Document Type

Book Chapter

Publication Date

7-2026

Abstract

Classical liberalism is characterized by several key attributes. Its central normative criterion is the well‑being of the individual, not some aggregate like society or the nation‑state. Individuals are presumptively regarded as responsible actors, capable of judging their own best interests and accountable for their actions that interfere with the well‑being of others. Because individuals are presumptively regarded as responsible actors, there is a strong preference for imposing only minimal obligations on them through the power of the state, and these usually involve general negative duties that are universal in character, chiefly to forbear from using force or fraud to interfere with the rights of others. These obligations are easy to understand and widely accepted, so notice of their content need not be given expressly to all before they are bound. They are also scalable, so their content does not vary with either the number of individuals in any society or with their wealth or other personal characteristics (Epstein, 2011, pp. 74–75). Within these broad boundaries, a large area is left for private ordering, which in turn leads to the adoption of a (bounded) principle of freedom of contract, under which individualized personal obligations are grounded in consent, rather than compulsion, for structuring productive ordering of human activity.

Disciplines

Constitutional Law | Law | Property Law and Real Estate | Public Law and Legal Theory

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