Classical liberalism: historical development and core principles

Classical Liberalism

Central to the idea of liberalism is the concept of right - the right to property, to choices, and to live a life as one sees fit (Moseley, 2006).

The history of liberalism can be traced back to the Enlightenment period in England where ideas involving the Divine Right of Kings, religion, hereditary status, and protectionism were deconstructed, criticized, and/or debunked by thinkers such as Locke and Hobbes (New World Encyclopedia, 2008). During Locke's time, the political theme of 17th century centered on the preservation of the wealthy class of their property rights against royal infringement. He addressed this issue by providing an account of human nature which states that all men are free and equal and by asserting that all individuals have the right to property and people decide to enter social agreements and build the state to protect their properties (Sommerville n.d.). For Hobbes, who was writing in a social environment where Christianity claims to have power over the realm of human life, sovereignty is defined as people having natural and inalienable rights which should be exercised to establish a representative government in which the only legitimate political rule springs from that which bestows the consent of the governed (Berkowitz, 1996). Clearly, Hobbes was writing against Christian hegemony of his time.

The Federalist Party, during the constitutional debate, was in favor of its ratification. The federalists desired the formation of a central government (U-S History, n.d.) while Anti-Federalists, who obviously opposed this idea, argued for a purely federal system in the belief that a central government cannot work on a national level and that the rights of individuals cannot be protected by the Constitution (Mount, 2007). Moreover, they saw religious faith as critical to promoting moral stability in the community (Breslin, 2004). Here we see how federalists adhere in the idea of liberalism by siding with sovereign nation-states where a central type of government is a political strategy. Moreover, Federalists side with the Hobbesian doctrine of liberalism where no religious power should be exercised among people as Anti-Federalists argued that religious faith is crucial is the stability of communities. For Federalists, political rule is the only legitimate rule of power, at least in the socio-political sense.