classical liberalism

a political philosophy perpetuating free-market economics, minimalist government, strong private property rights, non-interventionism, government disinvolvement in social issues, separation of church and state, and open borders. the word "liberal" was originally associated with these beliefs, but liberals eventually started promoting large government, closed markets, redistribution of wealth, and high government involvement in social issues. today, liberal is associated with the latter qualities. the newer liberals are sometimes identified as neo-liberals. in modern day, a classical liberal tends to self-identify as a libertarian, and the term classical liberal is used much less than it was 100-200 years ago. some libertarian causes, like the Mises institute, still commonly use the term.

harry, who perpetuates classical liberalism, votes either republican or libertarian.

by toSTONEiGO March 20, 2012

classical liberal

A fancy term for a libertarian.

Tom: I for one believe in maximum civil liberty and economic freedom. I quite fancy that idea. Indeed, yes.

Julie: So.. you're a libertarian?

Tom: Quite. Although I prefer to be labeled a 'classical liberal.'

Julie: Fancy.

by WomperWompWompy April 9, 2014

classic liberal

People who steal other words to become more recorgnized. They then accuse modern liberalism of stealing their word.

1. Hi, I'm a classic liberal, but I'll call myself a libertarian even though I know the origins of the word come from anti-capitalists

2. Hello, it's me again, the classic liberal. This time I'm gonna call myself an "anarcho-capitalism", because anarchism is cool and I love capitalism. I'm also oblivious to the fact that anarchism generally rejects capitalism and that "anarcho-capitalism" is actually an oxymoron.

by Insaniac82 April 30, 2008

classic liberal

The term classical liberalism has often been applied in retrospect to distinguish earlier 19th-century liberalism from social liberalism.

Social-liberals have nothing in common with 19th century liberalism. They took this word,that's why we have to call ourselves classic liberal .

by LonelyCowboy August 18, 2019

classic liberal

Those who want true freedom and don't want to harm anyone nor want government dictating their lives.
Phoney "modern" liberals stole this name in order to sound like they have a just cause, which of course is not true.

Classic Liberals are trying to make things a better place. Some people now call them Conservatives, but they aren't always the stuff starched shirt types.
Modern "liberals" are evil people who belong to groups like NAMBLA.

by Just saying the truth October 9, 2003

classic liberal

A conservative, usually encountered on the internet, who won't cop to being a conservative, and wants to be thought of as progressive when they haven't a single progressive stance.

"I believe in small government and capitalism, hate abortion and voting rights, but I'm a classic liberal."

by aveobelle June 27, 2021

classic liberal

A modern conservative using an outdated term from the 19th century to identify themselves. Essentially, a classic liberal believes in an unregulated free market, like a conservative, but doesn't care about social freedoms and benefits, because those beliefs don't benefit corporations (so shut up minorities and people of atypical sexes and gender identifications; and fuck you, welfare programs). So yeah, they're just your average conservative. The point of using this name for themselves is to make their politics more appealing to the masses, as they assume most people won't know or have the inclination to look up what a classic liberal is.

Guy 1: "I'm not a conservative anymore. I'm a classic liberal now!"

Guy 2: "So you're a conservative with a Trojan horse name?"

Guy 1: "NO! FUCK YOU! THAT'S FAKE NEWS!!!! STOP STIFLING MY FREE SPEECH!!!! REEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!"
(Guy 1 then proceeds to fling his own feces at everyone around him to distract from being exposed)

by Bojangles Smitherson December 3, 2020