Social Studies 30: History of Economic Liberalism

In this excellent video created by an Alberta social studies teacher, you will many of the basic ideas of how a economy works and who controls it.

This excellent video, created by an Alberta social studies teacher, looks at the evolution of capitalism, and the benefits of this system.

This great video by an Alberta social studies teacher will look at why some philosophies reject capitalism, specifically utopian socialists.

This week we'll investigate whether money displaces barter, then leads to war, slavery, and what we think of as civilized social orders. We'll also see what old Adam Smith thinks of big money, no whammies, this week on Crash Course.

This 15 minute video focuses on differences between command economies and market economies. Near the end of the video, we focus mixed economies.

Learn about some of the key ideas that influenced early economic thinkers, such as Adam Smith, in this video.

This useful Youtube channel has great explanations of many economic principles.

Adam Smith's invisible hand argument is one of the most well known in all of economics. What is the "invisible hand," and how does it work?

Here we look at the Social Contract theories of three philosophers were based on their views about man's natural state of being.

A one minute summary of Adam Smith's concept of the Invisible Hand in the marketplace

Jean-Jacques Rousseau was one of the most influential thinkers during the Enlightenment in eighteenth century Europe. You can learn how he became a famous philosopher on this site.

The 18th century philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau made the bold claim that modernity and civilisation are not improvements; they’ve dragged us from a primitive state of innocence and happiness.

Among John Locke's most revolutionary insights is that all people were created equal. It challenged the belief that people were part of a natural hierarchy.

John Locke thought people are born as blank slates and so the government's essential role was to protect people's inalienable rights.

J.S. Mill was an early advocate for gender equality. He wrote about the need for broad reforms to achieve equality for women and championed these reforms as a member of the British Parliament.

John Stuart Mill was an 19th century philosopher, political economist and, later, a member of British Parliament known for championing liberty, individualism and women's rights.

The Invisible Hand proposes that individual choices and self-interest guide the capitalist economy forwards.

This review by an Alberta teacher focuses on the basics of free-market capitalism and the Laissez Faire economic theory.

Thomas Hobbes believed that it is always better to have security rather than liberty in a country.

John Locke, commonly known as the "Father of Liberalism, was born in 1632 in England. His ideas on equality, individual rights and the role of the state influenced many thinkers and scholars.

John Stuart Mill was a philosopher known for championing liberty, individualism and women's rights.

The Industrial Revolution changed the lives of more people more dramatically than any political revolution. Learn how it started!

This 13-minute video explains European Imperialism in the 19th century, with a focus on Africa and Asia. Learn how these European countries managed to leverage the Industrial Revolution to build empires.

This two-page article is a great summary of how the ideology of Liberalism started and evolved.

A 5 minute video that introduces the political beliefs in individualism and collectivism.

Milton Friedman uses a pencil to explain how the operation of the free market promotes harmony and world peace.

Social contract theory considers the relationship between people and government.

Classical liberalism is built around a number of core concepts, including human dignity and individual liberty.

Natural law posits that all humans possess reason and know the difference between good and evil.

A short video that explains what the Enlightenment was and how Western culture changed because of these ideas that arose during the Enlightenment.

You will learn about communism and the ideas of Karl Marx as well as the benefits of a communist economic system. This excellent video was created by an Alberta social studies teacher.

You will learn about New Economic Policies in communist USSR, the focus of 5 year plans, and the price of rapid industrialization. This great video was created by an Alberta social studies teacher.

Karl Marx remains deeply important today not as the man who told us what to replace capitalism with, but as someone who brilliantly pointed out certain of its problems.

This video gives you an overview of Communism and Marxist-Leninist states.