Liberal

Liberalism in the US today

Many of the following views are held by Americans who consider themselves 'liberals':

• equal responsibilities for men and women, such as equal participation by men and women in the military
• freedom to follow or not to follow traditional gender roles
• taxpayer funded abortion
• some acceptance of same-sex marriage
• equal rights for people of any race
• support of affirmative action
• in favor of political correctness, civility and sensitivity in everyday speech
• the prohibition of school-sponsored religious activities in public schools
• government-sponsored education provided for all school-age citizens who choose to use it
• taxpayer funding of public schools
• universal, partially taxpayer-funded rather than strictly private medical care
• labor union rights
• income redistribution, usually through progressive taxation on higher income groups.
• preference for a interpretation of the constitution as a "living Constitution" instead of an unchanging Constitution
• in favor of gun control
• government programs to rehabilitate criminals
• protection of natural resources and wilderness areas
• disarmament treaties where appropriate
• reduction of the military when appropriate
• opposition to American foreign policy which advocates human rights and democracy

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 is an organization that represents most liberal parties from European countries. Similar policies are promoted by many liberal parties throughout the world., 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..

Original meaning: 'Classical liberalism'

The original philosophy of liberalism (now sometimes called classical liberalism, or libertarianism in the US), favors many forms of freedom, such as:

• Freedom of speech
• Freedom of religion
• The right to form political parties and vote
• Freedom to invest in and use private property
• Freedom to work as one chooses
• Freedom to enter into economic contracts
• Free trade and freedom of migration
• Sexual freedom
• Equal rights independent of race or sex

This interpretation of liberalism arose during the Enlightenment, and became influential throught the American Revolution and French Revolution, and was also spread in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries by the classical economists.

A prominent publication which promotes liberalism in the original sense of the word is the British newsmagazine The Economist.

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":

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

2 Other definitions from the same source include:

• Favoring proposals for reform, open to new ideas for progress, and tolerant of the ideas and behavior of others; broad-minded.
• Tending to give freely; generous.
• Generous in amount; ample.