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Possible definitions for liberalism
liberalism
Political philosophy that favors maximizing individual liberties. Liberals believe the state's primary function is to protect the rights of its citizens. They may believe that freedom is a matter for the individual alone and that the state should be uninvolved (a position that tends toward anarchism), or that freedom is a matter of the state and that the state should actively promote it (a position that tends toward socialism). The ideology of liberalism is a product of the Enlightenment; J. Locke laid the philosophical foundations of British liberalism, and A. Smith expounded economic liberalism (laissez-faire liberalism). The U.S. Constitution is a product of classical liberalism. Economic liberalism in the U.S. today, which endorses unregulated markets, is generally embraced by those who call themselves conservatives; those who call themselves liberals usually believe in restrictions on corporate freedom, as well as in civil liberties, social-welfare supports, consumer protection, and environmental conservation. See also conservatism, individualism, Liberal Party.
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