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A lot of right-wingers use the catch-all term "liberalism" as if it was a synonym of "socialism". - It is not.
Therefore here's a brief reminder of what "liberalism" really means:

Liberalism is an ideology that contains seven political concepts that interact at its core: liberty, rationality, individuality, progress, sociability, the general interest, and limited and accountable power.

The temporal / historical layers of liberalism (from the 18th century to the present)

  1. A theory of restrained power aimed at protecting individual rights and securing the space in which people can live without governmental oppression
  2. A theory of economic interactions and free markets enabling individuals to benefit from the mutual exchange of goods.
  3. A theory of human progress over time intended to enable individuals to develop their potential and capacities as long as they do not harm others.
  4. A theory of mutual interdependence and state-regulated welfare that is necessary for individuals to achieve both liberty and flourishing.
  5. A theory that recognizes the diversity of group life-styles and beliefs and aims for a plural and tolerant society.

from: Freeden, Michael. Liberalism: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions) (S.12). OUP Oxford.

Matias66 6 July 3
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4 comments

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1

Exactly. Its why Communists called themselves "Liberals" because the public found Communists unacceptable. Part of the playbook of Communists and socialists is to do whatever it takes to convince the public, including deceive, lie about who they are, coerce, create chaos, threaten....

2

Show that list to a Democrat and his head will explode.

Nice to have a technical definition of liberalism. We need technical definitions. Stamp out the vague.

It seems that the term "liberal" has become unusable. I refer to Democrats as leftists.

Republicans could appropriate the word "liberal". It would be hilarious if Republicans made a big show about being classically liberal.

The word "Conservative" is still pure.

3

#3, #4, and #5 reflect the gradual misappropriation of the term by Collectivists (including... yes: Socialists.)

Actual Liberals are now commonly referred to as Libertarians.

Liberal was derived from the Latin word for "Free".
It has since been corrupted into its exact opposite, by Collectivists... like they do.

Labels are just shortcuts, in this case representing a set of principles.
Such a shortcut is useless when people who do not adhere to those principles insist on hiding behind the label to capitalize on its benevolent connotation, while they slowly corrupt its meaning to align with their own, incompatible, "principles".
Now we've got people who want the all-powerful State to enforce their pseudo-morality on their neighbors at gunpoint... actually calling themselves "Liberals"; without the first apparent clue about what they're even saying.

"Conservative" is context-specific... depends on what you're trying to conserve.
Pro-Abortionists are "Conservative" with regard to preserving the half-century of Roe v Wade.
I think the way it's usually used, is to mean: "Constitutional Conservative", which would describe an Individualist (or... an actual "Liberal".)

Anyway, labels only work as rhetorical shortcuts when everybody-involved understands what they mean, and are using them to clarify their point... not to obfuscate it.
I just try to stick with Individualist vs Collectivists.
That covers the entire spectrum objectively, is the only meaningful difference among all the different -isms, and can't be dodged by just pretending it means something else.

Also, those terms are the only rational and objective way that I can think of, to actually ascribe relevant and consistent meaning to the terms Left and Right;
Left being Collectivist, and Right being Individualist.

0

You can't recapture the past.

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