Classical liberals recognize that there may be a need to use some
force to prevent people from harming others, and agree that only authorities should have this power, but they recognize that power is exercised not by an honest "State", but by real people who have the same disadvantages as others. They know that power tends to corruption, and that politicians often cite the"public interest" over policies that actually pour into their personal interests.
Moreover, social contract theorists such as the English philosopher John Locke (1632-1704) argue that the power of government comes from individuals, and not vice versa. People give up some of their freedoms to the government in order to maximize their freedom in general, so the government does not have legitimate powers beyond those of individuals themselves; the main purpose of the government is to expand freedom, not restrict it. As the American revolutionary thinker Thomas Paine (1737-1809) argues, it would be within the rights of citizens to overthrow any government that betrays this trust.
But Revolution is the last resort. Classical liberals believe that Representative and constitutional democracy is the best way discovered so far to keep legislators accountable to the people. The goal of elections is not so much to choose good leaders as to get rid of bad ones. The more knowledgeable and attentive the voters are, the better their work will be. However, democracy has its limits; it may be a good way to make some decisions, but these decisions are few; it is usually better to let individuals make their own decisions.
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Classical liberals believe that the main —or perhaps the only— valid reason for interfering with people's freedom is to prevent them from threatening others or actually harming them. They do not believe that we should restrict people's actions just because we deplore them or consider them offensive.
For example, classical liberals defend freedom of speech, even if some people use this freedom to say something that others —or even everyone— may find repugnant. Similarly, individuals should be free to gather in groups such as clubs, unions or political parties, even if others consider their goals and activities to be repugnant. They should be free to trade in goods, services, and even things (such as drugs and prostitution) that others may not approve of. They should have the freedom to live, adopt the views they like, and embrace the religion they want.
Classical liberals believe that such tolerance is not only good in itself, they consider tolerance and mutual respect to be essential foundations for peaceful cooperation and the creation of a useful and well-functioning society. Human differences are one of the realities of our social life, and have always been so. Liberals do not believe that these differences can be eliminated, and they are deeply skeptical of utopian attempts to do so. In view of this, tolerance will always remain a necessary part of the functioning of social life.
You might think that a large and complex society needs a large and powerful government to manage it, but classical liberals are against this. They believe that the government is not the basis of the social system. The complex social institutions that we see around us are generally unplanned, they are the result of human action, not the result of human design.
For example, there was no need for a central authority or conscious planning for the production of language, our customs and culture, or the markets for goods and services. Such institutions grow and develop simply as a result of countless interactions between free individuals. If their usefulness and usefulness have been proven over the centuries, they will continue; if not, they change or are abandoned.
The Austrian social theorist launched F. Eh. Hayek (1899-1992) on that score named the automatic system. And automatic systems can be very complex, they develop by individuals following rules of behavior —such as grammar rules— that they may not even realize they are following, and they can hardly describe. It is extremely foolish for politicians and officials to assume that any single mind can absorb such complex systems, let alone improve them.
Property, trade and markets
Classical liberals believe that wealth is not created by governments, but by the mutual cooperation of individuals in the automatic system of the market. Prosperity is achieved by free individuals who innovate, create, save, invest and, ultimately, exchange...
Property, trade and markets
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