Wolfe on Liberalism

Alan Wolfe talks with host Russ Roberts about liberalism. Wolfe argues that the essence of liberalism is giving as many people as possible control over their own lives. He traces the evolution of liberalism in Western civilization. He rejects the distinction between modern liberalism and classical liberalism seeing Adam Smith as a liberal but not F.A. Hayek. The conversation closes with a discussion of the role of competition in encouraging religiosity in the U.S.