Classical Liberalism redefined?: The intellectual origins and development of British Neoliberalism 1929 - 1955

Neoliberalism is often viewed as a global intellectual movement detached from the ideas and political economy of the individual nation-state. However, the origins of what has subsequently been described as neoliberalism were heavily based on the intellectual traditions of the nation-state. Early British neoliberalism drew heavily on the thoughts and ideas of British classical liberal philosophers and political economists to justify their arguments on why the economy should be free to operate under market conditions. British neoliberalism rather than being detached from the intellectual tradition of British classical liberalism embraced some core tenets with the early neo-liberal theorists seeking to update and modernise the classical pillars of the British liberal tradition whilst recognising the flaws of nineteenth-century laissez-faire liberalism and capitalism. The goal of this was to create a new type of liberalism and deliver a distinctive alternative to the prevailing collectivist movements of the 1930s and 1940s which would ultimately have influence in the 1970s and 1980s with the government of Margaret Thatcher and beyond.