In general we can say that the Democrats support civil-rights (and therefore social liberalism), the Republicans support free-market (and therefore economic liberalism), while the Libertarians support both, making them the only purely liberal party in the United States.
Do you agree with this statement? Why do you think the meaning of the word liberal has changed so much in the last years in America? Why is liberal a very bad word for a lot of people using it as an insult, when the founders of the country were true liberals? This can be seen in the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights.
Do you agree with this statement? Why do you think the meaning of the word liberal has changed so much in the last years in America? Why is liberal a very bad word for a lot of people using it as an insult, when the founders of the country were true liberals? This can be seen in the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights.
In the United States, the primary use of the term liberal is at some variance with European and British usage. In the 19th century it was not a common term in American philosophy or politics, partially because the two main parties were a mixture of populist and nationalist elements. The Democratic Party was the party of free trade, low tariffs and laissez-faire entrepreneurialism, while the Republican Party advocated national citizenship, transparency and government efforts to stabilize the currency. Liberalism in the United States was primarily defined by the self-proclaimed liberal presidents Woodrow Wilson and Franklin Roosevelt. While the emphasis on mutual collaboration through liberal institutions as an alternative to the threat and use of force remained consistent with international liberalism, United States liberals also claimed that individuals have a right to expect the government to guarantee social justice. This was in part a consequence of the influence of the ideas of British economist John Maynard Keynes on Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal. The New Deal had the effect of stealing the thunder of social democratic forces and the necessity to prevent social unrest strengthened this development. As McCarthyism gave the terms socialism and even social democracy a meaning synonymous with treason in the U.S., many to the left of center moderated their views, aligning with the New Deal liberals. Since approximately the Reagan era, the word liberal has been so much used as a derogatory term by U.S. conservatives that it led to an ever increasing number of critics of conservatism to identify with progressivism, rather than turning to liberalism. The Democratic Party is identified as the liberal party within the broader definition of liberalism thus putting it in contrast with most other parties listed here. The Libertarian Party, the third largest political party in the United States, particularly centers itself on free markets and individual liberty. The Republican Party generally supports strong free-market and libertarian views on the economy. In general we can say that the Democrats support civil-rights (and therefore social liberalism), the Republicans support free-market (and therefore economic liberalism), while the Libertarians support both, making them the only purely liberal party in the United States.