Liberalism Stands for Freedom

A Page on Freedom Number 15 LiberalismStandsfor Freedom IN the last two decades, we have gone a long way from the liberal concepts of individual freedom, limited gov ernment, equality under the law and the rule of law as contrasted with the rule of men. This trend is the result ofneo-liberalism which has changed the popular meaning of the term "liberalism" so that to most people today it stands for a philosophy dia metrically opposed to traditional liberalism. Traditional liberalism regards government as a necessary evil. It fears government and seeks to im pose restraints upon its power. As Woodrow Wilson expressed it, "The history of liberty is the history of lim itations of governmental power, not the increase of it." Today's neo-lib erals believe in increasing the au thority of the state at the expense of individual liberty. Communists look upon the centralization of all power in the state as a necessary prelude to the police state which is their goal.

But, many neo-liberals abhor the po lice state. They merely want to do good and improve the lot of man kind. But they want the government to have unlimited power to do good. They look upon the citizen with sus picion and upon the government with approval. They seek to build a government of unlimited powers to control and regiment the individual for the good of society, to prevent the strong from taking advantage of the weak, to offset inequalities in in comes and wealth, and to play the historic role of Robin Hood who robbed the rich and distributed some of the proceeds to the poor. Neo-lib erals unwittingly are playing the communist game. They mean well but they fail to recognize the harsh truth of Lord Acton's dictum: "All power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." If we fol low them we shall end as slaves of an authoritarian state. That is not the goal of neo-liberals but it is nevertheless the destination toward which they are headed. @ - Towner Phelan, October 1948 THE FOUNDATION FOR ECONOMIC EDUCATION, INC.

IRVINGTON-ON-HUDSON, NEW YORK 10533 3 John A. Davenport Beyondthe Market WHEN the historian of the future comes to examine the mores and foi bles of current American society he will, we trust, at least drop a foot note on the increasing popularity of the Adam Smith tie. This bit of hab erdashery manufactured in blue and maroon colors and emblazoned with the profile of the founder of modern economics, has become the badge of honor of an increasing number of scholars, businessmen, and even pol iticians who have never struggled through the thornier passages of The Wealth of Nations. Its spread repre sents a quiet revolution in our affairs. This essay draws on a paper submitted to a recent meeting of the Mont Pelerin Society at Cambridge University in England on the topic of Moral Agree ment in the Free Society concerning which many di vergent views were expressed. The author was one of the founding members of the Society in 1947 and is a former editor of Barron's and Fortune.