| | Interestingly, nowadays the word 'liberal' is used differently in different parts of the world, reflecting political debates over different types of freedom. | | Interestingly, nowadays the word 'liberal' is used differently in different parts of the world, reflecting political debates over different types of freedom. |
| − | In the US today, 'liberal' is usually used to mean someone who is generally [[left-wing]] in his attitudes towards the government, establishment, and many other laws. In the postwar period, 'liberal' [[Democrat | Democrats]] fought for equal rights between races and sexes, and also for sexual freedom, which are all true liberal causes. At the same time, many Democrats supported government intervention in the economy and [[welfare state]] policies, which are '''not''' liberal policies in the sense of [[classical liberalism]] at all. Nonetheless, all of these [[left-wing]] policies became associated with the meaning of 'liberal' in the US today, even though they are close to the views of many [[social democratic]] parties in Europe. | + | In the US today, 'liberal' is usually used to mean someone who is generally [[left-wing]] in his attitudes towards the government, establishment, and many other laws. In the postwar period, 'liberal' [[Democrat | Democrats]] fought for equal rights between races and sexes, and also for sexual freedom, which are all true liberal causes. At the same time, many Democrats supported government intervention in the economy and [[welfare state]] policies, which are '''not''' liberal policies in the sense of [[classical liberalism]]. Nonetheless, all of these [[left-wing]] policies became associated with the meaning of 'liberal' in the US today, even though they are close to the views of many [[social democratic]] parties in Europe. |