Thoughts on Freedom

I’m reading Brian Doherty’s “Radicals for Capitalism” at the moment and it has inspired me to write a brief overview of the chronology of the libertarian movement.

In the beginning: conservatives v liberals

The libertarian tradition starts with the classical liberals of Europe who started taking on the traditionalist conservatives who held sway. The liberals argued for less government power, more individual liberty and free markets. They included Locke, Hume, Smith, Voltaire , Bastiat & Mill. The “liberal v conservative” battles showed up in the British parliament as the Tories (conservatives) v the Whigs (liberals).

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