Liberalism is the fundamental belief in a political ideal where individuals are free to pursue their own goals in their own ways -- provided they do not infringe on the equal liberty of others.

Liberalism turned the prevailing doctrine of human rights and politics upside-down. For centuries it was assumed that people lived for the sake of the state; that what rights they possessed were gifts given to them by their king or government. Liberals argued that the opposite was true. People possessed rights first and governments get their sanction from the people. The government is not the giver of rights to the people but the people are the source of the government's legitimacy.

In a liberal society the primary function of government is to protect the pre-existing rights of the individual. The government grants no rights but merely acts to prevent others from infringing on such rights. Liberalism does not attempt to tell people how to live, or what moral principles to hold. It deals simply with their material well-being in this world. It provides a framework in which each individual can find personal happiness or fulfilment according to his or her own values. In his book Liberalism Ludwig von Mises wrote:

"It is not from a disdain for spiritual goods that liberalism concerns itself exclusively with man's material well-being, but from a conviction that what is highest and deepest in man cannot be touched by any outward regulation. It seeks to produce only outer well-being because it knows that inner, spiritual riches cannot come to man from without, but only from within his own heart. It does not aim at creating anything but the outward preconditions for the inner life."

The way in which liberalism does this is by establishing some basic principles for how people should interact with one another. The basic principle is that all interaction must be done by mutual consent. Each individual is thus free to pursue his or her own happiness in a regime of freedom regulated only by the equal liberty and rights of others. The proper method of interaction economically is one where individuals trade value for value. Thus in a truly liberal society the economy is one of free markets and property rights. Individuals seeking their own well-being produce goods and services for exchange with other individuals who are also seeking their own good. No trade will take place in a free economy unless all the trading partners believe they will benefit. To improve their own life each individual must also improve the lives of others even if this is not his intent.

In a society where government is limited to the protection of rights individuals may pursue varying sets of values. Thus liberalism is the only system which allows for pluralism or the pursuit of contradictory sets of values. The function of the state is not to impose one set of values on everyone but to allow the free exchange of goods, services and ideas. It protects equally every group within the society but it does not place the values of any one group higher than others. For this to happen it must respect the individual's most important right: the right to think for himself or herself. Liberalism does not seek to control minds but leaves people free to use their rational faculties to the best of their ability.

Applied liberalism means free minds and free markets. It allows the pursuit of conflicting and often contradictory values. But for people to be free government must be limited. Most liberals have therefore advocated constitutional restraints which limit the powers of government. If the purpose of government is to protect the rights of people then the purpose of a constitution is to limit the powers of government.

Liberalism arose because governments have been the most effective means for the destructions of human rights and human liberties. An all-powerful government, even one motivated by the best of intentions, is a potent threat to human freedom. And liberals believe that without freedom man cannot flourish and prosper. Thus liberals have historically spoken of absolute human rights and limited governments. And this, they believe, is what a constitution is meant to guarantee.

Liberalism does not espouse one overriding utopian ideal for everyone. It recognises the diversity of human life and it understands that the pursuit of utopia is far more likely to end up on the road to hell. Thus it proposes a society based on equal rights and equal liberties. Each man, woman and child is free to seek their own happiness provided only that they respect the equal rights of one another. Liberalism is not utopian. It seeks a rational framework to allow a diversity of ideas and peoples to flourish.