Beyond identifying a clear role for government in modern society, liberals also have obsessed over the meaning and nature of the most important principle in liberal philosophy: liberty.
Sodobni liberalci trdijo, da so formalna ali uradna jamstva pravic posameznika brezpredmetna, ko posamezniki nimajo materiala pomeni, da koristi te pravice, ki predlaga večjo vlogo države v upravljanju gospodarske zadeve.