liberalleme

Liberalleme is a neologism used in political philosophy to denote a framework that treats individual liberties as the default normative baseline for political decision-making. In liberalleme, any restriction on liberty requires transparent, publicly justified reasons and must be designed to impose the least possible infringement. The approach aims to reconcile liberal rights with pragmatic policy goals by grounding debates in clearly expressed liberties and in deliberative legitimacy.

Etymology and origin: The term combines liberal with lemma, a logical or mathematical term meaning a foundational proposition or building block. The exact origin is uncertain; it began appearing in online debates and analytic philosophy discussions in the 2010s and has since appeared in a small body of philosophical commentary.

The theoretical framework identifies core principles: liberty as a baseline entitlement, justificatory sufficiency for restrictions, proportionality, transparency and public justification, and strong protection of minority rights. It also emphasizes the rule of law, accountability, and procedures that enable open deliberation in policy formation.

Applications and implications: In constitutional design, administrative regulation, and human-rights advocacy, liberalleme would steer policy evaluation toward deciding whether restrictions are necessary, the least restrictive means, and proportionate to the aim. Supporters view it as a guardrail against majority overreach; critics worry about vagueness and potential overlap with existing liberal theories.

See also and notes: See also liberalism, public reason, rule of law, proportionality. This article describes a term used in contemporary discourse and is not necessarily a widely recognized formal doctrine.