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Individual contributors toclassical liberalism and politicalliberalism are associated with philosophers of theEnlightenment. Liberalism as a specifically named ideology begins in the late 18th century as a movement towards self-government and away fromaristocracy. It included the ideas ofself-determination, the primacy of the individual and the nation as opposed to the state and religion as being the fundamental units of law, politics and economy.
Since then liberalism broadened to include a wide range of approaches from AmericansRonald Dworkin,Richard Rorty,John Rawls andFrancis Fukuyama as well as the IndianAmartya Sen and the PeruvianHernando de Soto. Some of these people moved away fromliberalism while others espoused otherideologies before turning to liberalism. There are many different views of what constitutes liberalism, and some liberals would feel that some of the people on this list were not true liberals. It is intended to be suggestive rather than exhaustive. Theorists whose ideas were mainly typical for one country should be listed in that country's section ofliberalism worldwide. Generally only thinkers are listed whereas politicians are only listed when they also made substantial contributions to liberal theory beside their active political work.
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Aristotle (Athens, 384–322 BC) is revered among political theorists for his seminal workPolitics. He made invaluable contributions to liberal theory through his observations on different forms of government and the nature of man.
He begins with the idea that the best government provides an active and "happy" life for its people. Aristotle then considers six forms of government:Monarchy,Aristocracy, andPolity on one side as 'good' forms of government, andTyranny,Oligarchy, andDemocracy as 'bad' forms. Considering each in turn, Aristotle rejects Monarchy as infantilizing of citizens, Oligarchy as too profit-motivated, Tyranny as against the will of the people, Democracy as serving only to the poor, and Aristocracy (known today asMeritocracy) as ideal but ultimately impossible. Aristotle finally concludes that a polity—a combination between democracy and oligarchy, where most can vote but must choose among the rich andvirtuous for governors—is the best compromise betweenidealism andrealism.
In addition, Aristotle was a firm supporter ofprivate property. He refuted Plato's argument for acollectivist society in which family and property are held in common: Aristotle makes the argument that when one's own son or land is rightfully one's own, one puts much more effort into cultivating that item, to the ultimate betterment of society. He referencesbarbarian tribes of his time in which property was held in common, and the laziest of the bunch would always take away large amounts of food grown by the most diligent.
His Stoic, Cato, advocated for Greek Stoicism in Cicero's books. It's a development of Aristotle's ethics and goes further, advocating equal rights for all people. It was found to be scientifically true on inspection in the '90s, by Becker (1998).[1] He was also a major influence to John Locke.
Laozi was a Chinese philosopher and writer, considered the founder ofTaoism. Arguing that Laozi is alibertarian, James A. Dorn wrote that Laozi, like many 18th-century liberals, "argued that minimizing the role of government and letting individualsdevelop spontaneously would best achieve social and economic harmony."[2]
TheIslamic Golden Age (8th to 14th century) was marked by a flourishing of intellectual activity in the Islamic world. Several scholars and thinkers from this era contributed to ideas that align with certain liberal principles, emphasizing reason, justice, and individual rights.
Al-Farabi, known as "the Second Teacher," was a philosopher influential in transmitting Greek philosophy to the Islamic world. His political philosophy, seen in works likeThe Virtuous City,[3] stressed the importance of justice and the common good in governance, influencing both Muslim and European thought.[4]
Ibn Rushd, a Spanish-Arab philosopher, advocated for the compatibility of reason and philosophy with Islamic faith. His commentaries on Aristotle and independent works promoted the separation of reason and revelation, profoundly influencing both Islamic and Western thought.[5]
Ibn Sina, a polymath known for contributions to medicine and metaphysics, delved into political philosophy. In *The Book of Healing*, he discussed the need for a well-ordered state, emphasizing the role of a philosopher-king guided by reason and wisdom.[6]
Ibn Tufail, a philosopher and physician, explored individualism and reason inHayy ibn Yaqdhan.[7] The novel discussed a person raised in isolation, emphasizing themes of individual pursuit of knowledge.
