How far and to what extent, have modern liberals departed from the ideas of classical liberalism?

The first 200 words of this essay...

How far and to what extent, have modern liberals departed from the ideas of classical liberalism?

It is recognised by students of politics that ideologies can be very broad, encompassing varying competing schools of philosophy. Liberalism is often seen to contain two such streams: classical liberalism, which developed alongside idustrialization and the end of the feudal age, and modern liberalism, which developed at the tail end of the industrial revolution. The terms are misleading, insofar as both ideologies continue to compete today. Modern liberalism therefore, should be seen as a divergent of the ideas proposed by the classical liberal theorists, rather than a replacement thereof.

This essay will explore liberalism thematically, explaining the classical view, then discussing the deviation or agreement by modern liberals.

Liberals are insistent on the primacy of the individual and his freedoms. Classical liberals tend to see man as selfish and egoistic, acting only in his own interests and happiness. They therefore argue for a limited state that exists only to defend the freedoms of one individual from another, a "nightwatchman", as John Locke, a 17th Century English philosopher, put it. Modern liberals concur with the idea of 'putting the individual first' and