The classical liberalism can be traced back to ancient thinkers and has its roots in the Stoic philosophy. It was developed as a “political” theory in the 17th century by writers like John Locke whose philosophical and theological defense of property rights and religious toleration inspired other liberal thinkers.

There are six key concepts of classical liberal philosophy that are commonly mentioned by the liberal writers, these are; individualism, freedom, natural law, spontaneous order, rule of law and limited state