What is liberalism?

Liberalism is a political philosophy built on individual freedom, equal rights, the rule of law and limits on government power. Liberals support free speech, free elections and tolerance. Modern liberals also back an active state that widens opportunity, while classical liberals want the state kept small.

Liberalism grew out of the Enlightenment and struggles against absolute monarchs. Thinkers such as John Locke argued that people have natural rights to life, liberty and property. Government, he said, needs the consent of the governed. Its ideas shaped the US constitution and the gradual spread of voting rights in Britain.

In the nineteenth century the Liberal Party championed free trade and religious freedom. In the early twentieth century, new liberals argued that poverty and ill health also limit freedom. The Liberal government before the First World War brought in old age pensions and national insurance. Women's suffrage, the growth of mass education and the expansion of civil rights all drew on liberal arguments about equal citizenship.

Today liberalism is a broad family. Social liberals favour public services, civil liberties and international cooperation. Economic or classical liberals stress free markets. In the UK the Liberal Democrats are the main party carrying the name. In the US, 'liberal' usually means centre-left, which can cause confusion. Liberal democracy, with free elections, independent courts and a free press, is the system used by the UK and most Western countries today.

Where you've seen it

The Liberal governments of 1906 to 1914 (early pensions and national insurance), post-war Western democracies, and the European Convention on Human Rights.

In the UK today

Seen in the Liberal Democrats, in debates on human rights law, free speech and civil liberties, and in liberal wings of both Labour and the Conservatives.