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There have been many varieties of political liberalism, but there is rough agreement among historians that John Locke, Immanuel Kant, John Mill, Herbert Spencer, T.H. Green, L.T. Hobhouse, John Dewey, John Rawls, Robert Nozick and many others should all be included in the liberal tradition.

One of the most common and useful distinctions is between the "classical" liberalism of the 19th century and the "welfare state" liberalism of the 20th. Broadly speaking, classical liberalism emphasized strong rights of property and the virtues of small governments and free markets while welfare state liberalism has sought to regulate property and emphasize the virtues of an active, problem solving government that often interferes with the free market. Welfare state liberals also frequently advocate greater individual freedom from moral conventions and greater freedom to choose a life style (although in this they are joined by libertarians).

Modern "libertarianism" developed out of the ideas of Ayn Rand, John Hospers, Robert Nozick and others. It is similar to classical liberalism in its emphasis on strong property rights but closer to welfare state liberalism in its enthusiasm for a variety of life styles.

Even if we use the distinction between classical and welfare state liberalism, however, we find very different philosophical approaches within each category. Some of these writers are utilitarians while others believe in natural rights or in an ethics based on reason. Some stress the priority of individual rights while others stress the importance of maximizing "the good." Some believe that consequences determine the morality of our actions while others believe that some actions are good in themselves or because they meet some other kind of criterion. Some are Christians while others are theological agnostics.

Although most historians agree on the list of major liberal philosophers, it is difficult to say just how the liberal tradition is unified. The philosophers listed here have very different metaphysical views and very different views on the foundations of ethics and social philosophy.