Classical Liberalism adopted a 'Laissez Faire' approach style of government.

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Classical Liberalism adopted a ‘Laissez Faire’ approach style of government. Classical liberalism stood for the principle of individual freedom and especially freedom in economic affairs. Classic liberalists believed that one should be guided by the invisible hand of the free market to maximize personal and social fulfilment. Classical liberalism relied on national self-determination; the role of the state was seen as small removing obstacles to entrepreneurship. According to classical liberalism society was a collection of unconnected individuals. Gladstone’s ‘ Laissez Faire’ approach however only emphasised the problems within society. Internally there was a recognition that the liberals had to change their ideology in favour of concentrating on a more collectivist approach.

Several factors highlighted the need for the liberals to break with tradition in order to benefit society. Externally the Boer war highlighted the challenge to British supremacy faced and the inability of Britain to meet the challenge posed to them. Britain won the war but at what price? During the Boer war it became apparent that Britain was very short of European allies. The threat posed to Britain also became apparent, Britain’s world status was facing challenges from new rivals such as Germany and the U.S.A. Internally the Boer war highlighted the quality of working class male, almost a third of those who volunteered to fight in the conflict were turned away on the grounds of medical unfitness. The difficulties facing the Boers led Lloyd George to comment:

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The country that spent 250 millions to avenge an insult levelled at her pride by an old Dutch farmer is not ashamed to see her children walking the streets hungry and in rags’

The Boer war had also demonstrated deficiencies in British defence administration and foreign policy. William Booth and Seebohm Rowntree furthermore exposed and refined the extent of poverty in Britain. They had shown that family size, low wages, unemployment, illness, old age and the death of the family’s wage earner were blamed for the poverty in Britain rather than lax class morality such as drunkenness and ...

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