1、LiberalismF. A. HayekINTRODUCTIONI.Thedifferent conceptsofliberalismThe termisnow used witha varietyofmeaningswhichhave little in commonbeyond describing anopennesstonew ideas,including some whichare directlyopposed tothose whichare originallydesignated byitduringth
2、e nineteenth and the earlier partsofthe twentiethcenturies.Whatwillalone be considered here isthatbroad streamofpolitical idealswhich duringthatperiod under the nameofliberalismoperated asone ofthemost influentialintellectualforcesguiding developmentsin westernand c
3、entralEurope.Thismovementderives,however,fromtwodistinctsources,andthe twotraditionstowhich theygave rise, thoughgenerallymixed tovariousdegrees,coexisted onlyin anuneasy partnership and mustbe clearlydistinguished ifthe developmentofthe liberalmovement isto be unde
4、rstood.The one tradition,much older thanthe name 'liberalism',tracesback toclassicalantiquity and tookitsmodernformduring the late seventeenthand the eighteenthcenturiesasthe politicaldoctrinesofthe English Whigs.Itprovided the modelofpoliticalinstitutionswhichmosto
5、fthe Europeannineteenthcenturyliberalismfollowed. Itwasthe individual libertywhicha 'governmentunder the law'had secured tothe citizensofGreatBritain whichinspired the movementforlibertyin thecountriesofthe Continentinwhich absolutismhad destroyed mostofthe medieval
