"Loyalty to petrified opinion never yet broke a chain or freed a human soul." - Mark Twain
Contact Me: (thecl AT the-classic-liberal.com) - Update 11/09/08: Email updated again. Hopefully I've got it right this time. What can ya do ... My apologies to anyone who tried to contact me via the previous posted email. This email now works too (theclassiclib AT the-classic-liberal.com).
Real Name: Michael Todd
Handle: theCL
Scroll down if you'd like a brilliant description of what exactly a Classic Liberal is, but right now ... a little about me, your humble host and editor at the The Classic Liberal Blog.
To really get this blog and what we're trying to communicate, you'll need to stick around for about a month or two. So keep coming back! It may take awhile to catch on to the overall message, especially considering my unorthodox schedule of posting and/or "staying on topic." After about 6-8 weeks though, you'll have a thorough understanding as to whether you think I'm nuts ... or actually on to something.
I'm writing to you from the suburbs of Detroit MI, the Motor City, and I'm one of the few people in the world who actually admits "I like it here!" This blog will not be "balanced," but unlike the Old (mainstream) Media, we're forthright and open about it.
"He who dares not offend cannot be honest." - Thomas Paine
Disclaimer/Warning: No matter who you are, whether Democrat, Republican, Libertarian or other ... at some point in time you will disagree and/or get offended by what is said in this blog. This is not Wal-mart, we're not trying to please everyone. Just remember, the feeling of being offended is nothing more than the realization that you've been challenged. Challenge exercises the mind. And the "comments" are open for you to say whatever is on your mind.
"People are going to say what they say. I know sometimes I say things; I offend people." - Mike Tyson
With a BA in Finance, I have a passion for economics (even though I hated school). The Austrian, Chicago, and growing Masonomics (George Mason University) schools of economic thought are without question (in my humble opinion), the only true schools of economics. They're comfortably based in real-world human interaction, instead of wild theoretical claims. It is said that while the Austrian school says "markets work well, use them", Masonomics says "markets fail, use them". The Chicago school of thought was born out of the Austrian school, it's most famous economist being the great Nobel Laureate Milton Friedman. They add a bit of monetary "management" into the equation.
I'm Christian, pro-life, believe in individual liberty, free markets, limited government ... and against stealing my neighbor's bread, regardless of much he may have and/or how little bread I possess. Using government to enforce this theft, is quite frankly, tyranny. Another concern of mine is "legislating morality"... examples of this are vice laws (gambling/smoking), seat belts, environment, et. al. And while I do believe drugs are bad ... the WAR on Drugs is an abomination that violates our inalienable rights and all common decency.
In the realm of political elections, I'd love to vote pure Libertarian, however, I believe change happens one step at a time, not by clinging with an iron fist to pure ideology. I believe that educating people is more important than just off-setting one vote. So forgive me, as I often will act as an apologist for the Republican Party, but don't worry, I have no hallucinations about what they've become.
Hope you enjoy! Please keep coming back!
theCL
"I have little interest in streamlining government or in making it more efficient, for I mean to reduce its size. I do not undertake to promote welfare, for I propose to extend freedom. My aim is not to pass laws, but to repeal them. It is not to inaugurate new programs, but to cancel old ones that do violence to the Constitution or that have failed their purpose, or that impose on the people an unwarranted financial burden. I will not attempt to discover whether legislation is "needed" before I have first determined whether it is constitutionally permissible. And if I should later be attacked for neglecting my constituents "interests, " I shall reply that I was informed that their main interest is liberty and that in that cause I am doing the very best I can." - Barry Goldwater
What is Classic Liberalism?
Prior to the 20th century, classical liberalism was the dominant political philosophy in the United States. It was the political philosophy of Thomas Jefferson and the signers of the Declaration of Independence and it permeates the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, the Federalist Papers and many other documents produced by the people who created the American system of government. Many of the emancipationists who opposed slavery were essentially classical liberals, as were the suffragettes, who fought for equal rights for women.
Basically, classical liberalism is the belief in liberty. Even today, one of the clearest statements of this philosophy is found in Jefferson's Declaration of Independence. At that time, as is the case today, most people believed that rights came from government. People thought they only had such rights as government elected to give them. But following the British philosopher John Locke, Jefferson argued that it's the other way around. People have rights apart from government, as part of their nature. Further, people can form governments and dissolve them. The only legitimate purpose of government is to protect these rights.
People who call themselves classical liberals today tend to have the basic view of rights and role of government that Jefferson and his contemporaries had. Moreover, they do not tend to make any important distinction between economic liberties and civil liberties.
Goodman, John C., ed. "What is Classical Liberalism?"
http://www.ncpa.org/pub/special/20051220-special.html#footnotes (20 Dec 2005)
