The Basic Choice: Classic Liberal vs. Progressive
Early Americans were mostly classic liberals who wanted only as much government as was needed to protect liberty, the right to property, and a very few other fundamental rights. Such rights belonged to every person by birth-right irrespective of government.
The early 20th century saw the advent of the progressive view of government as an active force for good, correcting social problems through increased government authority. They saw rights as being defined and granted by government.
Progressives 2015/08/31 User:Jeff
Classic Liberal
We use the term 'classic liberal' to refer to what 'liberal' meant in the 18th and 19th centuries. In short, it is a belief that government is necessary to preserve the social contract, but that it is a necessary evil. That only as much government as is required to protect liberty, the right to property, and few other fundamental rights, should be tolerated.
We have used several authors extensively in this section: Richard Epstein[1], Edward Channing[2], Walter Lippman [3], and F. A. Hayek[4][5] Each of these authors can be described as a classic liberal.
Progressive
Progressives view government as a positive force for good rather than a necessary evil. They see rights as created by government and as going far beyond the few "inalienable rights". They view an expanded and more authoritarian government as the tool needed to correct a number of social ills that the minimalist approach of classic liberalism ignores.
- ↑ Epstein, Richard A; The Classical Liberal Constitution; Cambridge, MA; Harvard University Press (2014)
- ↑ Channing, Edward; A History of The United States, Volume III, The American Revolution; New York; The MacMillan Company (1920)
- ↑ Lippman, Walter; The Good Society; Boston; Little Brown and Company (1937)
- ↑ Hayek, F A; The Road to Serfdom; Chicago; The University of Chicago Press (2007)(by the Estate of F. A. Hayek. Original 1944)
- ↑ Hayek, F A; The Constitution of Liberty; Chicago; The University of Chicago Press; (1960)
