Classical liberalism

Classical liberalism is a tradition that arose in the 17th and 18th centuries around the idea that individuals have rights and that government exists to protect them. Its core commitments include limited government, private property, freedom of speech and religion, free exchange and equality before the law.

Key figures include John Locke, Adam Smith, Montesquieu and, in the nineteenth century, John Stuart Mill and Frédéric Bastiat. The American founders drew heavily on it, in the natural rights language of the Declaration and in the structure of the Constitution. "Liberal" in this sense differs from the modern American use of the word for the political left; in much of the world, the older meaning persists in the phrase "liberal economics."

Many American conservatives and libertarians see themselves as heirs to classical liberalism, particularly on markets and limits on state power, which gives rise to libertarianism and the free-market side of fusionism. Critics from the right, including some traditionalists and postliberals, argue it neglects community, tradition and the common good, while critics on the left say it overlooks inequality. The tradition also underpins ideas such as the rule-of-law and limited-government.