I sometimes describe myself as a classical liberal and having read your book, I feel like it's even better description because then I can take both pain and Berke when I need to. But where does libertarianism fit into this, into this discussion? Yeah, it's a very good question. It's a complicated question. Different libertarians emphasize different things. There is an important strand of libertarianism that is very utopian about what freedom can make possible. And especially in social life, we can make possible a degree of liberty that will enable a degree of human happiness otherwise not possible.
Yuval Levin, author of The Great Debate: Edmund Burke, Thomas Paine, and the Birth of Right and Left, talks to EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the ideas of Burke and Paine and their influence on the evolution of political philosophy. Levin outlines the differing approaches of the two thinkers to liberty, authority, and how reform and change should take place. Other topics discussed include Hayek's view of tradition, Cartesian rationalism, the moral high ground in politics, and how the "right and left" division of American politics finds its roots in the debates of these thinkers from the 1700s.