Small "L" - does it exist?

[betsy]

There is such a thing as small conservative....is there a small liberal as well?

[RNG]

There is such a thing as small conservative....is there a small liberal as well?

I am fiscally conservative, and usually describe myself as a small c conservative. But on a US political forum I visit, they throw the term liberal around a lot. I went to Dictionary.Com, entered "liberal" and was amazed. It basically described me. I'm really confused now.

[cybercoma]

Liberalism is the idea of independence and laissez-faire economics. Liberty is obviously the root. In the US, however, they believe Liberals are left-wingers in support of a "nanny-state". The concepts are confusing because this could be true. Independence and liberty may require economic security and equality, so that a person can realize their potential and have true freedom. On the other hand, what would be called a neo-con in the United States is actually a neo-liberal in the rest of the world.

Edited April 24, 2011 by cybercoma

[Evening Star]

I posted about this on another thread: The confusion seems to stem from the fact that liberalism prioritizes individual liberty but "liberty" can be defined in more than one way. So, broadly, in the 18th century definition of "liberalism", "liberty" was largely defined in terms of freedom from government restrictions ( http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/liberalism/#NegLib ) - which meant laissez-faire free market policies in the economic sphere. In the 19th century and afterwards, the definition of "liberty" began to mean more than this: the freedom to pursue the life one wants to lead, which could mean, for example, that everyone needs to have access to education and the basic means of life regardless of income or social class ( http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/liberalism/#PosLib ).

A good summary of the debate: http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/liberalism/#DebBetOldNew

Or the simpler Wikipedia entries: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberalism#Classical_and_modern

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_liberalism (what "liberal" usually means today in North America)

Edited April 24, 2011 by Evening Star

[cybercoma]

Great summary, ES.

[Evening Star]

Thanks.

[RNG]

Liberalism is the idea of independence and laissez-faire economics. Liberty is obviously the root. In the US, however, they believe Liberals are left-wingers in support of a "nanny-state". The concepts are confusing because this could be true. Independence and liberty may require economic security and equality, so that a person can realize their potential and have true freedom. On the other hand, what would be called a neo-con in the United States is actually a neo-liberal in the rest of the world.

So in fact neither the Liberals nor the Democrats are liberal. Neither seem to support laize faire.