Knowra Liberalism Liberalism Liberalism is a political tradition that emphasizes individual rights, legal equality, and limits on government power. Its branches disagree about how liberty, democracy, and social provision should be balanced.
Individual rights : Entitlements held by people that constrain how others, including governments, may treat them. Liberalism treats protected individual claims as limits on political authority.
John Locke : An English philosopher whose political writings defended natural rights, consent, and resistance to unjust rule. Locke gave influential early arguments for rights-based government and limited authority.
Conservatism : A political tradition that values continuity, inherited institutions, and cautious change. Conservatism challenges liberal confidence in abstract rights and deliberate reform.
Classical liberalism : A branch of liberalism favoring civil liberties, private property, markets, and limited government. It represents the tradition’s strongest emphasis on restraints against state intervention.
Bill of Rights : A set of constitutional provisions that specifies protections for individuals against government action. Bills of rights make liberal protections explicit and legally enforceable.
Rule of law : The principle that public power must operate through publicly known, consistently applied laws. Legal constraints turn liberal limits on government into institutional rules.
Glorious Revolution : The 1688–1689 overthrow of James II and establishment of William and Mary as England’s rulers. Its settlement strengthened parliamentary limits that later liberal thinkers treated as precedents.
Socialism : A political tradition seeking greater social or collective control over economic resources and production. Socialism disputes whether formal liberties suffice amid economic inequality.
Social liberalism : A branch of liberalism that supports civil liberties alongside public action to secure meaningful opportunity. It argues that social provision can help make individual freedom effective.
Separation of powers : The division of government authority among institutions designed to check one another. Divided powers help prevent the concentration of authority liberalism distrusts.
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