Difference between revisions of "Liberalism"

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[[Category:political philosophies]]{{seed}}
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<hide>
==Reference==
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[[category:political philosophy]]
* {{wikipedia|Liberalism}}
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[[category:political ideology]]
==Related Articles==
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[[category:ism]]
* Liberalism tends to be directly at odds with [[Conservatism]] on many issues
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</hide>
* Liberals in the United States tend to be [[The United States Democratic Party|Democrats]]
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==About==
==Notes==
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[[Liberalism]], at its core, is a [[political philosophy]] which holds that [[individual liberty]] is the most important consideration.
From [[David Brin]] [http://davidbrin.blogspot.com/2006/08/worst-habit-of-liberalism-handing-karl.html]:
 
{{quoteon}}Won’t you try this little ''mental experiment'' yourself? Start by listing a dozen or so “standard liberal positions.” For example you expect a liberal to:
 
  
* oppose the Iraq War
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Liberalism:
* welcome [[US immigration|immigrants]]
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* emphasizes individual rights
* support the undiluted right to [[abortion]]
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* seeks a society characterized by:
* oppose Arctic or offshore drilling
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** [[freedom of thought]] for individuals
* oppose [[nuclear power]]
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** limitations on [[political power]] (especially of government and [[religion]])
* oppose tax cuts
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** the [[rule of law]] (as opposed to e.g. arbitrary commands of a king or despot)
* support [[gay marriage]]
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** the free exchange of ideas
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** a market economy supporting free private enterprise
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** a [[transparent]] system of government that protects specific rights for all citizens equally
  
... and so on.
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In the modern age, liberals tend to prefer a [[liberal democratic]] form of government while realizing that such is merely the best known expression of liberal ideals and far from perfect.
  
If you don’t like my list, write one of your own! Make your own list of positions you deem important. I’ll wait.
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The exact nature of liberalism as a social and political force varies significantly from country to country:
 
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* [[US liberalism]]
Now try this. Imagine a person who holds ''all'' of the correct views ''except one''. Suppose - on just that one issue - a person strongly takes the ''opposite view''. Not quietly, but openly, and vigorously. Now picture how that person would be received in most liberal gatherings.
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* [[UK liberalism]]
What name would they be called?
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* [[Australia liberalism]]
{{quoteoff}}
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===Changing Usage===
A longer list of "knee-jerk liberal" positions might be useful; the above is certainly a good start. (Are any of these "core" liberal positions? Are there other "core" liberal positions which should be listed?)
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As of early 2020, self-identified liberalism seems to be shifting into a form of regressive idealism, belief in a [[classless]]/[[egalitarian]] [[status quo]] that might have existed (or at least been in progress) a few decades ago but doesn't anymore. Politically, this results in stiff resistance to any substantial change, in favor of "incremental change" which tend to be undone over time by larger systemic problems.
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==Links==
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===Reference===
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* {{wikipedia}}
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* {{conservapedia|Classical Liberalism}}
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* {{dkosopedia|Liberal}}
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* {{sourcewatch}}
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===Filed Links===
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{{links.tagged}}
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===Projects===
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* [http://liberapedia.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page Liberapedia]: the liberal answer to [[Conservapedia]]
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===Writings===
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* [http://www.myleftwing.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=539 John F. Kennedy: On Being a Liberal] (this may be more relevant to [[US liberalism]] in particular)

Latest revision as of 17:19, 12 October 2022

About

Liberalism, at its core, is a political philosophy which holds that individual liberty is the most important consideration.

Liberalism:

  • emphasizes individual rights
  • seeks a society characterized by:
    • freedom of thought for individuals
    • limitations on political power (especially of government and religion)
    • the rule of law (as opposed to e.g. arbitrary commands of a king or despot)
    • the free exchange of ideas
    • a market economy supporting free private enterprise
    • a transparent system of government that protects specific rights for all citizens equally

In the modern age, liberals tend to prefer a liberal democratic form of government while realizing that such is merely the best known expression of liberal ideals and far from perfect.

The exact nature of liberalism as a social and political force varies significantly from country to country:

Changing Usage

As of early 2020, self-identified liberalism seems to be shifting into a form of regressive idealism, belief in a classless/egalitarian status quo that might have existed (or at least been in progress) a few decades ago but doesn't anymore. Politically, this results in stiff resistance to any substantial change, in favor of "incremental change" which tend to be undone over time by larger systemic problems.

Links

Reference

Filed Links

  1. redirect template:links/smw

Projects

Writings