Classical liberalism originated in Western Europe in opposition to the divine right of kings. It was inspired by the American and French Revolutions and based on principles of personal freedom, equality under the law, limited and consent-based government. Early thinkers developing these principles included Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Voltaire and Montesquieu, and they influenced declarations like the American Declaration of Independence and French Declaration of the Rights of Man. Aboriginal communities also had principles of liberalism prior to contact with Europeans.

1. Classical Liberalism

2. Origins
• Western European thinkers who did not support
‘Divine Right of Kings’
• Inspired by and created by the people who
participated in the American and French
Revolutions
• By Napoleon’s time, liberalism was associated
with those who were open minded and wanted
freedoms of speech and thought
• Based on rationality

3. Basic principles
1. Personal freedoms – free speech, freedom of
religion, right to private property, etc.
2. Equality of Right – all must abide by the same
law, impartially enforced by the government
3. Limited government – government serves
society, it is not in charge of society
4. Consent of the governed – government
responsible to the people and may be changed

4. Early thinkers
• Thomas Hobbes
• John Locke
• Jean-Jacques Rousseau
• Voltaire
• Montesquieu

5. Early Influence
• The American Declaration of Independence
• The French Declaration of the Rights of Man

6. Aboriginal influence
• Principles of liberalism that
existed in aboriginal
communities
• The Great Law of Peace
provided the Haudenosaunee
peoples with a constitution
that dates back to the 15th
century.
• The Great Binding Law, as it
sometimes is referred to, has
three main principles:
righteousness, health and
power – all characteristics of
liberalism.