Ideology supporting both civil and economic liberties
This article is about the branch of liberalism that advocates civil liberties with an emphasis on economic freedom. For the liberal economic system organized on individual lines, see Economic liberalism. For the branch of liberalism that endorses a regulated market economy and the expansion of civil and political rights, see Social liberalism.
Until the Great Depression and the rise of social liberalism, classical liberalism was called economic liberalism. Later, the term was applied as a retronym, to distinguish earlier 19th-century liberalism from social liberalism.[3] By modern standards, in the United States, simple liberalism often means social liberalism, but in Europe and Australia, simple liberalism often means classical liberalism.[4][5]
In the context of American politics, "classical liberalism" may be described as "fiscally conservative" and "socially liberal".[17] Despite this, classical liberals tend to reject the right's higher tolerance for economic protectionism and the left's inclination for collective group rights due to classical liberalism's central principle of individualism.[18] Additionally, in the United States, classical liberalism is considered closely tied to, or synonymous with, American libertarianism.[19][20]
^Mayne, Alan James (1999). From Politics Past to Politics Future: An Integrated Analysis of Current and Emergent Paradigmss. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 124–125. ISBN0275961516.
^Ishiyama, John T.; Breuning, Marijke; et al. (Ellen Grigsby) (2011). "Neoclassical liberals". 21st Century Political Science A Reference Handbook. SAGE Publications, Inc. pp. 596–603. ISBN978-1-4129 6901-7.