Modern Liberalism

Abstract

No society has ever fully exemplified that form which classical liberals maintain is best. Classical liberal ideas greatly influenced the founding fathers of the USA in their design of its constitution. They also inspired much reform in Britain in the nineteenth century. However, today, neither society comes close to being a liberal polity as classical liberals conceive of one. Both contain far too much legislation and regulation restrictive of the liberty of members. Among such is all that which authorizes the government to impose taxes so as to create a far higher degree of material equality than would otherwise exist. All taxation for such redistributive purposes amounts to interference with what would otherwise be the spontaneous distributive outcome of the voluntary transactions between individuals. In the eyes of classical liberals, government acts other than innocuously when it compels one person to part with portions of what would otherwise be their own property for the sake of supplying benefits to others. This is so, despite such governmental activity being supposedly benevolent in intent. It worsens the lives of those compelled to pay these taxes. Such governmental redistribution undoubtedly receives the support of the mass of the electorate in such societies. But majority approval no more makes such taxation morally right than where what receives majority approval is the extermination or persecution of some ethnic or religious minority.