Origins of Liberalism

This article is part of the Basic Liberalism Course -> Module 2: Liberalism and its ethical foundations

The proto origin: The "Judeo-Christian Bible"

Although it may seem surprising, the ancestral origin of liberalism is in the "Judeo-Christian Bible" .

If we go back to the definition of liberalism given by Benegas Lynch: Liberalism is the unrestricted respect for the life project of others, based on the "principle of non-aggression", the right to life, liberty, and private property. We see that some commandments such as ("You shall not kill", "You shall not steal", "You shall not bear false witness or lie", "You shall not covet your neighbor's goods"), are directly associated with libertarian principles:

You shall not steal and You shall not covet your neighbor's goods is associated with private property
You shall not kill is associated with right to life

Theological IusNaturalism

The commandments (plus other parts of the Judeo-Christian Bible) are part of what later several Christian philosophers and theologians such as (Thomas Aquinas and Augustine of Hippo) would use to ground their theological iusnaturalist approach (which is part of the foundation of Liberalism as explained in Ethical Base of Liberalism)

The School of Salamanca (16th-17th centuries, Spain)

The School of Salamanca is considered one of the precursors of liberalism because it anticipated central ideas of modern liberal thought 300 years in advance. It was an intellectual and theological movement born at the University of Salamanca (Spain). Its members were mostly scholastic philosophers, theologians, and jurists, heirs of Saint Thomas Aquinas, but with a more humanist, rational, and proto-liberal vision.

Its main representatives were:

Francisco de Vitoria (founder) (1483–1546)
Domingo de Soto (1494–1560)
Martín de Azpilcueta (Doctor Navarro) (1493–1586)
Luis de Molina (1535–1600)
Juan de Mariana (1536–1624)
Francisco Suárez (1548–1617)

Ideas that make them precursors of liberalism

Modern liberal idea	Contribution from Salamanca	Example / Quote
Natural rights of the individual	They defended that every human being has innate rights (life, liberty, property) by being rational, not by concession of the king.	Vitoria: "The Indians have dominion over their lands because they are free men." → Basis of international law.
Private property	They justified property as a natural right, not granted by the State.	Molina: "Property is prior to the State."
Free market and just price	Subjective theory of value: the just price is not set by the king, but by supply/demand and perceived utility.	De Soto: "The just price is the one formed in the common market, without fraud." → 300 years before the Austrians!
Free trade	They defended international trade without royal monopolies.	Suárez: "Trade is natural among peoples."
Critique of state interventionism	Juan de Mariana: the king cannot raise taxes without consent → origin of "no taxation without representation".	Mariana (De Rege, 1599): "Imposing tributes without consent is tyranny."
Anti-monopoly and anti-inflation	They criticized monetary devaluation (inflating currency) as theft from the people.	Mariana: "Altering the currency is robbing the poor." → Central bank critique 400 years early!
Right to resistance	If the king violates natural rights, the people can resist or even overthrow him.	Suárez: "Political power comes from the people, not directly from God." → Basis of the social contract.

Classical Liberalism

How the ideas of Salamanca reached the classical liberal thinkers

Locke read Suárez.
Adam Smith cites similar concepts of just price.
Mises and Hayek rediscover the subjective theory of value… which was already in Salamanca!

SCHOOL OF SALAMANCA → PRECURSOR OF LIBERALISM
──────────────────────────────────────────────
1. Natural rights (Vitoria, Suárez) → Locke
2. Property prior to the State (Molina) → Mises
3. Just price = supply/demand (De Soto) → Menger
4. Global free trade (Suárez) → Smith
5. No taxes without consent (Mariana) → American Revolution
6. Inflation = theft (Mariana) → Austrian School
7. Resistance to the tyrant (Suárez) → Revolutionary liberalism

Salamanca is not "liberal" (they were friars), but their ideas ARE the seed of economic and political liberalism.

The summary of connections is:

Judeo-Christian Bible
        ↓
Christian IusNaturalism (Thomas Aquinas and Augustine of Hippo)        
        ↓
School of Salamanca (1500-1600) (ideas via Jesuits and trade)
        ↓
Locke + Smith + Bastiat + Others (1700-1800)
        ↓
Austrian School (1871+)       
        ↓
Liberalism → Libertarianism (1900+)

1. Classical Liberalism (17th and 18th Centuries)

This is the main philosophical foundation. Modern libertarian thought is often seen as the most radical heir of classical liberalism.

John Locke (17th Century): He is fundamental. His philosophy of Natural Law and the idea that individuals have rights preexisting the State (life, liberty, and property) is one of the pillars of libertarian ethics. It is worth remembering that Locke based his ideas on Francisco Suárez from the School of Salamanca.
The Levellers (England, 17th Century): They promoted the first ideas of popular sovereignty, religious tolerance, and equality of rights before the law.
The Enlightenment and the Atlantic Revolutions: Figures such as Thomas Jefferson and Thomas Paine popularized the ideas of limited government, consent of the governed, and the Bill of Rights, which are essential to the libertarian spirit.
Classical Economists: Thinkers such as Adam Smith and Frédéric Bastiat (with their radical defense of laissez-faire and the critique of the law as an instrument of plunder) provided the foundations for the defense of the free market.

2. Individualist Anarchism (19th Century)

While classical liberalism advocated for a limited state, another current explored the total abolition of the state.

Lysander Spooner and Benjamin Tucker (American Individualist Anarchists): They defended the total sovereignty of the individual and the private provision of security and justice services, laying the foundations for future anarcho-capitalism.
Henry David Thoreau: With his essay Civil Disobedience (1849), he promoted a radical critique of state authority and a defense of individual conscience.

Origins of the Modern Movement (20th Century)

Libertarianism as a political movement and specific label (separate from social-democratic or progressive liberalism) was consolidated in the post-war period, mainly in the United States, as a reaction to:

The New Deal and the Welfare State: Seen as excessive growth of government power and spending.
The Cold War: The need to oppose Soviet collectivism.

Key 20th Century Thinkers

The Austrian School of Economics:
- Ludwig von Mises and his critique of socialism and defense of the free market as the only rational way to organize the economy.
- F. A. Hayek and his focus on dispersed knowledge and the critique of central planning (The Road to Serfdom).
Political Philosophy and Anarcho-capitalism:
- Ayn Rand: Although she did not identify as libertarian, her Objectivist philosophy and radical defense of rational egoism and laissez-faire profoundly influenced many libertarian thinkers.
- Murray Rothbard: He united 19th-century individualist anarchism with Austrian School economics to formulate anarcho-capitalism (or free-market anarchism).
- Robert Nozick: With Anarchy, State, and Utopia (1974), he gave academic legitimacy to minarchism, arguing that only a minimal state is morally justifiable.

Summarizing

Genealogical tree of libertarianism (simplified)

                        Judeo-Christian Bible
                                 ↓
        Christian IusNaturalism (Thomas Aquinas and Augustine of Hippo)        
                                 ↓
        School of Salamanca (1500-1600) (ideas via Jesuits and trade)
                                 ↓
                Locke + Smith + Bastiat + Others (1700-1800)
                                 ↓
                     Classical liberalism (19th century)
                                 ↓
        ┌────────────────────────┴────────────────────────┐
        │                                                 │
Austrian School (Mises, Hayek)          Individualist anarchism 
        │                                         (Spooner, Tucker)        
        └───────────────────────Fusion────────────────────┘
                           Murray Rothbard (1950-60)
                                 ↓
                     **MODERN LIBERTARIANISM**
                (minarchism + anarcho-capitalism)

Basic Liberalism Course

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Last updated: 2026-05-04

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