Source: Isonomia Quarterly
by Lee Ward
“The origins and history of liberalism have been subjects of considerable interest of late. But I am not proposing here to offer a genealogy of liberalism tout court. Rather my intention is more modest. I would like to examine the classical liberal idea of equality. However, I embark on this task cognizant of a significant obstacle to our understanding of this important concept. I am mindful of Karl Polanyi’s shrewd observation that much of the memory of the deep complexity of classical liberal political economy was lost in the transition to the later modern liberal economic orthodoxy especially insofar as the ‘elementary truths of political science and statecraft were first discredited, then forgotten.’ That is to say, politics and economics, as well as markets and the civil state have been in contact, conflict and cooperation since the dawn of the modern period.” (06/04/25)
https://isonomiaquarterly.com/archive/volume-3-issue-2/the-classical-liberal-idea-of-equality/