Political ideology: Personal freedom + economic limits Options

[mipadi]

Is there a name (and/or writings) about a form of political ideology that combines the emphasis on personal freedom found in libertarianism with the economic "restraint", if you will, of socialism? Libertarianism's emphasis of the individual and individual freedom is interesting, but the emphasis on laissez-faire capitalism doesn't sit well with me. Social democracy comes close to these ideas, but I don't know if it encompasses them completely.

[JonHMChan]

I see what you mean. If that's the case then, I'd agree. Social Democracy is probably the closest model we've threaded out so far that at least resembles the relationship between individual freedom and governmental power that you're looking for.

However, when it comes to the topic of the philosophical underpinnings of such models, you might actually find some stock in early modern political philosophy. Political philosophy is grouped pretty commonly with ethics, simply because the main issue at hand is how we can justify the State's special actions (specifically the use of coercion) on the people that it governs. Political philosophy sometimes has very little to do with the more practical (I suppose is the word for it) aspects of the State/citizen relationship, and more with its ethical implications.