political pa ...
.
* ''The Speeches of the Right Honourable Charles James Fox in the House of Commons''.
Antoine Destutt de Tracy
Antoine Destutt de Tracy
Antoine Louis Claude Destutt, comte de Tracy (; 20 July 1754 – 9 March 1836) was a French Enlightenment aristocrat and philosopher who coined the term " ideology".
Biography
The son of a distinguished soldier, Claude Destutt, he was born i ...
(1754–1836)
Stanisław Staszic
Stanisław Staszic
Stanisław Wawrzyniec Staszic (baptised 6 November 1755 – 20 January 1826) was a leading figure in the Polish Enlightenment: a Catholic priest, philosopher, geologist, writer, poet, translator and statesman. A physiocrat, monist, pan-Slavist ...
(Poland-Lithuania, 1755–1826) was a Catholic priest, philosopher, geologist, writer, poet, translator and statesman. A physiocrat, monist, pan-Slavist (after 1815) and an advocate of
laissez-faire
''Laissez-faire'' ( ; from french: laissez faire , ) is an economic system in which transactions between private groups of people are free from any form of economic interventionism (such as subsidies) deriving from special interest groups. ...
, he supported many reforms in Poland. He is particularly remembered for his political writings during the "Great (Four-Year) Sejm" (1788–92) and for his support of the Constitution of 3 May 1791.
Anne Louise Germaine de Staël
Anne Louise Germaine de Staël
Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie.
Anne is sometimes used as a male name in the ...
(France, 1766–1817)
* Some literature:
** ''De l'influence des passions sur le bonheur des individus et des nations'', 1796
** ''Des circonstances actuelles qui peuvent terminer la Révolution et des principes qui doivent fonder la république en France'', 1798
** ''Considérations sur les principaux événements de la révolution française'', 1813
** ''Appel aux souverains réunis à Paris pour en obtenir l'abolition de la traite des nègres'', 1814
Benjamin Constant
Benjamin Constant
Henri-Benjamin Constant de Rebecque (; 25 October 1767 – 8 December 1830), or simply Benjamin Constant, was a French people, Franco-Switzerland, Swiss political thinker, activist and writer on political theory and religion.
A committed repub ...
(France, 1767–1830) Regarded by some as one of the fathers of modern liberalism, he was initially a republican during the
French Revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...
, but utterly rejected
The Jacobins as an instance of the
tyranny of the majority
The tyranny of the majority (or tyranny of the masses) is an inherent weakness to majority rule in which the majority of an electorate pursues exclusively its own objectives at the expense of those of the minority factions. This results in oppres ...
.
* Some literature:
** ''De l'esprit de conquête et l'usurpation'' (On the spirit of conquest and on usurpation), 1814
** ''Principes de Politique''
Principles of Politics, 1815
** "''
The Liberty of Ancients Compared with that of Moderns,''" 1819
Jean-Baptiste Say
Jean-Baptiste Say
Jean-Baptiste Say (; 5 January 1767 – 15 November 1832) was a liberal French economist and businessman who argued in favor of competition, free trade and lifting restraints on business. He is best known for Say's law—also known as the law of ...
(France, 1767–1832)
* Some literature:
** ''Traité d'économie politique'' (Treatise on Political Economy), 1803.
Wilhelm von Humboldt
Wilhelm von Humboldt
Friedrich Wilhelm Christian Karl Ferdinand von Humboldt (, also , ; ; 22 June 1767 – 8 April 1835) was a Prussian philosopher, linguist, government functionary, diplomat, and founder of the Humboldt University of Berlin, which was named after ...
(Germany, 1767–1835)
* Some literature:
** ''Ideen zu einem Versuch, die Grenzen der Wirksamkeit des Staats zu bestimmen'' (On the Limits of State Action), 1792.
Adam Czartoryski
Adam Czartoryski (Poland-Lithuania 1770–1867) was a statesman, and international politician. He began as a foreign minister to the Russian Tsar Alexander I and built an anti-Napoleon coalition. He became a leader of the Polish government in exile, and an enemy of Russian Tsar Nicholas I. In exile he was an activist on the Polish Question across Europe, and stimulated early Balkan independence.
* Some literature:
** ''Essai sur la diplomatie'' (Marseilles, 1830);
** ''Life of J. U. Niemcewicz (Paris, 1860);
** ''Alexander I. et Czartoryski: correspondence ... et conversations (1801–1823)''
** ''Memoirs of Czartoryski'', with documents relating to his negotiations with Pitt, and conversations with Palmerston in 1832
David Ricardo
David Ricardo
David Ricardo (18 April 1772 – 11 September 1823) was a British Political economy, political economist. He was one of the most influential of the Classical economics, classical economists along with Thomas Robert Malthus, Thomas Malthus, Ad ...
