In colonial America, "liberty" came to mean rights one possessed outside of government approval. In revolutionary France (and in modern Canada) it has come to mean participation in a political system.
Governments never have respected rights of free speech. Today, they restrict freedom of speech and of the press and promote falsehoods in the name of "protecting truth."
While Hilary Putnam was not a friend of free-market economics and remained a socialist throughout his life, he made important contributions to the subject of ethics.
Wilhelm von Humboldt ’s opposition to the reactionary policies of his government gained him as much ill-will at court as it did popularity among the people.
There is little evidence that Mill advocated an unhampered marketplace of ideas. In fact, there is evidence to the contrary—that he preferred a kind of “affirmative action for unconventional opinions.”
Today's conflicts revolve around the desire to grab hold of someone else's property using the tool of compulsion that is the state. Would we be more peaceful and prosperous if it followed the liberal program? The question answers itself.
Liberalism was the most popular and influential ideology during the nineteenth and early twentieth century. So, every new socialist and authoritarian movement defined itself as "liberal" to capitalize on liberalism's popularity and importance.
