In these days when liberalism is again under attack from some of its old enemies in new guises, one way to counter authoritarian threats is to educate ourselves on the fundamental ideas of liberalism. The Encyclopedia of Libertarianism, now available online, offers a wealth of information on the ideas, people, and history of liberalism and libertarianism. Historian David M. Hart, director of the Online Library of Liberty, says that the Encyclopedia “provides an excellent survey of the key movements, individuals, and events in the evolution of the classical liberal movement.” And on his own website he outlines a course of study in classical liberalism that includes a curated list of articles in the Encyclopedia for someone who wants to learn about the ideas, movements, and people of liberalism.

Begin, he says, with the survey article by Steve Davies, “General Introduction” (pp. xxv-xxxvii in the print version). Then read any of the following articles. Or, for a logical and chronological course of study, read these articles in this order:

Key Ideas in the Classical Liberal Tradition

Basic Principles:

• Individual Liberty
  
  • “ Civil Society”
  • “ Individual Rights” & “Equality” (of rights)
  • “Freedom” & “ Individualism, Political and Ethical”
  • “Presumption of Liberty”
• Private Property
  
  • “ Private Property”

Grounds for Belief:

• Natural Law and Natural Rights
  
  • “Natural Law” & “Natural Rights”
  • “Theories of Rights”
• Utility
  
  • “ Utilitarianism”

Processes for Creating a Free Society:

• Idea of Spontaneous Order
  
  • “ Spontaneous Order”
• The Non-Aggression Principle
  
  • “ Nonaggression Axiom”
• Peace
  
  • “Peace and Pacifism”

Political and Legal Freedoms:

• Limited Government
  
  • “Constitutionalism” & “Limited Government”
  • “Bill of Rights, U.S.” & “ Federalism”
  • “Minimal State” & “ State”
  • “Anarchism” & “ Anarcho-Capitalism”
• Rule of Law
  
  • “Rule of Law”
  • “ Coercion” & “ Constitutionalism”
  • “Common Law” & “ Law Merchant”
• Freedom of Speech & Religion, Toleration
  
  • “Conscience” (liberty of)
  • “Cosmopolitanism”
  • “Religion and Liberty” & “Separation of Church and State”
• Right of Freedom of Movement
  
  • “Right of Revolution” & “ Secessionism”
  • Freedom of Movement — Emigration & “Immigration”

Economic Freedoms:

• Free Markets
  
  • “ Capitalism”
  • “ Laissez-Faire Policy” & “ Competition”
  • “ Division of Labor”
  • “ Entrepreneurship” & “ Free-Market Economy”
• Free Trade
  
  • “ Free Trade”
  • “ Natural Harmony of Interests”
• Progress
  
  • “Economic Development”
  • “ Material Progress”
  • “ Progress”
  • “The Industrial Revolution”

Social Freedoms:

• Equality under the Law — “Equality” (of rights)
• Toleration of different Ideas and Behaviour (see Freedom of Speech & Religion above)
• Acts between Consenting Adults — “Presumption of Liberty”

Key Movements and People in the Classical Liberal Tradition

• The Ancient World
  
  • “ Liberty in the Ancient World”
  • “ Epicureanism”
• Medieval Period
  
  • “ Magna Carta”
  • “ Scholastics/​School of Salamanca”
• Reformation & Renaissance
  
  • “Classical Republicanism”; ” La Boétie, Étienne de (1530–1563)”
  • “ Dutch Republic”
• The 17th Century
  
  • “ English Civil Wars”; “The Levellers”; “John Milton” & “ Puritanism”
  • “Glorious Revolution”; “John Locke”; “Shaftesbury, Third Earl of (1671–1713)”; “Algernon Sidney”; “ Whiggism”
• The 18th Century
  
  • 18thC Commonwealthmen — “ Cato’s Letters”
  • The Scottish Enlightenment; “ Enlightenment”; “Adam Smith”, “Adam Ferguson” & “David Hume”
  • The French Enlightenment; “ Physiocracy”; “Turgot”; “Montesquieu” & “Voltaire”
  • “American Revolution”; “ Declaration of Independence”; “Thomas Jefferson” & “Thomas Paine”; “ Constitution, U.S.”; “James Madison”; “ Bill of Rights, US”
  • “ French Revolution”; “ Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen”
• The 19th Century
  
  • “Classical Liberalism” — the English School; “ Philosophic Radicals”; “ Utilitarianism”; “Jeremy Bentham”; “Classical Economics”; “John Stuart Mill”
  • “Classical Liberalism” — the French School; “Jean-Baptiste Say”; “Destutt de Tracy”; “Benjamin Constant”; “Charles Comte”; “Charles Dunoyer”; “Frédéric Bastiat”; “Gustave de Molinari”; “Tocqueville, Alexis de (1805–1859)”
  • “German Classical Liberalism”; “Immanuel Kant”; “Wilhelm von Humboldt”
  • Free Trade Movement; “ Anti-Corn Law League”; “John Bright”; “Richard Cobden”
  • “ Feminism and Women’s Rights”; “Mary Wollstonecraft”; “Condorcet”
  • Abolition of Slavery — “Abolitionism”; “William Wilberforce”; “William Lloyd Garrison”; “John Brown”; “Frederick Douglass”; “Lysander Spooner”
  • The Radical Individualists; “Thomas Hodgskin”, “Herbert Spencer”, “Auberon Herbert”
  • The “Austrian School of Economics” I; 1st generation — “Carl Menger”, “Eugen von Böhm-Bawerk”; interwar years — “Ludwig von Mises”, “Friedrich Hayek”
• Post-World War 2 Renaissance of Classical Liberalism
  
  • “ Mont Pelerin Society” — “Friedrich Hayek”, “Milton Friedman”, “Karl Popper”, “James Buchanan”
  • Institute for Economic Affairs (IEA) & “Antony Fisher”
  • Foundation for Economic Education (FEE) & “Leonard Read”
  • Institute for Humane Studies (IHS) & “F.A. Harper”
  • The Austrian School of Economics II; post-WW2 2nd generation — “Ludwig von Mises”, “Friedrich Hayek”, “Murray N. Rothbard”, “Israel Kirzner”
  • “Chicago School of Economics” & “Milton Friedman”
  • “Objectivism” & “Ayn Rand”
  • “Public Choice Economics” & “James Buchanan”
  • ” Law and Economics”

I might add that Chapter 2 of The Libertarian Mind, “The Roots of Libertarianism,” is a very short guide to many of these movements and people. And The Libertarian Reader collects and curates many of the key texts of liberalism and libertarianism.