There are two species of classical liberal. Thus, while these classical liberals fervently advocate small, limited government, they also emphasize the importance of government action in a number of key areas, without which capitalism cannot function. And they point out that in fact there has never been a government which actually kept its hands entirely off the economy. A smaller, more radical group of classical liberals argues that the more important a task is, the more important it not be left to government, and applies this logic to education and even to the enforcement of property rights. Whether classical liberalism exhibits a true qualitative dichotomy, as argued above, or simply a continuous spectrum of declining faith in the state, from modern liberalism to anarcho-capitalism, is debateable.
Modern liberalism is even more heterogenous.
There is much more to be said after you've said you favor a large, powerful government. The distinctive characteristic of modern liberalism, distinguishing it from socialism, is a recognition of the powerful virtues of the market. The role of the government is merely to ameliorate the areas in which the market fails, either in terms of equity or efficiency. But there are quite a few of those areas. Return to main Apology page.