By definition Classical Liberalism is a rejection of Statism. In this country we have had some form of compromise between the two through out our history, sometimes Statism has prevailed and sometimes Classical Liberalism has prevailed. The problem with that equilibrium today is Modernist and Neo Liberalism have been thrown into the mix over the last 50 + years lending their precepts to the social tension and divisions that we are experiencing now.
Classical liberalism is not based on a negative. You are arguing a fallacy. The classical liberal saw government as property of the individual. Why would you reject your own property in its ability to advance your quality of life? This is what you are arguing...
The classical liberal would not believe in the government taking from one person to advance somebody else's quality of life.
Why? If my quality of life is unaffected by the taxes I pay and those taxes are used to advance the quality of life of others why would the classical liberal be opposed?