What Is A Classical Liberal?

A classical liberal believes in the God-given natural rights of human beings to life, liberty and property; and understands that the purpose of government is to protect those rights to the extent that we as individuals can not efficiently do it ourselves. Crime is the forceful violation of another person's rights and the only legitimate circumstance to deprive a person of any of their rights is in response to their unlawful deprivation of another person's rights. And in all cases, the punishment should match the offense plus with extra compensation to the victim. It is a very simple philosophy that leaves no room for large, overbearing government.