Commentary To the modern ear, the word “liberal” is virtually synonymous with Democrat, progressive, or leftist. But this association is the result of a linguistic definitional change over decades and even centuries. The political spectrum has shifted dramatically, and as a result, the word “liberal” has just about lost its meaning entirely. Liberalism, in its original classical iteration, represents an entirely different philosophy from the neoliberalism we think of today. Classical liberalism can be defined as a political ideology that advocates for individual freedom by limiting the power of government. This strain of thinking arose in the 17th and 18th centuries from the pens of thinkers such as John Locke, Adam Smith, and John Stuart Mill, among others. They prioritized the protection of individual rights, such as economic freedom and free speech, at all costs and saw government intervention in individual affairs as the greatest threat to liberty. As such, …