On Liberty
There is a chapter on the liberty of subjects, which begins with an admirably precise definition: Liberty is the absence of external impediments to motion. In this sense, liberty is consistent with necessity; for instance, water necessarily flows down hill when there are no impediments to its motion, and when, therefore, according to the definition
... See moreBertrand Russell • History of Western Philosophy
In Locke are to be found the seeds of self-government, human rights and religious liberty. Seeds which would go on to become the pillars upon which the Western World is built.
Louis N Sarkozy • Napoleon's Library: The Emperor, His Books and Their Influence on the Napoleonic Era
Civil liberties. Free speech. Property rights. Rule of law. Representative democracy. Free enterprise. Free trade. These are the ideas of Classical Liberalism. Since 1776 the fortunate among us have been living in places where those ideas were embraced.
P.J. O'Rourke • A Cry from the Far Middle: Dispatches from a Divided Land
