Principles of Liberalism

Categories: Home -> Liberalism

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

Principles of Liberalism

The fundamental principles of liberalism are: Right to life, liberty, and private property
From the application of the previous rights we derive the Principle of non-aggression
From the application of the previous rights we derive the concept of Free Market

Right to Life, Liberty, and Private Property

Since classical liberalism, the three rights form an inseparable triad and are summarized in a single formula:

“You have an absolute right to your life, your liberty, and your property, as long as you do not aggress the life, liberty, or property of others.”

1. Life:

No one can kill you, enslave you, or force you to serve.
It is the fundamental right to physical existence and self-ownership (being the owner of one's own body and person).
It implies the absolute prohibition of physical aggression and of being used as an involuntary means for the ends of others, including the State. It is the basis for being able to exercise any other right.
Self-defense: If someone attempts to violate your right to life, you have the right to defend yourself with proportional force (even lethal). The State does not have an absolute monopoly on defensive violence.

2. Liberty:

You can do whatever you want with what is yours, without coercion, as long as you do not interfere with the liberty of others.
It is negative liberty, that is, the absence of coercion or interference by the State or third parties.
It allows the individual to choose their own life project, their beliefs, and their actions without being hindered, as long as they do not aggress the rights (life, liberty, or property) of others.
Freedom of expression without limits (except direct incitement to violence): You can say anything, even offensive, false, or "dangerous". There is no "hate speech" crime if there is no credible threat. The State does not censor, nor regulate "disinformation", nor impose "inclusive language".
Voluntary contract: you can sell your time, your body (prostitution), your future (debt), but you cannot sell yourself into slavery (inalienable).

3. Property:

What you produce or acquire by contract is yours forever.
It is the material extension of an individual's life and liberty over external resources.
It is justified because the individual mixes their labor (their effort, which is property of their person) with the resources, making them their own. It is crucial because it guarantees the means necessary for the individual to pursue their life project without depending on political will or state arbitrariness.

Principle of Non-Aggression

No one may initiate AGGRESSION (through the use of force or physical violence, threats, or fraud) against another person or their property.
All exchanges are voluntary.

1. Prohibition of the initiation of aggression

The rule focuses specifically on the initiation of aggression. This means that force is only legitimate as a response to a prior aggression, that is, in self-defense or defense of property.

Aggression Defined: Aggression is defined in broad terms, including:
- Physical Violence (murder, assault).
- Threat of Violence ("give me your money or I'll shoot you").
- Fraud (a form of non-physical coercion that nullifies consent).
- Invasion of Property (theft, vandalism, or intrusion without consent).

2. Relationship with the state

There are various positions regarding the relationship between the State and the Non-Aggression Principle (NAP), depending on the libertarian branch:

For anarcho-capitalism:

The State is, by definition, the institution that systematically violates the NAP. That is, there is no voluntary exchange, the citizen cannot choose who to pay for its services, they have to forcibly accept what the state imposes or go to prison.
“The State is the only entity that can (through taxes) steal, enslave, and kill legally… and that is why it is incompatible with the NAP.”

For minarchism:

Minarchists recognize that taxes to finance that minimal state are still coercive (and many call them "theft" in a rhetorical sense). But they argue that it is the necessary lesser evil and that it does not violate the NAP in its essence because:

The minimal state arises (theoretically) from a voluntary protection market that naturally monopolizes (Nozick, Anarchy, State, and Utopia).
Or because without it the NAP would collapse due to lack of effective protection (Rand).

Note: The discussion about the State is left for other chapters within the course.

Summary

Doctrine	Relationship with the NAP and the State
Classical liberalism	Legitimate state only if it defends the NAP
Minarchism	Minimal state, only to stop aggression in the absence of police or military defense
Anarcho-capitalism	The State violates the NAP → must be abolished

Free Market

The free market is the central economic principle of liberalism, which seeks to transfer individual freedom and the Non-Aggression Principle (NAP) to the realm of commercial transactions.

It is defined as an economic system where the price of goods and services is determined exclusively by the voluntary interaction between supply and demand, without any interference, coercion, or regulation imposed by an external authority (the State).

Basically, "free market" means "100% voluntary transactions".

In a free market:

Individuals choose what to produce, buy, sell, or work
Prices are determined by supply and demand
Private property is respected
Transactions are voluntary and contractual
Competition arises naturally, not by state imposition

The free market is applied economic freedom: cooperation without coercion.

Conclusion

Liberalism is an ideology that:

Places hope in the intelligence and action of a free man.
The unbreakable law is to respect the freedom of others, and within the fulfillment of that rule everything is possible.
Within the law, NO ONE is told what they must do or how to behave; this is basically trusting and having hope in the human being, giving the human being the opportunity to grow and reach their maximum splendor.
It is also an ideology that forces the human being to grow and mature, pushing them to stop being a child who needs the constant help of their parents (or state)

It is for this reason that in the writer's opinion, liberalism is today the best existing ideology for our species. Surely in the future better alternatives and improvements to the ideology will be found, but today it is the best we have.

Basic Liberalism Course

Previous Topic		Next topic
<-Ethical Base of Liberalism	<-->	Origins of liberalism->

To comment or discuss this article on X

Categories: Home -> Liberalism

Last updated: 2025-11-16

| | | |