The Encyclopedia of Democracy

Authors: Lipset
Summary: This approximately 3300 word entry defines and characterizes liberalism, discusses limited government and guaranteed liberties, analyzes the tensions between liberalism and democracy, and explores the liberal tradition's evolution and justifications.
According to the entry, liberalism is "a theory of limited government aimed at securing personal liberty." Liberalism's defining institutions include constitutionalism and separated powers with an independent judicial branch, the rule of law, political representation, and enforceable civil rights. The entry details each of these.
Next the entry focuses specifically on the relationship between limited government and guarantees of individual liberty. A variety of mechanisms designed to limit government and protect liberty are introduced, including institutional design, pluralism, and skepticism toward government. Liberal governments will redistribute social resources and opportunities as necessary to guarantee individual rights and liberties. This is a difficult task because the contents of those rights that guarantee individual liberty change continuously, as does the boundary between public and private. Consequently, there are always individuals who are excluded from receiving their fair share of rights and opportunities, and the entry offers some reasons for this state of affairs.
Despite tensions between liberalism and democracy, which the entry briefly discusses, today they coexist due to the need for representative government. Liberalism varies from one political system to another, but the entry surveys some generally shared attributes--religious toleration, private property, and laissez-faire economics. It also introduces theories of Locke, Hume, Smith, and Hayek. In conclusion, the entry explores liberalism's three main philosophic and political justifications: self-protection, natural rights and moral autonomy.