Summary

Classical Liberalism was birthed over eight hundred year ago with the signing of the Magna Carta, Magna Carta Libertatum, Medieval Latin for “Great Charter of the Liberties”, in 1215. This was the first crack in the “Divine Right of Kings”, which eventually led to the recognition of the “divine rights” of all people as endowed by their Creator as proclaimed in the American Declaration of Independence.

Links and References

Economics 101

Size of Government

We Must All Hang Together

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Transcript

The beginnings of Classical Liberalism began over eight hundred years ago with the signing of the Magna Carta, Magna Carta Libertatum, Medieval Latin for “Great Charter of the Liberties”, in 1215. This was the first crack in the “Divine Right of Kings”, which eventually led to the recognition of the “divine rights” of all people as endowed by their Creator proclaimed publically in the American Declaration of Independence in 1776. With this document, the world’s oldest democracy was founded. How did we get from that historic moment of fierce bravery and unity to today’s deep and growing divisions?

Classical Liberalism continued to find its voice. By the mid-19th century, it stood for economic and civil liberties, including the separation of church and state, with a limited government under the rule of law, private property, and market-based economies. Simply put, Liberalism stood for economic and civil liberties. Remember, under various monarchies and dictatorships in previous centuries, limited government, the rule of law, civil liberties and free economies were simply unthinkable.

By the early 20th Century, a schism appeared with Liberals emphasizing the civil liberties part, and Conservatives emphasizing the economic liberties. Why the schism? Was it legitimate in that certain people thought that one or the other was getting short shrift and needed more attention and resources? Or was it artificially created to give the impression that one view, either the Liberals’ or Conservatives’, was correct, and the other incorrect--dead wrong, in fact? My guess is that both Liberals and Conservatives started on this divided road with the best of intentions; however, once they discovered that each part of the split in Classical Liberalism had its own enthusiastic audience, those two parts of the Classical movement, the two political parties, Democrats and Republicans, warmed to the self-serving task of widening the divide. But the answer to this who dunnit does not matter; today, most voices are all in on deepening and widening the gap--the division--in the body politic. And they are doing it for their own--and their party’s--benefit. For all they care, the country can pick up the pieces later. And whatever happens, both parties will blame the other. And you and I will be left holding the bag. Most certainly our children or grandchildren will be left with the empty bag.

Worse, this is clearly a false choice: Why would an entire country be pushed unnecessarily--and dangerously--into choosing between civil and economic liberties? And how did the definition of civil liberties come to include an expanding welfare system? For that matter, how did those espousing economic liberties allow a huge and growing bureaucracy, including a 70K federal page tax code?

While we are at it, how did it happen that the separation of church and state part of Classical Liberalism's civil liberties now prohibits things like a high school coach praying on the field at a game? At the time we revolted against England, the Church of England,