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Niccolò Machiavelli (Florence, 1469–1527), best known for hisIl Principe was the founder of realist political philosophy, advocatedrepublican government, citizen armies, protection of personal property, and restraint of government expenditure as being necessary to the liberties of a republic. He wrote extensively on the need for individual initiative—virtu—as an essential characteristic of stable government. He argued that liberty was the central good which government should protect, and that "good people" would make good laws, whereas people who had lost their virtue could maintain their liberties only with difficulty. His Discourses on Livy outlined realism as the central idea of political study and favored "Republics" over "Principalities".
Machiavelli differed from true liberal thinking however, in that he still noted the benefits of princely governance.[8] He states that republican leaders need to "act alone" if they want to reform a republic, and offers the example of Romulus, who killed his brother and co-ruler to found a great city.[9] Republics need to refer to arbitrary and violent measures if it is necessary to maintain the structure of the government, as Machiavelli says that they have to ignore thoughts of justice and fairness.[10]
Anti-statist liberals consider Machiavelli's distrust as his main message, noting his call for a strong state under a strong leader, who should use any means to establish his position, whereas liberalism is an ideology ofindividual freedom and voluntary choices.
Desiderius Erasmus (Netherlands, 1466–1536) was an advocate ofhumanism, critic of entrenched interests, irrationality and superstition. Erasmusian societies formed across Europe, to some extent in response to the turbulence of theReformation.In hisDe libero arbitrio diatribe sive collatio (1524), he analyzes the Lutheran exaggeration of the obvious limitations on human freedom.
Étienne de La Boétie (France, 1530–1563) was a French writer, magistrate and political theorist. According to Etienne the chief question of political philosophy was the question of how people come to accept the will oftyrants.
Hugo Grotius (Netherlands 1583–1645)
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Thomas Hobbes (England, 1588–1679) theorized that government is the result of individual actions and human traits, and that it was motivated primarily by "interest", a term which would become crucial in the development of a liberal theory of government and political economy, since it is the foundation of the idea that individuals can be self-governing and self-regulating. His workLeviathan, did not advocate this viewpoint, but instead that only a strong government could restrain unchecked interest: it did, however, advance a proto-liberal position in arguing for an inalienable "right of nature," the right to defend oneself, even against the state.[citation needed] Though his own ideological position is open to debate, his work influenced Spinoza, Locke, Hamilton, Jefferson, Madison and many other liberals.[12]
Baruch Spinoza (Netherlands, 1632–1677) in hisTractatus Theologico-Politicus(TTP) (1670) andTractatus Politicus (1678) defends the importance ofseparation of church and state as well as forms ofdemocracy. In theTTP, Spinoza articulates a strong critique of religious intolerance and a defense ofseculargovernment against the power of religious authorities.[13][14] Spinoza laid the philosophical groundwork for the emancipation of Jews, putting them on an equal footing as other citizens.[15]
John Locke's (England, 1632–1704) notion that a "government with theconsent of the governed" and man'snatural rights—life,liberty, andestate (property) as well ontolerance, as laid down inA letter concerning toleration andTwo treatises of government—had an enormous influence on the development ofliberalism. Locke developed a theory of property resting on the actions of individuals, rather than on descent or nobility.
John Trenchard (United Kingdom, 1662–1723) was co-author, with Thomas Gordon ofCato's Letters. These newspaper essays condemnedtyranny and advanced principles offreedom of conscience andfreedom of speech and were a main vehicle for spreading theconcepts that had been developed byJohn Locke.
Charles de Montesquieu (France, 1689–1755)InThe Spirit of Law, Montesquieu expounded the separation of powers in government and society. In government, Montesquieu encouraged division into the now standard legislative, judicial and executive branches; in society, he perceived a natural organization into king, the people and the aristocracy, with the latter playing a mediating role. "I do not write to censor that which is established in any country whatsoever," Montesquieu disclaimed in theLaws; however, he did pay special attention to what he felt was the positive example of the constitutional system in England, which in spite of its evolution toward a fusion of powers, had moderated the power of the monarch, and divided Parliament along class lines.
