What does "liberalism" mean to you?

Tolerance and equality.

@Tropical_Willie Okay, so liberalism to you is social liberalism. How do you feel about economic liberalism, and what does that mean to you—if you have an opinion, that is?

Maybe economic Laissez-faire letting things happen with out intervention. I like that.

@Tropical_Willie So you are a classical liberal or neoliberal.

I’m closest to Classical.

I’m not clear enough of the difference to differentiate between the two. Not for lack of trying, mind you.

Liberalism is wishfull thinking that is based on ideology and not reality. It’s more about feeling good and not doing good. It’s an infantile and simplistic worldview. Yet… it’s got heart and the desire to make the world a better place. There is hope and enthusiasm, tolerance and acceptance. I can’t fault people for being liberal. They want good things for everyone, yet want to dictate what is good for everyone. Thinking you know what is better for people does not mean that you have any jurisdiction over them. Liberalism is a transient desire to improve humanity without a grounded base in experience or any defined methodology except perhaps whining. If you have real life experience it’s hard to be a liberal and even harder to be conservative.

Okay @ARE_you_kidding_me is it better to fascist ? ?

Just asking !

NOPE!!! I’LL TAKE LIBERAL OVER FASCIST ANY DAY!!

It’s a term used to describe the philosophical movement of modernity—the age of enlightenment. The US and most of the western world is still influenced by it. It is a main tenet of current democratic principles. Probably 95% of Americans are liberal.

“Liberalism is a political philosophy or worldview founded on ideas of liberty and equality. Whereas classical liberalism emphasizes the role of liberty, social liberalism stresses the importance of equality.”

@tinyfaery Thanks. I’m aware of the broad definitions. I’m wondering what liberalism means personally for people.

Can you elaborate? Can you tell me how you feel about the economics of liberalism?

With regards to economic liberalism, I think the economy should be a fair marketplace, free from monopolies, and where external costs are entirely captured by the industry that is producing them. The government should punish white collar criminals with the same level of zeal that they do for other crimes, and send them to jail when they are guilty instead of negotiating fines. I believe the vast majority of industries should be private, but there are certain industries where public good is better served through government than private industry. This includes things like the Police, Fire, Education. There may be some private industries where there is a public good by having some public funds go to help boost things along like clean energy, or possibly agriculture, technology, and research. I think that Healthcare is a human right and that the government should ensure that all Americans can get the treatments they need when they are sick.

The government should protect workers’ health, safety and right to collectively bargain. It should pursue minimum wage such that if an American worker is working full time, they can have all of their basic needs met without relying on programs like welfare. The government should ensure that companies aren’t discriminating against their employees based on race, religion, gender, age, sexual orientation, etc. It should try to protect American jobs and prevent companies from offshoring jobs or offshoring profits to avoid taxes.

Speaking of taxes, to me, economic liberalism means a progressive tax structure. It also means striving to balance the national budget and pay down the debt. It’s morally wrong to leave increasingly large debt to future generations to fund regime change and tax cuts to the 1%.

I was a philosophy major. This is what it means to me. I have no interest in getting into a debate economics. I’m a socialist.

I think you bump into trouble when you attempt the tricky combination of mixing social liberalism with economic conservatism.

I firmly believe both social and economic liberalism are dependant on the Government to facilitating their causes. Liberalism encourages group think and discourages individual intitiative to take control of ones life. Liberalism both social and economic = more free Government Cheese. Wanna shake things up….move the cheese like Trump is going to do.

@tinyfairy okay. No problem. But know I wasn’t trying to debate. Just interested in people’s own definition of liberalism.

Socially I think liberalism is defined by looking forward and using history as a guide, but also being liberal in what you’ll accept from others.

Some examples:
– The world has moved toward recognizing more people as equal and worthy for hundreds of years now, it’s not going to suddenly stop because someone’s choices or identity make an older generation uncomfortable
– The world is more interconnected than ever and will continue to be, looking forward means preparing for that rather than trying to isolate and insulate each fiefdom
– The jobs our parents did will be vastly different than the jobs our children will do, yet we keep educating based on the jobs of our generation or past generations
– we have always been, and always will be, more alike than different

Economically liberal to me means thinking of the whole rather than the individual. We’re not a business, we’re a community. There is plenty of room to shine, but understand that not everyone is in the same place in their life, or starts with the same raw materials. Altruistic communities are shown to be stronger.

I don’t understand why it has become such an insult for some, but I’d like to.

This is fascinating, thanks. I’m seeing very different views of liberalism. There’s the progressive liberalism that @gorillapaws and @funkdaddy are lauding (and @Cruiser is bemoaning), there is classical liberalism that @Tropical_Willie and I wrote about, and social liberalism.

