The second lecture is devoted to the initiation and development of liberal ideas on the role of the State in a market economy. Several kinds of liberalism — from classical to neoliberalism are marked. Views of Western and Russian Liberal schools on the cooperation between government and business are compared. The ordoliberalizm school in which the necessity to combine private initiative, freedom of entrepreneurship, and the public interest in a competitive environment is justified. The German model of Social market economy that combines liberal values with active role of the State in the social sphere is recognized as basic in the European Union.