Neoclassical Liberalism

Neoclassical liberalism (alternatively spelled neo-classical liberalism or known as new classical liberalism) is a tradition of the liberal thought that, with the premises of John Locke's classical liberalism applied to industrialized societies, stands in opposition to the welfare state and social liberalism.

In the United States, the Arizona School of liberalism, also referred to as "bleeding-heart libertarianism", adopted the term neoclassical liberal to advance certain ideas of Chicago School economist Milton Friedman within the American libertarian movement, including the school voucher system and the negative income tax.

History

19th century neoclassical liberalism ()

In the late 19th century, the rise of social liberalism, championed by Thomas Hill Green, sparked a division within the liberal movement. On one side were the social liberals (also known as welfare liberals), who advocated for a more interventionist state and social justice based approach. On the other side, a faction of liberals remained committed to ''laissez-faire'' economics. Even in the face of industrialization, neoclassical liberals contended that their understanding of liberalism, as outlined by the British philosopher John Locke in his '' Second Treatise of Government'' of 1690, remained the most effective approach for addressing social and economic concerns.

British sociologist Herbert Spencer introduced the concept of "survival of the fittest". In his publication titled ''The Proper Sphere of Government'', Spencer contended that individuals possess only two natural rights: the right to life and the right to property. Similar to the views of American William Graham Sumner, Spencer held the belief that governmental involvement in economic matters (referred to as ''officialism'') would result in social parasitism to the detriment of the working population. Consequently, he was against trade regulations, public schooling, state-sponsored religions, social welfare, and state-owned transportation systems.

American social scientist William G. Sumner contended that the proper role of government was the protection of "the property of men and the honor of women", government was to be a rationalistic response of individuals to defend property rights and the purpose was to be merely " contractualistic".

Mid-20th century right-libertarianism (1943–1980s)

Neoclassical liberalism re-emerged mainly in the post-World War II era, when modern liberalism was the main form of liberalism and Keynesianism and social democracy were the dominant ideologies in the Western world. After Franklin Delano Roosevelt's New Deal (1933–1944), which contributed to the expansion of the welfare state in the United States, economists such as Friedrich von Hayek (1899–1992) and Milton Friedman (1912–2006) began to reintroduce neoclassical liberal policies as alternatives to Roosevelt's social liberalism.

The U.S. libertarian movement of the late 20th century is seen as a successor to neoclassical liberalism. According to Ellen Grigsby, arguments of contemporary neoclassical liberal thought are present in the philosophy of Robert Nozick

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