Helena Rosenblatt and Daniel Klein debate the origins of liberalism. Rosenblatt believes that Klein misuses Adam Smith. However, there is no way to know how Adam Smith would have acted in today’s political climate.

What is liberalism? What is the political meaning of liberalism? How old is the idea of liberty? Was Edmund Burke thought of himself as a conservative? Is it a mistake to think that libertarians are part of the liberal tradition? At what point for example, does John Locke become called a liberal?

Further Reading:

The Lost History of Liberalism, written by Helena Rosenblatt

Liberty Between the Lines in a Statist and Modernist Age, written by Daniel Klein

The Wealth of Nations, Adam Smith

Related Content:

Was Adam Smith a Libertarian?, written by Paul Mueller

Self-Interest and Social Order in Classical Liberalism: Thomas Hobbes, written by George H. Smith

The Levelers: Libertarian Revolutionaries, written by Nicholas Elliott

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