(United Kingdom, 1772–1823)
James Mill
James Mill
James Mill (born James Milne; 6 April 1773 – 23 June 1836) was a Scottish historian, economist, political theorist, and philosopher. He is counted among the founders of the Ricardian school of economics. He also wrote ''The History of British ...
(United Kingdom, 1773–1836)
* Some literature:
** ''Elements of Political Economy'', 1821
Antoine-Elisée Cherbuliez
Antoine-Elisée Cherbuliez (Switzerland, 1797–1869)
Frédéric Bastiat
Frédéric Bastiat
Claude-Frédéric Bastiat (; ; 30 June 1801 – 24 December 1850) was a French economist, writer and a prominent member of the French Liberal School.
A member of the French National Assembly, Bastiat developed the economic concept of opportuni ...
(France, 1801–1850)
Claude Frédéric Bastiat was a French classical liberal theorist, political economist, and member of the French assembly.
* Some literature:
** ''La Loi'' (
The Law), 1849
** ''Harmonies économiques'' (Economic Harmonies), 1850
** ''Ce qu'on voit et ce qu'on ne voit pas'' (What is Seen and What is Not Seen), 1850
Rifa'a al-Tahtawi
Rifa'a al-Tahtawi
Rifa'a at-Tahtawi (also spelt Tahtawy; ar, رفاعة رافع الطهطاوي, ; 1801–1873) was an Egyptians, Egyptian writer, teacher, translator, Egyptology, Egyptologist and Nahda, renaissance intellectual. Tahtawi was among the first Egyp ...
(Egypt, 1801–1873)
Rifa'a al-Tahtawi (also spelt Tahtawy) was an
Egyptian
Egyptian describes something of, from, or related to Egypt.
Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to:
Nations and ethnic groups
* Egyptians, a national group in North Africa
** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of years of ...
writer, teacher, translator,
Egyptologist
Egyptology (from ''Egypt'' and Greek , '' -logia''; ar, علم المصريات) is the study of ancient Egyptian history, language, literature, religion, architecture and art from the 5th millennium BC until the end of its native religious ...
,
renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...
intellectual and one of the early adapters to
Islamic Modernism
Islamic modernism is a movement that has been described as "the first Muslim ideological response to the Western cultural challenge" attempting to reconcile the Islamic faith with modern values such as democracy, civil rights, rationality, equ ...
. In 1831, Tahtawi was part of the statewide effort to modernize the Egyptian infrastructure and education. Three of his published volumes were works of political and moral
philosophy
Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...
. They introduced his Egyptian audience to
Enlightenment
Enlightenment or enlighten may refer to:
Age of Enlightenment
* Age of Enlightenment, period in Western intellectual history from the late 17th to late 18th century, centered in France but also encompassing (alphabetically by country or culture): ...
ideas such as
secular
Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin ''saeculum'', "worldly" or "of a generation"), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. Anything that does not have an explicit reference to religion, either negativ ...
authority and political rights and liberty; his ideas regarding how a modern civilized society ought to be and what constituted by extension a civilized or "good Egyptian"; and his ideas on public interest and public good. Tahtawi's work was the first effort in what became an Egyptian renaissance (''
nahda
The Nahda ( ar, النهضة, translit=an-nahḍa, meaning "the Awakening"), also referred to as the Arab Awakening or Enlightenment, was a cultural movement that flourished in Arabic-speaking regions of the Ottoman Empire, notably in Egypt, Leb ...
'') that flourished in the years between 1860 and 1940.
* Works:
** ''A Paris Profile'', written during Tahtawi's stay in France.
** ''The methodology of Egyptians minds with regard to the marvels of modern literature'', published in 1869 crystallizing Tahtawi's opinions on modernization.
** ''The honest guide for education of girls and boys'', published in 1873 and reflecting the main precepts of Tahtawi's educational thoughts.
** ''Tawfik al-Galil insights into Egypt's and Ismail descendants' history'', the first part of the History Encyclopedia published in 1868 and tracing the history of ancient Egypt till the dawn of Islam.
** ''A thorough summary of the biography of Mohammed'' published after Tahtawi's death, recording a comprehensive account of the life of Prophet Mohammed and the political, legal and administrative foundations of the first Islamic state.
** ''Towards a simpler Arabic grammar'', published in 1869.
** ''Grammatical sentences'', published in 1863.
** ''Egyptian patriotic lyrics'', written in praise of Khedive Said and published in 1855.
** ''The luminous stars in the moonlit nights of al-Aziz'', a collection of congratulatory writings to some princes, published in 1872.
