How Can Liberalism Be Defined?

The political roots of liberalism are based on the views of writer John Locke who argued that the people have "natural rights". In addition, Adam Smith argued that prosperity depended on allowing people to trade and move in a free market. There are three core concepts of liberalism: freedom, equality and toleration. Liberalism takes the following three forms. Classical liberalism focuses on the needs of the individual, progressive liberalism focused on what the state could do to help the individual, and neo-liberalism rejected the approach of progressive liberalism and reinforced the needs of the individual.

Today's political climate is largely driven by the liberal ideology and agenda. A large amount of parliamentary time is spent debating and legislating on the rights of the individual. Many political commentators argue that all the three main parties are heavily influenced by liberalism, as British society is generally liberal in its thinking, activities and attitudes.