Montesquieu's work had a seminal impact on the American and French revolutionaries. Ironically, the least liberal element of his thought—his privileging of the aristocracy—was belied by both revolutions. Montesquieu's system came to fruition in America, a country with no aristocracy; in France, political maneuvering by the aristocracy led to the convocation of the 1789 Estates-General and popular revolt.[19]
Thomas Gordon (United Kingdom, 169?–1750) was co-author, with John Trenchard ofCato's Letters. These newspaper essays condemnedtyranny and advanced principles offreedom of conscience andfreedom of speech and were a main vehicle for spreading theconcepts that had been developed byJohn Locke.
François Quesnay (France, 1694–1774)
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Voltaire (France, 1694–1778)
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Jean-Jacques Rousseau (Switzerland, 1712–1778)
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Denis Diderot (France, 1713–1784)
Jean le Rond d'Alembert (France, 1717–1783)
Richard Price (United Kingdom, 1723–1791)
Adam Smith (Great Britain, 1723–1790), often considered the founder of moderneconomics, was a key figure in formulating and advancing economic doctrine of free trade and competition. In hisWealth of Nations Adam Smith outlined the key idea that if the economy is basically left to its own devices, limited and finite resources will be put to ultimately their most efficient use through people acting purely in their self-interest. This concept has been quoted out of context by later economists as theinvisible hand of the market.
Smith also advanced property rights and personalcivil liberties, including stopping slavery, which today partly form the basic liberal ideology. He was also opposed to stock-holding companies, what today is called a "corporation", because he predicated the self-policing of the free market upon the free association of moral individuals.
Immanuel Kant (Germany, 1724–1804)
Anne Robert Jacques Turgot (France, 1727–1781)
Joseph Priestley (United Kingdom/United States, 1733–1804)
August Ludwig von Schlözer (Germany, 1735–1809)
Patrick Henry (United States, 1736–1799)
Thomas Paine (United Kingdom/United States, 1737–1809) was aFounding Father, political activist, philosopher, political theorist, and revolutionary. His ideas reflectedEnlightenment-era ideals of human rights. Following theAmerican Revolution he returned to England then fled to France, to avoid arrest because advocated the right of the people to overthrow their government. In theAge of Reason, he advocatedDeism, promoted reason and freethought, and argued against religion in general and Christian doctrine in particular. InAgrarian Justice, opposed to Agrarian Law, and to Agrarian Monopoly sought the origins of poverty, locating them in inequitable distribution of land, "a violation of humankind's natural rights," which could be remedied through an estate tax.[28]
Thomas Jefferson (United States, 1743–1826) was the thirdPresident of the United States and author of theDeclaration of Independence. He also wroteNotes on the State of Virginia and theVirginia Statute for Religious Freedom. Ideologically, he was a champion of inalienable individual rights, although excluded women from his formulation, and as a Virginia planter, he held many enslaved persons. He advocated the separation of church and state. His ideas were repeated in many other liberal revolutions around the world, including the (early)French Revolution.
Works:
Marquis de Condorcet (France, 1743–1794) advocated for aliberal economy, free and equal public instruction,constitutional government, andequal rights for women and people of all races, which embody the ideals of theAge of Enlightenment.