Johan Rudolf Thorbecke
The Dutch statesman
Johan Rudolf Thorbecke
Johan Rudolph Thorbecke (14 January 1798 – 4 June 1872) was a Dutch liberal statesman, one of the most important Dutch politicians of the 19th century. Thorbecke is best known for heading the commission that drafted the revision of the Consti ...
(Netherlands, 1798–1872) was the main theorist of Dutch liberalism in the nineteenth century, outlining a more democratic alternative to the absolute monarchy, the constitutional monarchy. The constitution of 1848 was mainly his work. His main theoretical article specifically labeled as 'liberal' was 'Over het hedendaagsche staatsburgerschap' (On Modern Citizenship) from 1844. He became prime minister in 1849, thus starting numerous fundamental reforms in Dutch politics.
Harriet Martineau
Harriet Martineau
Harriet Martineau (; 12 June 1802 – 27 June 1876) was an English social theorist often seen as the first female sociologist, focusing on racism, race relations within much of her published material.Michael R. Hill (2002''Harriet Martineau: Th ...
(United Kingdom, 1802–1876)
* Some literature:
** ''Illustrations of Political Economy'', 1832–1834
** ''Theory and Practice of Society in America'', 1837
** ''The Martyr Age of the United States'', 1839
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Ralph Waldo Emerson (May 25, 1803April 27, 1882), who went by his middle name Waldo, was an American essayist, lecturer, philosopher, abolitionist, and poet who led the transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century. He was seen as a champ ...
(United States, 1803–1882) was an American philosopher who argued that the basic principles of government were mutable, and that government is required only insofar as people are not self-governing. Proponent of Democracy, and of the idea that a democratic people must have a democratic ethics.
* Some literature:
** ''Self-Reliance''
** ''Circles''
** ''Politics''
** ''The Nominalist and the Realist''
Alexis de Tocqueville
Alexis de Tocqueville
Alexis Charles Henri Clérel, comte de Tocqueville (; 29 July 180516 April 1859), colloquially known as Tocqueville (), was a French aristocrat, diplomat, political scientist, political philosopher and historian. He is best known for his works ...
(France, 1805–1859)
* Some literature:
** ''
De La Démocratie en Amérique'', 1831–1840 (Democracy in America
** ''L'Ancien Régime et la Révolution'', 1856
William Lloyd Garrison
William Lloyd Garrison
William Lloyd Garrison (December , 1805 – May 24, 1879) was a prominent American Christian, abolitionist, journalist, suffragist, and social reformer. He is best known for his widely read antislavery newspaper '' The Liberator'', which he found ...
(United States, 1805–1879)
* Some literature:
** Articles advocating abolition of slavery in the newspaper ''
The Liberator
Liberator or The Liberators or ''variation'', may refer to:
Literature
* ''Liberators'' (novel), a 2009 novel by James Wesley Rawles
* ''The Liberators'' (Suvorov book), a 1981 book by Victor Suvorov
* ''The Liberators'' (comic book), a Britis ...
'', 1831–1866
Friedrich Schiller
Friedrich Schiller (Germany, 1759–1805)
Mill and further
John Stuart Mill
John Stuart Mill
John Stuart Mill (20 May 1806 – 7 May 1873) was an English philosopher, political economist, Member of Parliament (MP) and civil servant. One of the most influential thinkers in the history of classical liberalism, he contributed widely to ...
(United Kingdom, 1806–1873) is one of the first champions of modern "liberalism." As such, his work on political economy and logic helped lay the foundation for advancements in empirical science and public policy based on verifiable improvements. Strongly influenced by Bentham's
utilitarianism
In ethical philosophy, utilitarianism is a family of normative ethical theories that prescribe actions that maximize happiness and well-being for all affected individuals.
Although different varieties of utilitarianism admit different charact ...
, he disagrees with Kant's intuitive notion of right and formulates the "highest normative principle" of morals as:
''Actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness; wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness.''
Some consider Mill as the founder of Social liberalism. Although Mill was mainly for free markets, he accepted interventions in the economy, such as a tax on alcohol, if there were sufficient utilitarian grounds. Mill was also a champion of women's rights.
