Libertarian vs. Liberal

The sub-tile of the blog should really have been the "Diary of Hampstead Liberal", rather than "Hampstead Libertatrian".

"Liberal" is the simplest translation of the Latin "liber", and freedom is what liberalism, in its classical sense, is all about. John Stuart Mill in his essay,  "On Liberty",  first published in 1859, captured the essence of liberalism in one simple principle:  that men and women should be free to do as they please, without interference from the society or the state, unless their actions might cause harm to others.  

When somebody today states that he or she is "liberal", the term in its unmodified form has invariable come to refer to the politics of an expansive government and the welfare state.  The contemporary alternative to the "classical liberalism" is "libertarian". 

"Libertarianism" is a vision how we should be able to live our lives in freedom: as individuals, striving to do our best, and together, cooperating for the common good without state or government compulsion.  It is a vision of how we may endow our lives with meaning; living according to our deepest beliefs and taking responsibility for the consequences of our actions.