--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is nothing in the basic principles…" description: "\"There is nothing in the basic principles of liberalism to make it a stationary creed; there are no hard-and-fast rules fixed once and for all. ... Prob..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb5/friedrich-august-von-hayek-141_basic-principles_there-is-nothing-in-the-basic-principles_2469122.jpg" --- # There is nothing in the basic principles of liberalism to… ![“There is nothing in the basic principles of liberalism to make it a stationary creed; there are no hard-and-fast rules fixed once and for all. ... Probably nothing has done so much harm to the liberal cause as the wooden insistence of some liberals on certain rules of thumb, above all the…” quote by Friedrich August von Hayek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb5/friedrich-august-von-hayek-141_basic-principles_there-is-nothing-in-the-basic-principles_2469122.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb5/friedrich-august-von-hayek-141_basic-principles_there-is-nothing-in-the-basic-principles_2469122.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb5/friedrich-august-von-hayek-141_basic-principles_there-is-nothing-in-the-basic-principles_2469122.jpg) > “There is nothing in the basic principles of liberalism to make it a stationary creed; there are no hard-and-fast rules fixed once and for all. ... Probably nothing has done so much harm to the liberal cause as the wooden insistence of some liberals on certain rules of thumb, above all the principle of laissez faire.” [Friedrich August von Hayek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-august-von-hayek/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Liberalism should stay flexible, not bound by rigid rules; especially laissez‑faire can become a harmful dogma. **In simple terms:** Liberalism needs flexibility, not fixed rules. Key Takeaway Avoid treating principles as unchangeable. Themes politics philosophy economics Mood critical analytical Type philosophical political When to use this quote - policy making - economic regulation - public debate - educational curricula Key Concepts liberalism flexibility dogma Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance core values with necessary change? - When might flexibility become inconsistency? A Different Perspective Rigid doctrines can stifle adaptation and progress. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Basic principles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/basic-principles/) [Causes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/causes/) [Certain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/certain/) [Creeds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creeds/) [Done](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/done/) [Europe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/europe/) [Fixed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fixed/) [Hard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hard/) [Harm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/harm/) [Harm Liberal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/harm-liberal-741823/) [Insistence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/insistence/) [Laissez faire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laissez-faire/) [Liberal Cause](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liberal-cause-741821/) [Liberalism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liberalism/) [Liberalism Make](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liberalism-make-741824/) [Principle Laissez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/principle-laissez-741822/) [Principles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/principles/) [Principles Liberalism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/principles-liberalism-741820/) [Stationary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stationary/) [Thumbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thumbs/) ## Related quotes > [The principle of laissez-faire may be safely trusted to in some things but in many more it is wholly inapplicable; and to appeal to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ramsay-mcculloch/the-principle-of-laissez-faire-may-be-safely-trusted-to-in-some/) [John Ramsay McCulloch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ramsay-mcculloch/) > [“The principles of liberalism can have a real existence only in conjunction with a police system. 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It's either collective security or selective security.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-safire/different-regions-may-require-different-strategies-as-president-bush/) [William Safire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-safire/) > [I think that rather than talking about particular models, of which there could be a huge number, we should talk about basic principles of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-putin/i-think-that-rather-than-talking-about-particular-models-of-which/) [Vladimir Putin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-putin/) > [“Spiraling healthcare costs are the expected result because greater revenues are built into the basic principles that drive the system. The”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-davis/spiraling-healthcare-costs-are-the-expected-result-because-greater/) [William Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-davis/) [Browse all 120 Basic principles quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/basic-principles/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There is nothing in the basic principles of liberalism to make it a stationary creed; there are no hard-and-fast rules fixed once and for all. ... 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