* Some literature:
** ''Considerations On Representative Government'', 186
** ''On Liberty'', 186
** ''Socialism'', 187
Juan Bautista Alberdi
Juan Bautista Alberdi (Argentina, 1810–1884)
* Some literature:
** ''Bases y puntos de partida para la organización política de la República Argentina'' (Bases and Points of Departure for the Political Organization of the Argentine Republic), 1852
** ''Sistema económico y rentistico de la Confederación Argentina, según su Constitución de 1853'' (Economic and rentistic system of the Argentine Confederation, according to its 1853 Constitution), 1854
Henry David Thoreau
Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
* Some literature:
** ''Civil Disobedience (Thoreau), Civil Disobedience''
** ''Walden''
Jacob Burckhardt
Jacob Burckhardt (Switzerland, 1818–1897) State as derived from cultural and economic life
* Some literature:
** ''The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy''
Herbert Spencer
Herbert Spencer (United Kingdom, 1820–1903), philosopher, psychologist, and sociologist, advanced what he called the "Law of equal liberty" and argued against liberal theory promoting more activist government, which he dubbed "a new form of Toryism." He supported a state limited in its duties to the defense of persons and their property. For Spencer, voluntary cooperation was the hallmark of the most vibrant form of society, accommodating the widest diversity of members and the greatest diversity of goals. Spencer's evolutionary approach has been characterized as an extension of
Adam Smith
Adam Smith (baptized 1723 – 17 July 1790) was a Scottish economist and philosopher who was a pioneer in the thinking of political economy and key figure during the Scottish Enlightenment. Seen by some as "The Father of Economics"——— ...
's "invisible hand" explanation of economic order; his extensive work on sympathy (in psychology as well as the foundation of ethics, particularly in ''The Data of Ethics'') explicitly carried on Smith's approach in ''
The Theory of Moral Sentiments
''The Theory of Moral Sentiments'' is a 1759 book by Adam Smith. It provided the ethics, ethical, Philosophy, philosophical, Economics, economic, and Methodology, methodological underpinnings to Smith's later works, including ''The Wealth of Nat ...
''. Spencer is frequently characterized as a leading Social Darwinism, Social Darwinist.
* Some literature:
** ''Social Statics'', 1851
** ''Principles of Ethics'', 1879, 1892
** ''The Man versus the State'', 1884
** ''Essays, Scientific, Political and Speculative'', 1892
İbrahim Şinasi
İbrahim Şinasi (Ottoman Empire, 1826–1871), author, journalist, translator, and newspaper editor. He was the innovator of several fields: he wrote one of the earliest examples of an Ottoman play, he encouraged the trend of translating poetry from French into Turkish, he simplified the Ottoman Turkish script, script used for writing the Ottoman Turkish language, and he was one of the first of the Ottoman writers to write specifically for the broader public. Şinasi used his newspapers, ''Tercüman-ı Ahvâl'' and ''Tasvir-i Efkâr'', to promote the proliferation of European
Enlightenment
Enlightenment or enlighten may refer to:
Age of Enlightenment
* Age of Enlightenment, period in Western intellectual history from the late 17th to late 18th century, centered in France but also encompassing (alphabetically by country or culture): ...
ideals during the Tanzimat, Tanzimat period,
and he made the education of the literate Ottoman public his personal vocation. Though many of Şinasi's projects were incomplete at the time of his death, "he was at the forefront of a number of fields and put his stamp on the development of each field so long as it contained unsolved problems." Şinasi, influenced by Enlightenment thought, saw freedom of expression as a fundamental right and used journalism in order to engage, communicate with, and educate the public. By speaking directly to the public about government affairs, Şinasi declared that state actions were not solely the interest of the government.
[Nergis Ertürk, Grammatology and Literary Modernity in Turkey. Oxford, UK: Oxford UP, 2011. Print.]
* Works:
** ''Tercüme-i Manzume'' (1859, translation of poems from the French of La Fontaine, Lamartine, Gilbert, and Racine)
** '':tr:Şair Evlenmesi, Şair Evlenmesi'' (1859, the first Ottoman play, "The Wedding of a Poet")
** '':tr:Durub-i Emsal-i Osmaniye, Durub-i Emsal-i Osmaniye'' (1863, the first book of Turkish proverbs)
** '':tr:Müntahabat-ı Eş'ar, Müntahabat-ı Eş'ar'' (1863, collection of poems)
Thomas Hill Green
Thomas Hill Green (United Kingdom, 1836–1882)
Auberon Herbert
Auberon Herbert (United Kingdom, 1838–1906)
Carl Menger
Carl Menger (Austria, 1840–1921)
* Some literature:
** ''Grundsätze der Volkswirtschaftslehre'' (Principles of Economics), 1871
** ''Untersuchungen über die Methode der Sozialwissenschaften und der Politischen Ökonomie insbesondere'' (Investigations into the Method of the Social Sciences: with special reference to economics), 1883
** ''Irrthumer des Historismus in der deutschen Nationalokonomie'' (The Errors of Historicism in German Economics), 1884
** ''Zur Theorie des Kapitals'' (The Theory of Capital), 1888
William Graham Sumner
William Graham Sumner (United States, 1840–1910)
* Some literature:
** ''Socialism'', 1878
** ''The Argument Against Protective Tariffs'', 1881
** ''Protective Taxes and Wages'', 1883
** ''The Absurd Effort to Make the World Over'', 1883
** ''State Interference'', 1887
** ''Protectionism: the -ism which teaches that waste makes wealth'', 1887
** ''The Forgotten Man, and Other Essays'', 1917
Lester Frank Ward
Lester Frank Ward (United States, 1841–1913)
Lester Ward was a botanist, paleontologist, and sociologist. He served as the first president of the American Sociological Association. Ward was a fierce and unrelenting critic of the laissez-faire policies advocated by Herbert Spencer and William Graham Sumner.
