THE CLASSICAL LIBERAL

No one wants to work a job where the hours are long and the pay is low and clearly if all workers in an economy had higher wages. People with larger wages have more disposable income that they can either save for large expenditures or spend, either of these scenarios can help grow the economy and lead to more wealth creation all around. Beyond the cold economic downsides of low wages, when people are living paycheck to paycheck or right on the edge of poverty it should create a strong moral concern for all of society. For those on that edge, one difficult life event can send them spiraling down and losing everything. Living with the stress and anxiety that creates is not easy and while we know how bad it can be in terms of physical and mental health, history shows us that it can also push people towards supporting extreme political movements that will only tend to make things worse. This is why regardless of our political affiliations or beliefs, we simply can’t ignore the issue...

The classical liberal values that we espouse on this site can be thought of as the greatest political and economic innovation of the last 500 years, the adoption of which has led to the greatest human flourishing in the history of mankind in diverse cultures all over the world. Whatever its other faults, this is the gift that western civilization has given our species and it should not be denigrated or forgotten, even by those who wish to highlight the many groups who have often been left behind or intentionally harmed by its spread. The fact is, that countries who adopt democracy, limited government, and general economic liberty create the conditions whereby people can reach as high and as far as their own ability and desire allow them to. No other system that we know of can simultaneously allow for a poor person to become rich and successful while at the same time allowing those who are already successful to remain so. The tragic history of tribes of human beings fight...