Page "Classical liberalism" Paragraph 10

Classical liberalism places a particular emphasis on the sovereignty of the individual, with private property and bodily integrity seen as essential rights.

This forms the philosophical basis for laissez-faire public policy.

According to Alan Ryan, the ideology of the original classical liberals argued against direct democracy, where law is made by majority vote by citizens, " for there is nothing in the bare idea of majority rule to show that majorities will always respect the rights of property or maintain rule of law.

" For example, James Madison argued for a constitutional republic with protections for individual liberty over a pure democracy, reasoning that, in a pure democracy, a " common passion or interest will, in almost every case, be felt by a majority of the whole ... and there is nothing to check the inducements to sacrifice the weaker party ...."