Classical Liberalism

Classical Liberalism is an economically right, moderately libertarian, and culturally varied ideology.

He was conceived some time in the early 18th century as a child of the Enlightenment. He used to believe that people had an inherent right to their "Life, Liberty and Property" though he later amended that to "Life, Liberty and The Pursuit of Happiness".

Classical Liberalism hatched the idea, partly inspired by the French Physiocrats and their concept of laissez-faire, that individual freedom and a free market would result in a balanced economical equilibrium - as long as monopolies were not allowed to develop and destroy competitiveness. He also often strongly opposed landed aristocracy, struggling against Monarchism and  Reactionary tendencies.

ClassLib is considered the original inspiration for most of the Lib-Right ideologies, including Capitalism, even though the modern concept of capitalism isn't necessarily entirely free market and free trade focused compared with the original Classical Liberalism; since monopoly and market power isn't vigorously kept in check, and protectionism sometimes sneaks in when it's in the interest of powerful political and economical actors - revealing the connection to ClassLib's old enemy  Mercantilism.

Some time in the early 20th century ClassLib became the father of Liberalism, who managed to then make the Liberal Dynasty into what it is today; with his other offspring,  Libertarianism and  National Liberalism taking on more fringe positions.

History
Classical Liberalism's origin is hard to set in stone, but it is generally agreed that the philosophical strand primarily stems from John Locke, and the economical strand primarily stems from Adam Smith.

Throughout the history of liberal thought, there's been competing branches, ranging from traditionalism to radicalism, where thinkers such as Locke and David Hume may be considered relatively traditionalist, while thinkers such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Thomas Paine were much more radical in their concepts of liberty. Even Adam Smith was in some aspects more in line with radical thought than the traditionalists, perceiving that markets could fail, and that natural monopolies could form which would skew the balance of the market.

This division could be seen as far back as the English Civil War (which, incidentally, John Locke's father also took part in on the Parliamentarian side) where the Putney Debates had sharp divisions of thought between those in favour of extending suffrage, such as Thomas Rainsborough and the Levellers, and those against it, such as Henry Ireton; whether men should have to own landed property to vote for the parliament, and even diverging opinions on the justice of private (landed) property rights.

The United States Constitution was firmly cemented in a liberal philosophy, and the later 19th century success of liberal policies, free trade, etc. in Western Europe and the United States contributed to a massive growth in productivity and exchange.

Later thinkers such as J.S. Mill would introduce a utilitarian liberal approach which could be considered a part of a more left-wing branch, at least relatively, being also concerned with inequality resulting from the failures of markets in certain situations.

Towards the 20th century, there was still a marked division within the liberal ideology, and political radicals such as David Lloyd George in the UK were at odds with more traditionalist liberals as he passed the People's Budget which provided hitherto unprecedented welfare and sought to impose taxes on the wealthy, especially the landed aristocracy.

In the UK, the liberals would eventually be marginalised by the increasingly dominant dichotomy between Socialism and  Capitalism, with the  Conservatives taking on the mantle of Paternalistic Capitalism.

In the US, during the campaign for the presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt in the 1930s, he started identifying along with his followers as a "Liberal" (That's why in The US, liberals are the Democrats while in other parts of the world, liberals are classical liberals) and, those who at the time were considered liberals had to start calling themselves libertarians to be differentiated from them; and with the passing of time and the radicalisation of ideas, the term  Libertarianism changed its meaning from a synonym of classical liberalism to a more radical view, with less state intervention.

Personality

 * Sleepy
 * Old
 * "How do you do fellow liberals?"
 * When he gets passionate about economics, he sometimes speaks with a Scottish accent.

How to Draw
You're finished
 * 1) Draw a ball with Eyes
 * 2) Draw a tricolour of Dark Blue, Gold and White.
 * 3) (Optional) draw a renaissance wig.

Friends

 * [[File: Enlightnenment.png]] Enlightenment - Thanks for helping me shape my worldview, dad!
 * [[File: Lib.png]] Liberalism - I remember when you were a baby.
 * [[File: Cap.png]] Capitalism - Quite successful, but what's all this protectionism and hoarding nonsense?
 * [[File: Libertarian.png]] Libertarianism - You're quite radical my son.
 * [[File: Georgist.png]] Georgism - Ah yes, my forgotten nephew!

Frenemies

 * [[File: Jack.png]] Jacobinism - You may be my oldest rival, but I still remember when we declared the First Republic together.
 * [[File: Soc.png]] Socialism - I remember my rivalry with you, good times.
 * [[File:Conserv.png]] Conservatism [[File:Con-t.png]] - You too... at least you're better than [[File: React.png]] Reactionary.
 * [[File:Marketsoc.png]] Market Socialism - My son, how exactly do you expect this to work?
 * [[File: Nalib.png]] National Liberalism - Son, I'd prefer if your view on race wasn't so... racy.

Enemies

 * [[File: Monarch.png]] Monarchism -  Strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government.
 * [[File: Merc.png]] Mercantilism - We need Free Trade!
 * [[File: ML.png]] Marxism–Leninism - Yeah... no.
 * [[File: React.png]] Reactionary - Why on Earth would you reject Enlightenment!?

Books

 * Two Treatises of Government by John Locke
 * The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith
 * Social Statics; or the Conditions Essential to Human Happiness and Principles of Ethics: Anthology by Herbert Spencer
 * Liberalism: In the Classical Tradition by Ludwig Von Mises
 * The Constitution of Liberty by Friedrich August von Hayek
 * Two Concepts of Liberty by Isaiah Berlin
 * The Origins of Totalitarian Democracy by Jacob Leib Talmon

Wikipedia

 * Classical liberalism
 * Classical economics
 * Manchester Liberalism
 * French Liberal School

Videos

 * A Guide to Classical Liberalism and Classical Liberalism, Part 2: The Rise and Fall (and Rise and Fall) by The Academic Agent
 * What is Classical Liberalism? and The History of Classical Liberalism by Learn Liberty
 * Liberalism: where did it come from and are its days numbered? by The Economist

Online Communities

 * r/Classical_Liberals
 * r/Liberalist