* Some literature:
* (1883) Dynamic Sociology: Or Applied social science as based upon statical sociology and the less complex sciences.
* (1893) The Psychic Factors of Civilization, 1893.
* (1903) Pure Sociology. A Treatise on the Origin and Spontaneous Development of Society.
* (1906) Applied Sociology. A Treatise on the Conscious Improvement of Society by Society.
Ward's major works can be found here
Lujo Brentano
Ludwig Joseph Brentano (Germany, 1844–1931)
Tomáš Masaryk
Tomáš Masaryk, Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk (Czechoslovakia, 1850–1937)
Eugen von Böhm-Bawerk
Eugen von Böhm-Bawerk (Austria, 1851–1914)
* Some literature:
** ''Kapital und Kapitalzins'' (Capital and Interest), in three volumes, 1884, 1889 and 1909
** ''Die Positive Theorie des Kapitals'' (The positive theory of capital and its critics), in three volumes, 1895 and 1896
** ''Zum Abschluss des Marxschen Systems'' (Karl Marx and the Close of his system),1898
Louis Brandeis
Louis Brandeis (1856–1941)
Thorstein Veblen
Thorstein Veblen (1857–1926) is best known as the author of ''Theory of the Leisure Class''. Veblen was influential to a generation of American liberalism searching for a rational basis for the economy beyond corporate consolidation and "cut throat competition". Veblen's central argument was that individuals require sufficient non-economic time to become educated citizens. He caustically attacked pure material consumption for its own sake, and the idea that utility equalled conspicuous consumption.
John Dewey
John Dewey (United States, 1859–1952)
* Some literature:
** ''Liberalism and Social Action'', 1935
** ''Democracy and Education'
Friedrich Naumann
Friedrich Naumann (Germany, 1860–1919)
Santeri Alkio
![Santeri Alkio3](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/16/Santeri_Alkio3.jpg)
Santeri Alkio (Finland, 1862–1930)
Max Weber
Max Weber (Germany, 1864–1920) was a theorist of state power and the relationship of culture to economics. Argued that there was a moral component to capitalism rooted in "Protestant" values. Weber was along with Friedrich Naumann active in the National Social Union and later in the German Democratic Party.
* Some literature:
** ''The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, Die protestantische Ethik und der 'Geist' des Kapitalismus'', 1904 (The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalis
Leonard Hobhouse
Leonard Trelawny Hobhouse (United Kingdom, 1864–1929)
* Some literature:
** ''Liberalism'', 191
Benedetto Croce
Benedetto Croce (Italy, 1866–1952)
* Some literature:
** ''Che cosa è il liberalismo'', 1943
Walther Rathenau
Walther Rathenau (Germany, 1867–1922)
Sir Leo Chiozza Money
Leo Chiozza Money (Britain, 1870–1944)
An Italian-born economic theorist who moved to Britain in the 1890s, where he made his name as a politician, journalist and author. In the early years of the 20th century his views attracted the interest of two future Prime Ministers, David Lloyd George and Winston Churchill. After a spell as Lloyd George's parliamentary private secretary, he was a Government minister in the latter stages of the First World War.
Ahmed Lutfi el-Sayed
Ahmed Lutfi el-Sayed Pasha (Egypt, 1872–1963)
An
Egyptian
Egyptian describes something of, from, or related to Egypt.
Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to:
Nations and ethnic groups
* Egyptians, a national group in North Africa
** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of years of ...
intellectual, anti-colonial activist and the first director of Cairo University. He was an influential person in the Egyptian nationalist movement and used his position in the media to strive and gain an independent Egypt from British rule. He was also one of the architects of modern Egyptian nationalism as well as the architect of Secularism in Egypt, Egyptian secularism and Liberalism in Egypt, liberalism. He was fondly known as the "Professor of the Generation". Lutfi was one of the fiercest opponents of pan-Arabism, insisting that Egyptians are Egyptians and not Arabs. He is considered one of the most influential scholars and intellectuals in the history of Egypt.
