The Liberty of the Ancients Compared With That of the Moderns

Written in 1819, this is a classic defense of individual against collective liberty. Benjamin Constant argued that ancient liberty (liberty before the 18th century) was based on the collective right of the majority to exploit minorities, while modern liberty is the freedom of the individual to do whatever is not harmful to others. Benjamin Constant was a well-known French classical liberal. This short book is a must-read for those who want to understand what we mean by liberty.