… is from pages 91-92 of Eamonn Butler’s new and superb Classical Liberalism: A Primer:
Classical liberals believe that the principles of freedom that apply in any nation should be matched internationally, in principles such as freedom of trade, capital and migration across borders, and non-discrimination against foreigners or their goods, services and property. But, as the German Ordo-liberal Wilhelm Röpke (1899-1966) put it, internationalism begins at home. If we maintain just laws, freedoms and the rule of law within our own nation states, there is then at least some possibility that the same principles will inform our international dealings and institutions. Classical liberals have no imperialist ambitions for their ideas: empires are no way to win people’s minds, though they often suppress their thoughts. Classical liberals welcome diversity between cultures and countries as they do between communities, families and individuals.