William Beveridge
William Beveridge (United Kingdom, 1879–1963)
* Some literature:
** ''Full Employment in a Free Society'', 1944
** ''Why I am a liberal'', 1945
Ludwig von Mises
Ludwig von Mises (Austria/United States, 1881–1973)
* Some literature:
** ''Socialism'', 1922
** ''Liberalism'', 1927
** ''Omnipotent Government'', 1944
** ''Human Action'', 1949
José Ortega y Gasset
José Ortega y Gasset (Spain, 1883–1955)
* Some literature:
** ''La rebelión de las masas'' (The Rebellion of the Masses), 1930
Salvador de Madariaga
Salvador de Madariaga (Spain, 1886–1978). One of the principal authors of the Oxford Manifesto in 1947.
Adolf Berle
Adolf Berle (United States, 1895–1971) was author of ''The Modern Corporation and Private Property'', detailing the importance of differentiating between the management of corporations and the share holders who are the owners. Influential in the theory of New Deal policy.
* Some literature with Gardiner Means:
** ''The Modern Corporation and Private Property''
Wilhelm Röpke
Wilhelm Röpke (Germany, 1899–1966)
* Some literature:
** ''International Economic Disintegration'', 1942
** ''The Social Crisis of Our Time'', 1942
** ''Civitas Humana'', 1944
** ''International Order and Economic Integration'', 1945
** ''The Solution of the German Problem'', 1946
Bertil Ohlin
Bertil Ohlin (Sweden, 1899–1979)
* Some literature:
** ''Interregional and International Trade'', 1933
Friedrich Hayek
![Friedrich Hayek portrait](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7f/Friedrich_Hayek_portrait.jpg)
Friedrich Hayek (Austria/United Kingdom/United States/Germany, 1899–1992) In Hayek's view, the central role of the state should be to maintain the rule of law, with as little arbitrary intervention as possible. Also a Nobel Prize winner in economics and predicter of the Great Depression like fellow Austrian School economist and mentor Ludwig von Mises.
* Some literature:
** ''The Road to Serfdom'', 194
** ''The Constitution of Liberty'', 1960
** ''Law, Legislation and Liberty'', in three volumes, 1973, 1976 and 1979
Karl Popper
Karl Popper, Karl Raimund Popper (Austria/United Kingdom, 1902–1994) developed the idea of the open society, characterized by respect for a wide variety of opinions and behaviors and a preference for audacious but piecemeal political reform over either conservative stasis or revolutionary utopianism. In his view, all simplistic and grandiose theories of history and society shared a common feature he called historicism, which he traces back to Plato, while the open society mirrors the methodological fallibilism pioneered by Popper in his earlier works on philosophy of science.
* Some literature:
** ''The Open Society and Its Enemies'', 1945
** ''The Poverty of Historicism'', 1961
Alan Paton
Alan Paton (South Africa, 1903–1988) contributed with his book ''Cry, The beloved country'' to a clear anti-apartheid stand of South African liberalism. His party, the Liberal Party of South Africa was banned by the apartheid government.
* Some literature:
** ''Cry, The Beloved Country'', 1948
** ''Ah, but Your Land is Beautiful'', 1983
Ayn Rand
Ayn Rand (United States, 1905–1982) was a radical and influential moral and political philosopher. Her advocacy of strong self-interest in ethics was influenced, she claimed, by the thinkers Aristotle, Aquinas, and Locke. Her advocacy of pure laissez-faire capitalism was influenced by the classical liberal economists Mises and Hayek.
* Some literature:
** ''The Virtue of Selfishness'', 1963
** ''Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal'', 1966
Raymond Aron
Raymond Aron (France, 1905–1983)
* Some literature:
** ''Essais sur les libertés'', 1965
** ''Démocratie et totalitarisme'', 1965
Donald Barkly Molteno
Donald Barkly Molteno (South Africa, 1908–1972), known as ''Dilizintaba'' ("He who removes mountains"), was a constitutional lawyer and a Parliamentarian (consultant), parliamentarian but above all, an academic. His work on constitutional law centered on civil rights and his fierce opposition to the segregationalist policies of Apartheid.
John Kenneth Galbraith
![JohnKennethGalbraithOWI](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b2/JohnKennethGalbraithOWI.jpg)
John Kenneth Galbraith (Canadian-born economist who worked in the United States, 1908–2006)
* Some literature:
** ''The Affluent Society'', 1958
** ''The Liberal Hour'', 1960
Isaiah Berlin
Isaiah Berlin (Latvia/United Kingdom, 1909–1997) is most famous for his attempt to distinguish 'two conceptions of liberty'. Berlin argued that what he called 'positive' and 'negative' liberty were mutually opposing concepts. Positive conceptions assumed that liberty could only be achieved when collective power (in the form of church or state) acted to 'liberate' mankind from its worst aspects. These, Berlin felt, tended towards totalitarianism. Negative conceptions, by contrast, argued that liberty was achieved when individuals were given maximal freedom from external constraints (so long as these did not infringe on the freedom of others to achieve the same condition). Berlin was also a critic of dogmatic Enlightenment rationalism on the grounds that it was unable to accommodate value pluralism.
