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Liberalism can be understood as (1) a political tradition (2) a political
philosophy and (3) a general philosophical theory, encompassing a theory of
value, a conception of the person and a moral theory as well as a political
philosophy. As a political tradition liberalism has varied in different
countries. In England — in many ways the birthplace of liberalism — the liberal
tradition in politics has centred on religious toleration, government by
consent, personal and, especially, economic freedom. In France liberalism has
been more closely associated with secularism and democracy. In the United States
liberals often combine a devotion to personal liberty with an antipathy to
capitalism, while the liberalism of Australia tends to be much more sympathetic
to capitalism but often less enthusiastic about civil liberties. To understand
this diversity in political traditions, we need to examine liberalism as a
political theory and as a general philosophy. These latter two
are the concerns of this essay.