Some literature:
Olympe de Gouges (French, 1748–1793) is best known as an advocate of women's rights, writingDeclaration of the Rights of Woman and of the Female Citizen, in response to theDeclaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (1789); she was executed during theFrench Revolution. Prior to the outbreak of the revolution, she authoredRéflexions sur les hommes nègres (1788), calling for better treatment of black slaves. Her most famous quote is “A woman has the right to mount the scaffold. She must possess equally the right to mount the speaker's platform.”[30]
Works:
Jeremy Bentham (United Kingdom, 1748–1832)
An early advocate ofutilitarianism,animal welfare andwomen's rights. He had many students all around the world, includingJohn Stuart Mill and several political leaders. Bentham demanded economic and individual freedom, including the separation of the state and church, freedom of expression, completely equal rights for women, the end of slavery and colonialism, uniform democracy, the abolition of physical punishment of adults and children, the right to divorce, free prices, free trade, and no restrictions on interest. Bentham was not alibertarian: he supported an inheritance tax, restrictions on monopoly power, pensions, health insurance, and other social security, but he called for prudence and careful consideration in any such governmental intervention.
Adamantios Korais (Smyrna, 1748–1833) A major figure of the Greek Enlightenment, Korais helped shape the modern Greek state with his theories on classical education, language, religion, secular law and constitutional government, with passionate views on the necessity of democracy. He corresponded with leading figures of the American republic, especially with Thomas Jefferson.
Emmanuel Joseph Sieyès '(France, 1748–1836) played an important role in the opening years of theFrench Revolution, drafting theDeclaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, expanding on the theory ofnational sovereignty,popular sovereignty, andrepresentation implied in his pamphletWhat is the Third Estate?.
Charles James Fox (United Kingdom, 1749–1806) aWhig politician andmember of parliament who spent most of his career in opposition. He opposed tyranny of any sort or the threat of it. For this reason he was a staunch critic ofKing George III whom he regarded as an aspiring tyrant. He was anabolitionist and supporter of American Patriots and of theFrench Revolution. He attackedPitt's wartime legislation and defended the liberty of religious minorities and political radicals. After Pitt's death in January 1806, Fox served briefly as Foreign Secretary in the 'Ministry of All the Talents' ofWilliam Grenville.
Antoine Destutt de Tracy (1754–1836)
Stanisław Staszic (Poland-Lithuania, 1755–1826) was a Catholic priest, philosopher, geologist, writer, poet, translator and statesman. A physiocrat, monist, pan-Slavist (after 1815) and an advocate oflaissez-faire, he supported many reforms in Poland. He is particularly remembered for his political writings during the "Great (Four-Year) Sejm" (1788–92) and for his support of the Constitution of 3 May 1791.
Friedrich Schiller (Germany, 1759–1805)
Mary Wollstonecraft (United Kingdom, 1759–1797) is best known for A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792), in which she argues that women are not naturally inferior to men but appear to be only because they lack education. She suggests that both men and women should be treated as rational beings and imagines a social order founded on reason.Works:
Anne Louise Germaine de Staël (France, 1766–1817)
Benjamin Constant (France, 1767–1830) Regarded by some as one of the fathers of modern liberalism, he was initially a republican during theFrench Revolution, but utterly rejectedThe Jacobins as an instance of thetyranny of the majority.[32]
Jean-Baptiste Say (France, 1767–1832)
Wilhelm von Humboldt (Germany, 1767–1835)
Adam Czartoryski (Poland-Lithuania 1770–1867) was a statesman, and international politician. He began as a foreign minister to the Russian Tsar Alexander I and built an anti-Napoleon coalition. He became a leader of the Polish government in exile, and an enemy of Russian Tsar Nicholas I. In exile he was an activist on the Polish Question across Europe, and stimulated early Balkan independence.
David Ricardo (United Kingdom, 1772–1823)
James Mill (United Kingdom, 1773–1836)
Antoine-Elisée Cherbuliez (Switzerland, 1797–1869)
The Dutch statesmanJohan Rudolf Thorbecke (Netherlands, 1798–1872) was the main theorist of Dutch liberalism in the nineteenth century, outlining a more democratic alternative to the absolute monarchy, the constitutional monarchy. The constitution of 1848 was mainly his work. His main theoretical article specifically labeled as 'liberal' was 'Over het hedendaagsche staatsburgerschap' (On Modern Citizenship) from 1844. He became prime minister in 1849, thus starting numerous fundamental reforms in Dutch politics.
