ABSTRACT
Freedom has been preserved for prolonged periods because such principles, vaguely and dimly perceived, have governed public opinion. That freedom can be preserved only if it is treated as a supreme principle which must not be sacrificed for particular advantages was fully understood by the leading liberal thinkers of the nineteenth century, one of whom even described liberalism as ‘the system of principles’. In certain conditions, namely when some basic principles of the law have been accepted for a long time, they will indeed govern the whole system of law, its general spirit as well as every single rule and application within it. Most contemporary works on legal philosophy are full also of outdated cliches about the alleged self-destructive tendency of competition, or the need for ‘planning’ created by the increased complexity of the modern world, cliches deriving from the high tide of enthusiasm for ‘planning’ of thirty or forty years ago.
