New Liberalism

A political philosophy, prominent in late 19th- and early 20th-century Britain, that revised classical liberalism to embrace active state intervention, social reform, and welfare provision as a positive good rather than a necessary evil. It directly underpinned Britain’s early welfare state measures such as pensions and national insurance.

Claims that use this term

• New Liberalism embraced state management as a positive duty, not a necessary evil
• New Liberalism directly produced Britain’s pensions, insurance, and welfare state