Frédéric Bastiat (France, 1801–1850)
Claude Frédéric Bastiat was a French classical liberal theorist, political economist, and member of the French assembly.
Rifa'a al-Tahtawi (Egypt, 1801–1873)
Rifa'a al-Tahtawi (also spelt Tahtawy) was anEgyptian writer, teacher, translator,Egyptologist,renaissance intellectual and one of the early adapters toIslamic Modernism. In 1831, Tahtawi was part of the statewide effort to modernize the Egyptian infrastructure and education.[33] Three of his published volumes were works of political and moralphilosophy. They introduced his Egyptian audience toEnlightenment ideas such assecular authority and political rights and liberty; his ideas regarding how a modern civilized society ought to be and what constituted by extension a civilized or "good Egyptian"; and his ideas on public interest and public good.[34] Tahtawi's work was the first effort in what became an Egyptian renaissance (nahda) that flourished in the years between 1860 and 1940.[35]
Harriet Martineau (United Kingdom, 1802–1876)
Alexis de Tocqueville (France, 1805–1859)
John Stuart Mill (United Kingdom, 1806–1873) is one of the first champions of modern "liberalism." As such, his work onpolitical economy andlogic helped lay the foundation for advancements in empirical science and public policy based on verifiable improvements. Strongly influenced by Bentham'sutilitarianism, he disagrees with Kant's intuitive notion of right and formulates the "highest normative principle" of morals as:Actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness; wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness.
Some consider Mill as the founder ofSocial liberalism. Although Mill was mainly forfree markets, he accepted interventions in the economy, such as a tax on alcohol, if there were sufficient utilitarian grounds. Mill was also a champion of women's rights.
José María Luis Mora (New Spain/Mexico 1794 – 1850) was a priest, lawyer, historian, politician and liberal ideologist. Considered one of the first supporters of liberalism in Mexico, he fought for the separation of church and state. Mora has been deemed "the most significant liberal spokesman for his generation [and] his thought epitomizes the structure and the predominant orientation of Mexican liberalism."Some works:
Ralph Waldo Emerson (United States, 1803–1882) was an American philosopher who argued that the basic principles of government were mutable, and that government is required only insofar as people are not self-governing. Proponent of Democracy, and of the idea that a democratic people must have a democratic ethics.
William Lloyd Garrison (United States, 1805–1879)
Juan Bautista Alberdi (Argentina, 1810–1884)
Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
Jacob Burckhardt (Switzerland, 1818–1897) State as derived from cultural and economic life.
Herbert Spencer (United Kingdom, 1820–1903), philosopher, psychologist, and sociologist, advanced what he called the "Law of equal liberty" and argued against liberal theory promoting more activist government, which he dubbed "a new form ofToryism." He supported a state limited in its duties to the defense of persons and their property. For Spencer, voluntary cooperation was the hallmark of the most vibrant form of society, accommodating the widest diversity of members and the greatest diversity of goals. Spencer'sevolutionary approach has been characterized as an extension ofAdam Smith's "invisible hand" explanation of economic order; his extensive work on sympathy (inpsychology as well as the foundation of ethics, particularly inThe Data of Ethics) explicitly carried on Smith's approach inThe Theory of Moral Sentiments. Spencer is frequently characterized as a leadingSocial Darwinist.