* Some literature:
** ''Two Concepts of Liberty'', 1958
** ''Four Essays on Liberty'', 1969
** ''From Hope and Fear Set Free'', 1978
Milton Friedman
Milton Friedman (United States, 1912–2006), winner of a Nobel Prize in Economics and a self-identified Classical Liberal and libertarian, was known for the Friedman rule, Friedman's k-percent rule, and the Friedman test.
* Some literature:
** ''Capitalism and Freedom'', 1962
** ''A Monetary History of the United States'', 1963
** ''Free to Choose'', 1980
James Buchanan
James M. Buchanan, James Buchanan (United States, 1919–2013) is known for his economic theories of the political process, which were among the first to take seriously the concept of politicians as rational actors that respond to incentives.
* Some literature:
** ''The Calculus of Consent'' / James Buchanan & Gordon Tullock, 1962
** ''The Limits of Liberty'', 1975
** ''Democracy in Deficit'' / James Buchanan & Richard E. Wagner, 1977
** ''The Power to Tax'' / James Buchanan & Geoffrey Brennan, 1980
** ''The Reason of Rules'' / James Buchanan & Geoffrey Brennan, 1985
Murray Newton Rothbard
Murray Rothbard (United States, 1926–1995) was the originator of modern anarcho-capitalism and an economist and economic historian of the Austrian school. He is widely considered one of the foremost advocates of
liberty
Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom.
In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...
and freedom in the late 20th century. He was involved with various political movements throughout his life, notably with Ayn Rand and, later, the Libertarian Party (United States), Libertarian Party of United States. His influence is lasting in the libertarian and anarcho-capitalist movements.
** ''Man, Economy, and State'', 1962
** ''For a New Liberty, For a New Liberty: The Libertarian Manifesto'', 1973
** ''Conceived in Liberty'', 1975–1979
** ''The Ethics of Liberty'', 1982
** ''An Austrian Perspective on the History of Economic Thought'', 1995
Leszek Kołakowski
Leszek Kołakowski (Poland, 1927–2009), philosopher and historian of ideas. He was a leading inspiration behind Poland's Solidarity (Polish trade union), Solidarity movement.
* Some literature:
** ''Jednostka i nieskończoność. Wolność i antynomie wolności w filozofii Spinozy'' (''The Individual and the Infinite: Freedom and Antinomies of Freedom in Spinoza's Philosophy''), 1958
** ''Rozmowy z diabłem'' (US title: ''Conversations with the Devil'' / UK title: ''Talk of the Devil''; reissued with ''The Key to Heaven'' under the title ''The Devil and Scripture'', 1973)
** ''Od Hume'a do Koła Wiedeńskiego'' (the 1st edition:''The Alienation of Reason'', then ''Positivist Philosophy from Hume to the Vienna Circle'')
Ralf Dahrendorf
Ralf Dahrendorf (Germany/United Kingdom, 1929–2009 )
* Some literature:
** ''Die Chancen der Krise: über die Zukunft des Liberalismus'', 1983
** ''Fragmente eines neuen Liberalismus'', 1987
Karl-Hermann Flach
The journalist Karl-Hermann Flach (Germany, 1929–1973) was in his book ''Noch eine Chance für die Liberalen'' one of the main theorist of the new social liberal principles of the Free Democratic Party (Germany). He places liberalism clearly as the opposite of conservatism and opened the road for a government coalition with the social democrats.
Joseph Raz
Joseph Raz (Israel/United Kingdom, 1939–2022)
* Some literature:
** ''The Morality of Freedom''
Ronald Dworkin
Ronald Dworkin
Ronald Myles Dworkin (; December 11, 1931 – February 14, 2013) was an American philosopher, jurist, and scholar of United States constitutional law. At the time of his death, he was Frank Henry Sommer Professor of Law and Philosophy at New Yo ...
(United States, 1931–2013)
* Some literature:
** ''Sovereign Virtue: The Theory and Practice of Equality''
** ''Justice for Hedgehogs''
Richard Rorty
Richard Rorty
Richard McKay Rorty (October 4, 1931 – June 8, 2007) was an American philosopher. Educated at the University of Chicago and Yale University, he had strong interests and training in both the history of philosophy and in contemporary analytic phi ...
