Definition of liberalism Liberalism

/lɪˈbɚʌlɪˌzʌm/ - [liberulizum] - lib•er•al•ism

We found 9 definitions of liberalism from 6 different sources.

What does liberalism mean?

WordNet

Noun Plural: liberalisms
liberalism - a political orientation that favors social progress by reform and by changing laws rather than by revolution
		political orientation, political theory, ideology an orientation that characterizes the thinking of a group or nation
liberalism - an economic theory advocating free competition and a self-regulating market
		economic theory (economics) a theory of commercial activities (such as the production and consumption of goods)

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Wiktionary

liberalism (Noun)
The quality of being liberal.
liberalism (Noun)
Any political movement founded on the autonomy and personal freedom of the individual, progress and reform, and government by law with the consent of the governed.
liberalism (Noun)
An economic theory in favour of laissez faire and the free market .

Webster DictionaryWebster's Unabridged Dictionary 📘

liberalism (n.)
Liberal principles; the principles and methods of the liberals in politics or religion; specifically, the principles of the Liberal party.

OmegaWiki DictionaryOmegaWiki Dictionary Ω

liberalism
A political movement founded on the autonomy and personal freedom of the individual, progress and reform, and government by law with the consent of the governed.

Wikipedia

Liberalism is a way of thinking about politics and government. Liberals (the people who believe in liberalism) think that freedom is important.

What some liberals believe.

Some liberals believe that freedom is impossible without equality, and that governments should promote equality by providing education and health care supported by taxes. Other liberals believe that taxes are bad, and that people should provide their own education and health care; these people are usually called libertarians today. Most liberal governments today do provide at least some education and health care, though not necessarily equally for all citizens.

The philosophy of liberalism.

In the old days, kings or queens told people what to do, and there was very little freedom. A few hundred years ago, philosophers such as John Stuart Mill and Jeremy Bentham began to write about freedom. Earlier writers, such as Marcus Aurelius, had written about freedom, but this time the idea caught on. The United States of America was the first country to have a constitution which was based on the ideas of Mill and Bentham, and which guaranteed certain rights to all citizens, including freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of religion, the right to assemble, the right to bear arms, and the right to ask their government to take action (right of petition) or to remove from office rulers they did not like (right of referendum).

Another idea that became popular around this time was the idea of free trade. A lea