İbrahim Şinasi (Ottoman Empire, 1826–1871), author, journalist, translator, andnewspaper editor. He was the innovator of several fields: he wrote one of the earliest examples of an Ottoman play, he encouraged the trend of translating poetry from French into Turkish, he simplified thescript used for writing theOttoman Turkish language, and he was one of the first of the Ottoman writers to write specifically for the broader public. Şinasi used his newspapers,Tercüman-ı Ahvâl andTasvîr-i Efkâr, to promote the proliferation of EuropeanEnlightenment ideals during theTanzimat period,[40] and he made the education of the literate Ottoman public his personal vocation. Though many of Şinasi's projects were incomplete at the time of his death, "he was at the forefront of a number of fields and put his stamp on the development of each field so long as it contained unsolved problems." Şinasi, influenced by Enlightenment thought, sawfreedom of expression as a fundamental right and used journalism in order to engage, communicate with, and educate the public. By speaking directly to the public about government affairs, Şinasi declared that state actions were not solely the interest of the government.[41]
Thomas Hill Green (United Kingdom, 1836–1882)
Auberon Herbert (United Kingdom, 1838–1906)
Carl Menger (Austria, 1840–1921)
William Graham Sumner (United States, 1840–1910)
Lester Frank Ward (United States, 1841–1913)
Lester Ward was a botanist, paleontologist, and sociologist. He served as the first president of the American Sociological Association. Ward was a fierce and unrelenting critic of the laissez-faire policies advocated by Herbert Spencer and William Graham Sumner.
Ward's major works can be found at theMcMaster University, Faculty of Social Sciences website.[43]
Ludwig Joseph Brentano (Germany, 1844–1931)
Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk (Czechoslovakia, 1850–1937)
Eugen von Böhm-Bawerk (Austria, 1851–1914)
Louis Brandeis (1856–1941)
Thorstein Veblen (1857–1926) is best known as the author ofTheory of the Leisure Class. Veblen was influential to a generation of American liberalism searching for a rational basis for the economy beyond corporate consolidation and "cut throat competition". Veblen's central argument was that individuals require sufficient non-economic time to become educated citizens. He caustically attacked pure material consumption for its own sake, and the idea that utility equalledconspicuous consumption.
John Dewey (United States, 1859–1952)
Friedrich Naumann (Germany, 1860–1919)
Santeri Alkio (Finland, 1862–1930)
Max Weber (Germany, 1864–1920) was a theorist of state power and the relationship of culture to economics. Argued that there was a moral component to capitalism rooted in "Protestant" values. Weber was along withFriedrich Naumann active in theNational Social Union and later in theGerman Democratic Party.
Leonard Trelawny Hobhouse (United Kingdom, 1864–1929)
Benedetto Croce (Italy, 1866–1952)
Walther Rathenau (Germany, 1867–1922)
Leo Chiozza Money (Britain, 1870–1944)An Italian-born economic theorist who moved to Britain in the 1890s, where he made his name as a politician, journalist and author. In the early years of the 20th century his views attracted the interest of two future Prime Ministers, David Lloyd George and Winston Churchill. After a spell as Lloyd George's parliamentary private secretary, he was a Government minister in the latter stages of the First World War.
Ahmed Lutfi el-SayedPasha (Egypt, 1872–1963)AnEgyptian intellectual, anti-colonial activist and the first director ofCairo University. He was an influential person in the Egyptian nationalist movement and used his position in the media to strive and gain an independent Egypt from British rule. He was also one of the architects of modernEgyptian nationalism as well as the architect ofEgyptian secularism andliberalism. He was fondly known as the "Professor of the Generation". Lutfi was one of the fiercest opponents ofpan-Arabism, insisting that Egyptians are Egyptians and not Arabs.[47] He is considered one of the most influential scholars and intellectuals in the history of Egypt.[48]
William Beveridge (United Kingdom, 1879–1963)
Ludwig von Mises (Austria/United States, 1881–1973)
José Ortega y Gasset (Spain, 1883–1955)
Salvador de Madariaga (Spain, 1886–1978). One of the principal authors of theOxford Manifesto in 1947.
Adolf Berle (United States, 1895–1971) was author ofThe Modern Corporation and Private Property, detailing the importance of differentiating between the management of corporations and the share holders who are the owners. Influential in the theory of New Deal policy.
