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CHAPTER 1:<br />
LAYING A FOUNDATION<br />
Before setting up an exposition of different<br />
political and economic systems, we must first lay<br />
a foundation that will support our analysis. In<br />
order to differentiate liberalism from cronyism, we need<br />
to define our terms, understand the historical development<br />
of the ideas that undergird these competing systems,<br />
and recognize how government representatives<br />
actually make decisions rather than how we would like<br />
them to make decisions. The next few sections will cover<br />
these three areas and provide us with the tools to analyze<br />
different political and economic systems.<br />
LIBERALISM, CLASSICAL AND CONTEMPORARY<br />
We use the terms “liberal” and “liberalism” in this book<br />
differently from the way they are used in contemporary<br />
American political discourse. Liberalism is a political philosophy<br />
based on the protection of individual rights and<br />
the interaction of individuals through voluntary agreement.<br />
This meaning goes back hundreds of years, but in<br />
the twenty-first century United States, “liberalism” has<br />
come to mean something different in political discourse.<br />
LAYING A FOUNDATION 5