(United States, 1931–2007) was one of the leading contemporary philosophers of liberalism. His fundamental claims, among others, are that liberalism is best defined as the attempt to avoid cruelty to others; that liberals need to accept the historical 'irony' that there is no metaphysical justification for their belief that not being cruel is a virtue; that literature plays a crucial role in developing the empathy necessary to promote solidarity (and therefore lack of cruelty) between humans; and that private philosophising and public political discourse are separate practices and should remain so.
Amartya Sen
Amartya Sen
Amartya Kumar Sen (; born 3 November 1933) is an Indian economist and philosopher, who since 1972 has taught and worked in the United Kingdom and the United States. Sen has made contributions to welfare economics, social choice theory, econom ...
(India, 1933– ) is an economist whose early work was based on Kenneth Arrow's General Possibility Theorem, and on the impossibility of both complete pareto optimality and solely procedural based rights. He won the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for his work on famine, welfare economics and social choice theory. And is an advocate of rationality as the fundamental safe guard of freedom and justice.
* Some literature:
** ''Development as Freedom''
** ''The Argumentative Indian''
Robert Nozick
Robert Nozick (United States, 1938–2002) was a
libertarian
Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's e ...
(or minarchist). He advocated an unapologetically reductionist political philosophy characterized by meticulous analysis of the moral aspects of each social interaction, and did not shy away from addressing hard philosophical issues such as the original appropriation of property. Nozick is best known for providing the justification of a minimal state by showing that it can be established without any unjust steps.
* Some literature:
** ''Anarchy, State, and Utopia'', 1974
Hernando de Soto
The economist
Hernando de Soto
Hernando de Soto (; ; 1500 – 21 May, 1542) was a Spanish explorer and '' conquistador'' who was involved in expeditions in Nicaragua and the Yucatan Peninsula. He played an important role in Francisco Pizarro's conquest of the Inca Empire ...
(Peru, 1941– ) is an advocate of transparency and private property rights, arguing that intransparent government leads to property not being given proper title, and therefore being "dead capital" which cannot be used as the basis of credit. Argues that laws which allocate property to those most able to use them for economic growth, so called "squatter's rights", are an important innovation.
* Some literature:
** ''The Other Path'', 1986.
** ''The Mystery of Capital'', 2000.
Michael Meadowcroft
A biography described the British politician Michael Meadowcroft as "the main, indeed very nearly the only, philosopher of applied Liberalism within the old Liberal Party from the late 1960s onwards".
On the merger of the Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party and the Social Democratic Party (UK), Social Democratic Party in the UK to form the Liberal Democrats (UK), Liberal Democrats, Meadowcroft initially reconstituted Liberal Party (UK, 1989), a new Liberal Party with others who did not want to compromise the philosophy of liberalism.
[ However, the new Liberal Party became increasingly Eurosceptic under the leadership of Steve Radford and Meadowcroft joined the Liberal Democrats in 2007. He has regularly argued for the importance of political philosophy and that members of the Liberal Democrats require more conviction in their beliefs.]
* Some literature:
**
**
**
**
**
**
Carlos Santiago Nino
Carlos Santiago Nino (Argentina, 1943–1993)
* Some literature:
** ''The Ethics of Human Rights''
Bruce Ackerman
Bruce Ackerman (United States, 1943– )
* Some literature:
** ''We, The People''
Martha Nussbaum
Martha Nussbaum (United States, 1947– ) is a philosopher and the current Ernst Freund Distinguished Service Professor of Law and Ethics at the University of Chicago. She specializes in Greek philosophy, ancient Greek and Roman philosophy, political philosophy, existentialism, feminism, and ethics, including animal rights. She received the 2016 Kyoto Prize in Arts and Philosophy, the 2018 Berggruen Prize, and the 2021 Holberg Prize.
* Some literature:
** ''The Fragility of Goodness'' (1986)
** ''Cultivating Humanity: A Classical Defense of Reform in Liberal Education'' (1997)
** ''Sex and Social Justice'' (1998)
** ''Hiding from Humanity: Disgust, Shame, and the Law'' (2004)
** ''Frontiers of Justice: Disability, Nationality, Species Membership (2006)''
** ''From Disgust to Humanity: Sexual Orientation and Constitutional Law'' (2010)
Will Kymlicka
Will Kymlicka (Canada, 1962– ) tries in his philosophy to determine if forms of ethnic or minority nationalism are compatible with liberal-democratic principles of individual freedom, social equality and political democracy. In his book ''Multicultural Citizenship. A Liberal Theory of Minority Rights'' he argues that certain "group-differentiated rights" of minority cultures can be consistent with these liberal-democratic principles.
Footnotes
{{DEFAULTSORT:List Of Liberal Theorists
Liberalism
Lists of people by ideology, Liberal theorists
Social theorists, Liberal