Wilhelm Röpke (Germany, 1899–1966)
Bertil Ohlin (Sweden, 1899–1979)
Friedrich Hayek (Austria/United Kingdom/United States/Germany, 1899–1992) In Hayek's view, the central role of the state should be to maintain the rule of law, with as little arbitrary intervention as possible. Also a Nobel Prize winner in economics and predictor of the Great Depression like fellow Austrian School economist and mentor Ludwig von Mises.
Karl Raimund Popper (Austria/United Kingdom, 1902–1994) developed the idea of theopen society, characterized by respect for a wide variety of opinions and behaviors and a preference for audacious but piecemeal political reform over either conservative stasis or revolutionary utopianism. In his view, all simplistic and grandiose theories of history and society shared a common feature he calledhistoricism, which he traces back to Plato, while the open society mirrors the methodological fallibilism pioneered by Popper in his earlier works on philosophy of science.
Alan Paton (South Africa, 1903–1988) contributed with his bookCry, The Beloved Country to a clear anti-apartheid stand of South African liberalism. His party, theLiberal Party of South Africa was banned by theapartheid government.
Ayn Rand (United States, 1905–1982) was a radical and influential moral and political philosopher. Her advocacy of strong self-interest in ethics was influenced, she claimed, by the thinkers Aristotle, Aquinas, and Locke. Her advocacy of pure laissez-faire capitalism was influenced by the classical liberal economists Mises and Hayek.
Raymond Aron (France, 1905–1983)
Donald Barkly Molteno (South Africa, 1908–1972), known asDilizintaba ("He who removes mountains"), was a constitutional lawyer and aparliamentarian but above all, anacademic. His work onconstitutional law centered oncivil rights and his fierce opposition to the segregationalist policies ofApartheid.
John Kenneth Galbraith (Canadian-born economist who worked in the United States, 1908–2006)
Isaiah Berlin (Latvia/United Kingdom, 1909–1997) is most famous for his attempt to distinguish 'two conceptions of liberty'. Berlin argued that what he called 'positive' and 'negative' liberty were mutually opposing concepts. Positive conceptions assumed that liberty could only be achieved when collective power (in the form of church or state) acted to 'liberate' mankind from its worst aspects. These, Berlin felt, tended towards totalitarianism. Negative conceptions, by contrast, argued that liberty was achieved when individuals were given maximal freedom from external constraints (so long as these did not infringe on the freedom of others to achieve the same condition). Berlin was also a critic of dogmatic Enlightenment rationalism on the grounds that it was unable to accommodate value pluralism.
Milton Friedman (United States, 1912–2006), winner of a Nobel Prize in Economics and a self-identified Classical Liberal and libertarian,[50] was known for theFriedman rule,Friedman's k-percent rule, and theFriedman test.
James Buchanan (United States, 1919–2013) is known for his economic theories of the political process, which were among the first to take seriously the concept of politicians as rational actors that respond to incentives.
John Rawls (United States, 1921–2002) One of the most influential political philosophers of the 20th century, largely responsible for the rebirth of normativepolitical philosophy. He argues for equal basic liberties, equality of opportunity, and facilitating the maximum benefit to the least advantaged members of society in any case where inequalities may occur. Rawls's argument for these principles of social justice uses a thought experiment called the "original position", in which people deliberately select what kind of society they would choose to live in if they did not know which social position they would personally occupy.
Murray Rothbard (United States, 1926–1995) was the originator of modernanarcho-capitalism and an economist and economic historian of theAustrian school. He is widely considered one of the foremost advocates ofliberty and freedom in the late 20th century.[citation needed] He was involved with various political movements throughout his life, notably withAyn Rand and, later, theLibertarian Party of United States. His influence is lasting in the libertarian andanarcho-capitalist movements.
Leszek Kołakowski (Poland, 1927–2009), philosopher and historian of ideas. He was a leading inspiration behind Poland'sSolidarity movement.
