The System of Liberty
Themes in the History of Classical Liberalism

Smith demonstrates a conceptual unity within the manifestations of classical liberalism by tracing the history of several interrelated themes.

George H. Smith (Author)

9781107005075, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 22 April 2013

236 pages
23.1 x 15.7 x 1.8 cm, 0.48 kg

“George H. Smith is an independent scholar who for many decades has lectured and written about the history of classical liberal and libertarian ideas. The System of Liberty is his first extended take on this history to be published by a high-level academic press—a tribute both to Smith’s dogged scholarship and to the rise in the respectability of the libertarian tradition he explains and espouses…the information and analysis are always interesting.” -Brian Doherty, Reason Magazine

Liberal individualism, or 'classical liberalism' as it is often called, refers to a political philosophy in which liberty plays the central role. This book demonstrates a conceptual unity within the manifestations of classical liberalism by tracing the history of several interrelated and reinforcing themes. Concepts such as order, justice, rights and freedom have imparted unity to this diverse political ideology by integrating context and meaning. However, they have also sparked conflict, as classical liberals split on a number of issues, such as legitimate exceptions to the 'presumption of liberty', the meaning of 'the public good', natural rights versus utilitarianism, the role of the state in education, and the rights of resistance and revolution. This book explores these conflicts and their implications for contemporary liberal and libertarian thought.

1. Liberalism, old and new
2. Liberalism and the public good
3. Liberal ideology and political philosophy
4. Sovereign state, sovereign self
5. The anarchy game
6. The radical edge of liberalism
7. The idea of freedom
8. Conflicts in classical liberalism
9. Individualism
10. Methodological individualism.

Subject Areas: Political science & theory [JPA]