Difference between revisions of "Liberal"

Revision as of 03:43, January 4, 2008

A Liberal is a believer in many of the following political positions:

• denial of inherent gender differences, leading to things such as wanting men and women to have the same jobs in the military.
• taxpayer-funded abortion
• same-sex marriage
• support of affirmative action
• support of political correctness ^[1]
• censorship of prayer in classrooms
• compelled taxpayer funding of government schools for nearly all ages
• government-controlled medical care
• labor unions
• income redistribution, usually through progressive taxation
• a "living Constitution" that is reinterpreted rather than an unchanging Constitution as written
• support for gun control
• government programs to rehabilitate criminals
• environmentalism ^[2]
• disarmament treaties
• globalism
• opposition to a strong American foreign policy ^[3]
• Supporting private rights by opposing the so called "Patriot Act".

Cartoon Depiction of the Liberal Viewpoints

Liberalism in Europe today

In Europe, on the other hand, parties that call themselves liberal are moderate to centre-right, promote typically economic and business freedom. The Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe^[4] is an organization that represents most liberal parties from European countries. Similar policies are promoted by many liberal parties throughout the world.^[5], such as the Liberal Party of Australia[3].

Trade unions and socialist parties often criticize politicians that promote lower taxes on business, or more flexible hiring and firing laws, by calling them 'liberals' or neoliberals. Thus, just like in the US, 'liberal' is often used as a term of abuse. But when someone is called 'liberal' in Europe, this is usually a way of calling them right-wing, exactly the opposite of the meaning in the US. In fact, the US meaning of liberal is more similar to the politics of European socialist or social democratic parties.^[6].

is a political philosophy with freedom as its core value. The term was originally applied to supporters of individual liberties and equal rights, but the term has come to represent a movement of social change that often conflicts with conservative values such as moral values and tradition. Democrats and many media outlets in the U.S. often have liberal bias.

Historical Liberalism

In history, the word "liberal" has meant different things at different times, and was associated with individual liberty in prior centuries. In the postwar period, liberals supported government intervention in the economy and welfare state policies, as well as peaceful coexistence with the communist block, which are not liberal policies in the sense of classical liberalism. After the end of the cold war, with the demise of socialism and communism, many liberals embraced some ideas from economic neo-liberalism, and coined it the "Third Way". In the area of national security and foreign policy liberals in the U.S. failed to define a consistent stance, even after the events of 9/11 and the beginning of the war in Iraq. Liberals still support socially liberal positions when it comes to affirmative action, gay marriage, and abortion.^[7]

Original meaning: 'Classical Liberalism'

See Classical Liberalism. Compare Libertarianism.

Alternative meanings of 'liberal'

One definition of liberal is anything that is not conservative. For example, the American Heritage Dictionary includes this definition of "liberal":^[8]

• Not limited to or by established, traditional, orthodox, or authoritarian attitudes, views, or dogmas ...

Liberal Rankings of Congress Members

The National Journal compiles the votes of each congress member each year and uses the information to create rankings^[9] of how liberal each member of congress. In addition to showing the voting records of each member and given an overall all ranking of liberalness, the National Journal also ranks congress members by liberalness in the areas of social, economic, and foreign policy.

Liberal Organizations

• AARP - American Association of Retired People
• ACLU - American Civil Liberties Union
• AFL-CIO - American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations
• AI - Amnesty International
• Democratic National Committee
• Greenpeace
• NARAL - National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League
• NAACP - National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
• National Committee for an Effective Congress
• National Education Association
• National Organization of Women
• Planned Parenthood Federation of America
• Rainbow/PUSH Coalition
• MoveOn.org
• A.N.S.W.E.R.

Source: The Politix Group

See Also

• Liberal Bias
• Liberal Hypocrisy
• Essay:Liberal Style
• The Liberal Mind: The Psychological Causes of Political Madness
• Conservative Links

References