@stanleybmanly Can you elaborate on your post at all?

@Rarebear Sorry…I should have been more elaborative. I support the obligation of a country, especially one as prosperous as ours to support those domestically in need and those abroad as well. I do think we do a good job with both and of course there is room for improvement I hold hope Trump will attend to. These hopes for all I hold near to my chest as universal beliefs not just liberal beliefs that liberals want to claim as their own to create a bold divide between themselves and conservatives. People of means are benevolent beyond comprehension of those in need and I say this to include both Liberals and Conservatives. I know this first hand as I am on that front line. Polarizing this narrative only is self serving and selfish while people in need suffer. Time to cut this shit out for the greater good.

@Cruiser I wasn’t trying to be disparaging. It is often the conservative point of view that government involvement with business leads to decrease productivity.

For my part, I’m actually more aligned with you rather than the progressive left. I am pretty solidly in the Classical Liberal camp as I’ve seen real-life job losses and business closures from things like a health care tax and minimum wage hikes.

But I also marched in the Women’s March the day after Trump was sworn in, so I’m also very much in the social liberal camp.

@Rarebear that march was incredible on all accounts. It breathed life into the American psyche to remind us that we do have a voice no matter what side of the argument you are on the likes we have not seen since the Viet Nam protests. No slight to the civil rights movement or suffrage movements. Plus…people have a voice outside the media and personally I am glad to see many have the passion to get off their ass and exercise this right we all have.

A point I forgot to mention is that in my interpretation of economic liberalism, the goal is to safeguard the American Dream. That if you work hard you can be successful. That means having genuine equality of opportunity.

Dynastic wealth is antithetical to the American Dream. That’s the model from the British Aristocracy where privilege is based on birthright and not on the merits of a person’s character and efforts. Our founders rejected that concept. I’m all for people becoming billionaires through hard work and ingenuity, but I have 0 respect for people like Trump who were born into immense wealth and seek to cling to it. If you were to take someone like Elon Musk, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, etc. steal all of their money, they’re the kind of people who would be right back where they were. Do the same thing to Donald Trump, the Koch Brothers, or Paris Hilton and they’re going to be sulking in a corner. If you notice this later group are all about clinging to existing wealth—this is because they lack the confidence in their own ability to create it.

For this reason, I support a heavy estate tax beyond some generous limit (maybe something like $5 million). Let people succeed/fail based on their own merits, not their birthright.

I really don’t know the dictionary definition, but I say I am socially liberal and fiscally moderate. I guess liberalism is in a way synonymous with equality.

When I say I am socially liberal I mean on issues like how someone wants to live their personal life I seek equality for all (which also means no judgement) as long as no one is getting hurt. This has meant a mix of wanting government to stay out of the personal life of Americans and government protecting the right to do as we wish, which sometimes means laws for protection. People should be able to work where they want, marry who they want, have access to facilities open to the public, access to free education K-12, refuse or accept medical treatment for themselves, and more.

Regarding fiscal issues, I think fiscal liberalism is spending government money to try to equalize everyone no matter what their effort or earnings nor how much they are contributing financially to the government. I’m very liberal on healthcare, I want a single payer system. Traditionally, I’ve not been so liberal on welfare. I do strongly believe in welfare as a bridge in unexpected circumstances. I also do think the way our social support systems are set up it encourages people to “work” the system. I don’t think the majority in the system are “working it” I think most really need it despite everything they do right. This touches on topics like minimum wage and other topics where liberals want a living wage. I think the liberals are right that higher wages for people at lower income levels would make a very positive difference. This is not the same as raising minimum wage time, but they do work hand in hand.

I’ve recently been learning about the universal basic income and I have mixed feelings. I think a lot of people see this as an example of fiscal liberalism, but I’m not so sure. I know self proclaimed conservative who support the idea. This would be available to everyone no matter their income.

Now I am curious to read the answers of any non-Americans on this.

I think of liberalism as freedom and equality in society. It is based upon just laws, honest government and free expression. Everyone is the equal of everyone else and is worthy of equal respect. No one should profit unfairly from the work of others. Government should let people get on with their lives with minimum interference however I believe it should ensure all can live in dignity especially in old age and ill health. It is a kind of society worth celebrating and worth fighting for.

Inability to think logically, control by emotions more than reason, saying your pet politicians are flawless while believing awful lies about conservatives, having hoplophobia, etc.

Here in the US the kind of liberalism I favor is social liberalism.

In other words, don’t have the government tell me what I can put inside or do with my body. Don’t tell me what to do with my money, etc.

As long as I’m not effecting others directly I should be free to do as I see fit.