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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

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