Ralf Dahrendorf (Germany/United Kingdom, 1929–2009 )
The journalistKarl-Hermann Flach (Germany, 1929–1973) was in his bookNoch eine Chance für die Liberalen one of the main theorist of the new social liberal principles of theFree Democratic Party (Germany). He places liberalism clearly as the opposite ofconservatism and opened the road for a government coalition with the social democrats.
Joseph Raz (Israel/United Kingdom, 1939–2022)
Ronald Dworkin (United States, 1931–2013)
The British philosopher, broadcaster, and politicianBryan Magee (1930-2019) wrote some books of political philosophy. Although he was a member of theLabour Party and then theSocial Democrats, he wrote in his autobiography that he considered himself a liberal.[51] He saw his bookThe New Radicalism as an attempt to convert the Labour Party to a tradition of radical liberalism, in which he included Karl Popper.[52] He later followed this withThe Democratic Revolution, which was very critical of Communism in Eastern Europe.[53]
Richard Rorty (United States, 1931–2007) was one of the leading contemporary philosophers of liberalism. His fundamental claims, among others, are that liberalism is best defined as the attempt to avoid cruelty to others; that liberals need to accept the historical 'irony' that there is no metaphysical justification for their belief that not being cruel is a virtue; that literature plays a crucial role in developing the empathy necessary to promote solidarity (and therefore lack of cruelty) between humans; and that private philosophising and public political discourse are separate practices and should remain so.
Amartya Sen (India, 1933– ) is an economist whose early work was based onKenneth Arrow's General Possibility Theorem, and on the impossibility of both completepareto optimality and solely procedural based rights. He won theNobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for his work onfamine,welfare economics andsocial choice theory. And is an advocate of rationality as the fundamental safe guard of freedom and justice.
Robert Nozick (United States, 1938–2002) was alibertarian (orminarchist). He advocated an unapologetically reductionist political philosophy characterized by meticulous analysis of the moral aspects of each social interaction, and did not shy away from addressing hard philosophical issues such as the original appropriation of property. Nozick is best known for providing the justification of a minimal state by showing that it can be established without any unjust steps.
The economistHernando de Soto (Peru, 1941– ) is an advocate of transparency and private property rights, arguing that intransparent government leads to property not being given proper title, and therefore being "dead capital" which cannot be used as the basis of credit. Argues that laws which allocate property to those most able to use them for economic growth, so called "squatter's rights", are an important innovation.
A biography described the British politicianMichael Meadowcroft as "the main, indeed very nearly the only, philosopher of applied Liberalism within the old Liberal Party from the late 1960s onwards".[54] On the merger of theLiberal Party and theSocial Democratic Party in the UK to form theLiberal Democrats, Meadowcroft initially reconstituteda new Liberal Party with others who did not want to compromise the philosophy of liberalism.[54] However, the new Liberal Party became increasinglyEurosceptic under the leadership of Steve Radford and Meadowcroft joined the Liberal Democrats in 2007.[55] He has regularly argued for the importance of political philosophy and that members of the Liberal Democrats require more conviction in their beliefs.[56][57][58]
Carlos Santiago Nino (Argentina, 1943–1993)
Bruce Ackerman (United States, 1943– )
Martha Nussbaum (United States, 1947– ) is aphilosopher and the currentErnst Freund Distinguished Service Professor of Law and Ethics at theUniversity of Chicago. She specializes inancient Greek andRoman philosophy,political philosophy,existentialism,feminism, andethics, includinganimal rights. She received the 2016Kyoto Prize in Arts and Philosophy, the 2018Berggruen Prize, and the 2021Holberg Prize.
Will Kymlicka (Canada, 1962– ) tries in his philosophy to determine if forms of ethnic or minoritynationalism are compatible with liberal-democratic principles of individual freedom, social equality and political democracy. In his bookMulticultural Citizenship. A Liberal Theory of Minority Rights he argues that certain "group-differentiated rights" of minority cultures can be consistent with these liberal-democratic principles.
charles james fox.
Media related toLiberal theorists at Wikimedia Commons
