The difference between classical and modern liberalism revolves around the idea of positive and negative liberty. Negative liberty describes what the founding fathers believed in: limited government. Modern liberalism embraces the idea of positive liberty, however: the idea that liberty is provided to you through government benefits. Therefore, the more power the government has, the more freedom individuals have. It’s ludicrous, but that’s the driving philosophy behind modern liberalism.
“Therefore, the more power the government has, the more freedom individuals have.”
Such is what modern liberals claim to believe. Yet the opposite is how it turns out.