The New liberalism reference article from the English Wikipedia on 24-Jul-2004 (provided by Fixed Reference: snapshots of Wikipedia from wikipedia.org)

New liberalism

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New liberalism (also called modern liberalism or social liberalism) is a stance in political economy that argues for extensive state regulation and partial intervention in a capitalist economy. It is named in opposition to classical liberalism, and serves as an intellectual foundation for political liberalism, liberal democracy, and social democracy.

In Europe and the United States, in the end of the 19th century and the early 20th century, governments started to intervene significantly in the economy; this trend gathered momentum after World War I, and became dominant after the Great Depression of the 1930s. People like L.T. Hobhouse theorized why and how a government could intervene in the economy without the country becoming a socialist planned economy. They took the name of new liberals, to signify how they endorsed the evolving tradition of political liberalism, while rejecting the radical element from the classical liberal school of economic thought as well as the then-revolutionary elements from the socialist school.

New liberals believe that while individual freedom should be guaranteed, classical free-market liberalism had failed to protect the basic rights of citizens, and that responsible government is the solution to many social and societal problems. New liberals think of their stance as a pragmatic midway between socialism and classical liberalism.

New liberalism is not to be confused with neoliberalism, a name given to various proponents of the free market corporations in the late 20th century's global economy. This distinction is important to notice, because "new" or "social" liberals tend to be scandalized by the positions of "neoliberals".

See also: liberalism, green liberalism, political liberalism, social democracy, and the United States Democratic Party.

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