Peaceful Solutions

Peaceful solutions are key to fostering a society in which individuals can go about their daily affairs in a context of voluntary cooperation and the absence of violence or war. While there is no single classical liberal view on the proper foreign policy of any government, when it comes to international conflict, classical liberals tend to favor non-interventionist policies. This is because, despite what may be good intentions to punish wrongdoers, such interventions often violate the freedom of individuals who played no part in perpetrating violence. Further, it’s because complex social orders cannot be centrally designed, so classical liberals are skeptical of interventionist policies aimed at nation building. This does not mean, however, that classical liberals are isolationist. Instead, when it comes to international engagement, classical liberals favor the free movement of capital and labor, people, goods, services, and ideas across borders as the best-known recipe for international cooperation and peace.