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classical liberalism
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political ideology favoring civil liberties with emphasis on economic freedom
Classical liberalism is a political ideology that emphasizes both individual civil liberties and economic freedom, believing people should have broad personal and economic rights. It matters because it has shaped modern ideas about individual rights, limited government, and free markets that continue to influence political debates today.
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Classical liberalism (sometimes called English liberalism) is a political tradition and a branch of liberalism that advocates free market and laissez-faire economics and civil liberties under the rule of law, with special emphasis on individual autonomy, limited government, economic freedom, political freedom and freedom of speech. Classical liberalism, contrary to liberal branches like social liberalism, looks more negatively on social policies, taxation and state involvement in the lives of individuals, and it advocates deregulation.
Until the Great Depression and the rise of social liberalism, classical liberalism was called economic liberalism. Later, the term was applied as a retronym, to distinguish earlier 19th-century liberalism from social liberalism. By modern standards, in the United States, the bare term liberalism often means social or progressive liberalism, but in Europe and Australia, the bare term liberalism often means classical liberalism.