The principles that have defined classical liberalism -- the primacy of the individual; the distinction between civil society and the political state; natural law and natural rights; political equality and limited government; private property and free enterprise -- existed in piecemeal form at various times before the advent of John Locke. But it is in Locke that the philosophy of liberalism finds its fountainhead. With his Second Treatise on Government, he distilled these principles from his precursors and linked them together into a practical framework for contemporary government -- that is, as a confident creed to challenge royal absolutism: 

• "The natural liberty of man is to be free from any superior power on earth, and not to be under the will or legislative authority of man, but only have the law of nature for his rule."
• "[Each man] is willing to join in Society with others for the mutual Preservation of their Lives, Liberties and Estates, which I call by the general Name, Property."
• "Government has no other end than the preservation of property."

Among the links was one, between political liberty and private property, which would take the world stage in a single year not even a century later. In 1776, the American colonists issued a Declaration of Independence that echoed Locke for all its central themes, and Adam Smith published his Wealth of Nations, the work that founded the science of economics with its demonstration of the productive superiority and universal benevolence of the free market. Liberalism was evolving from the proposals of philosophers into the policy of governments. (The term itself eventually came from the Spanish parliament's anti-monarchist Liberales of the 1820s. Marx soon after added "capitalism" as a synonym.) The century of 1815-1914 is widely recognized as the liberal epoch, a period of industrial progress, unprecedented growth in both population and living standards, expansion of individual liberties and social tolerance, the abolition of slavery and serfdom, a reprieve from major wars, and the waning of political authoritarianism.  

And so the question arises: How did liberalism transform, moving to our American context, from a term denoting a policy of Jeffersonian domestic liberty and Washingtonian foreign non-entanglement into a synonym for what has been called the "welfare-warfare state"? How did a "liberal" go from being an advocate of limited government to being one of expansive statism?

In this section of DiscoverTheNetworks, the category titled "Liberal/Left/Progressive: Definition, Nature, Worldview, and Goals" examines the various core beliefs and ultimate objectives associated with the terms "liberal," "left," and "progressive." In his September 12, 2002 article, "The Psychology Underlying 'Liberalism'" (published by FrontPageMagazine.com), John J. Ray offers a comprehensive analysis of this topic.

The category titled Historical Perspectives examines the intellectual origins of leftism, its precepts, and how these have evolved over time.

The Political Correctness category examines a phenomenon that -- according to the Free Congress Foundation publication "Political Correctness": A Short History of an Ideology -- is "an alien system of beliefs, attitudes and values" that "seeks to impose a uniformity of thought and behavior on all Americans and is therefore totalitarian in nature." "Its roots," adds this document, "lie in a version of Marxism which seeks a radical inversion of the traditional culture in order to create a social revolution…."

The category titled Tactics of the Left focuses on the strategies employed by leftists in pursuit of their political and social objectives.

The category titled Radical Road Maps is devoted entirely to James H. Hansen's 2006 treatise, "Radical Road Maps: Uncovering the Web of Connections Among Far-Left Groups in America," published by WND Books. In explaining the scope of his work, Hansen writes: "This book examines the significant groups of the Far Left in America today and discusses how they connect and interact, how they operate, what they profess, and why this matters."

The New Left category examines the movement that emerged in the 1960s as a rejection Stalinism's "excesses," and as a means of preserving the utopian communist dream without having to support (or be associated with) Stalin’s atrocities.

The Postmodernism category explores what Gary Jason describes in "Socialism's Last Bastion" as the mindset that "views the whole Enlightenment project as a failure." "It is socially subjectivist in epistemology," adds Jason, "holding that the 'world' is what we socially construct, and each 'group' (racial, gender, linguistic, ethnic, national or what have you) constructs the world according to its group identity. Postmodernists are egalitarian and collectivist in matters ethical and political."

The category titled Philanthropic Generosity of Liberals vs. Conservatives explores the issue of who is more inclined to donate money to charitable causes -- liberals and leftists on the one hand, or conservatives on the other. In his January 22, 2007 article, "Faith, Hope, and Charity: Who Gives to Whom, and Why" (published by The Weekly Standard), Martin Morse Wooster reviews Arthur C. Brooks' empirical research on this topic.

The category titled Leftist Lobbying and Advocacy examines how special-interest groups influence U.S. legislators. In his March 2007 article "The Liberal Lock on Congress" (published by the Capital Research Center), Matthew Vadum writes that such organizations "want to raise taxes, take away consumer choice, engineer social changes, and further regulate the environment, while weakening government’s ability to defend Americans from terrorist attack."

The category titled Liberal/Leftist "Hate" Speech and Character Assassination cites numerous examples of mean-spirited rhetoric and ad hominem attacks that the Left typically characterizes as the exclusive provence of conservatives.

The category titled Individual Rights vs. Government Intrusion explores the balance between individual liberty on the one hand, and its erosion by political and judicial forces on the other. This category features resources that discuss governmental influences on such matters as drug legalization, childrearing, childhood education, gun rights, hiring practices, property rights, eating habits, driving habits, smoking, and gambling.

The category titled Leftist Lies About Marriage and Family scrutinizes the Left's implication that the traditional nuclear family is an increasingly outmoded institution in the West, as evidenced by a purportedly skyrocketing divorce rate. In a May 11, 2007 piece titled "The Press Catches up with the Truth about Divorce" (published by TownHall.com), Michael Medved addresses what he calls "the myth of America's 'soaring divorce rate,' and the pernicious lie that '50% of all marriages end in divorce."

The category titled Euston Manifesto examines the document that Martin Walker, in his article "The Left Thinks Again" (published by MonstersAndCritics.com), characterizes as "a statement of principles in support of democracy, freedom of speech and ideas, and firm opposition to terrorism, all forms of totalitarianism and all soft-headed apologies for it."