Classical Liberalism and Conservatism

Running head: POLITICAL SCIENCE

POLITICAL SCIENCE1
Classical Liberalism
The term “
Classical Liberalism” can be considered to be a political ideology, and also
a branch of liberalism, that is said to advocate the civil liberties, under the rule of
law and known to lay emphasis on the subject matter of economic freedom of the
country itself. The concept of the classical liberalism is said to have developed in the
world during the early 19th century itself. Many experts are of the opinion that the
concept of the classical liberalism had developed in the world as a response to the
concept of urbanization (Smith, 2013). This had also led to the Industrial Revolution
in the continents of Europe and that of The United States of America as well.
It is being said by the experts on the subject matter that the core ideals and the
beliefs of classical liberalism had developed from the new ideas which had evolved
out of the old ideas itself. The classical liberalism supporters are also of the opinion
that the society itself is no longer the sum of the individual members of the society
because the members of the society are said to be coldly calculating, atomist, egoist
and essentially in inert (Horwitz, 2015). The concept of the classical liberalism can be
best understood by an analysis of the theory which have been presented to the
readers by Freidrich Hayek himself.Frederich Hayek’s Typology of beliefs can be best used to understand the concept of
the classical liberalism and how such classical liberalism play an important role in
the world itself. Hayek’s Typology of Beliefs states the fact that there are two
different versions of classical liberalism, which can be identified by an individual.
These are the British tradition and the French tradition itself. The typology of belief
states the British tradition included philosophers like
Bernard Mandeville, David
Hume and Adam Smith as a tradition which were supporters of empiricism and
common law itself. In the similar manner, it can also be said that the French tradition
included the Jean-Jacques Rousseau, the Encyclopedists as well as the Physiocrats,
who represented the tradition of rationalism and showed hostility to the concepts of
religion and tradition in their own country itself (Butler, 2015).
It can thus, be said that the term classical liberalism can be applied in retrospect to
the distinction of 19th century liberalism from that of the social liberalism in the world
itself.
Conservatism
The term “Conservatism” is considered to be a kind of social and political philosophy
that can be used for the promotion of the traditional institutions in the world itself.
These social institutions can be seen in the context of civilization, society and culture
itself. The purpose of conservatism in the world is the preservation of the religious
institutions and the parliamentary, government and the property rights of the
individual themselves in the world itself. It can also be said that the main aim of the
conservatism in the world is the opposition of the concept of modernism and to
maintain balance in the world itself (Wilson, 2013). This includes the concept of
returning the society and the state of the world to the more traditional forms of the
past.
It is said by the experts themselves that one of the methods by which conservatism
can be distinguished from that of the liberalism and that of radicalism in the world is