Commentary In his autobiography, “Lazarus Rising,” John Howard, Australia’s second longest-serving prime minister, stated that the Liberal Party is the party of both Edmund Burke and John Stuart Mill. It is the party of both conservatism and classical liberalism. Historically, the Liberals have been electorally successful when espousing these philosophies simultaneously. Edmund Burke, the 18th century Irish-born statesman, is considered the father of modern conservatism. He argued against the British Government’s attitude toward the American colonists, including its taxation policies. Burke believed the colonists should enjoy the rights of all English citizens. On the other hand, he was very critical of the French Revolution, asserting that it was destroying the fabric of good society and its traditional institutions. John Stuart Mill, the great English political philosopher of the 19th century, conceived of liberty as justifying the freedom of the individual in opposition to unlimited state and social control. He was …