• What is a liberal?
    33 replies, posted
I am a visitor on some political forums. One question came up was "What is a liberal?" No one had a clue beyond the word compassion. I doubt that all there is. I know that Fascism has it start with Mussolini. Communism got it start with Marx. So what is the foundation of liberal thought? Im betting there is a whole school of works and authors who make up this big tent of ideas.
[video=youtube_share;u52Oz-54VYw]http://youtu.be/u52Oz-54VYw[/video]
This varies based on who you talk to. You can divide the typical political spectrum 50/50 between "liberals" and "conservatives", and be closest to the truth. Often members of "liberal" communities use "conservatives" as a form of hollow criticism. Often members of "conservative" communities use "liberals" as a form of hollow criticism. It's just a huge generalization to encapsulate those who plan on voting for either the democratic or the republican parties. I'm speaking from a US perspective. This stuff works oppositely in some places.
I've never seen conservative used as a criticism, just liberal.
[QUOTE=TheBloodyNine;51053440]I've never seen conservative used as a criticism, just liberal.[/QUOTE] Same here, but I took the assumption that it goes both ways because I wanted to avoid hypocritically saying that "conservatives are babies who constantly cry liberal". politics
Liberalism has no concise definition and largely depends on the context. Liberalism can range from [URL="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classical_liberalism"]Classical Liberalism[/URL] which is analogous to modern Libertarianism, to [URL="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Progressivism"]/Progressivism[/URL] which is closer to Liberalism in the modern sense. They all have basic founding ideas surrounding liberty and equality. If you really want the full story, you can [URL="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberal"]go down the wikipedia rabbit hole.[/URL]
A liberal doesn't know how to use a firearm and lacks a spine, i think...
[QUOTE=bitches;51053435]This varies based on who you talk to. You can divide the typical political spectrum 50/50 between "liberals" and "conservatives", and be closest to the truth. Often members of "liberal" communities use "conservatives" as a form of hollow criticism. Often members of "conservative" communities use "liberals" as a form of hollow criticism. It's just a huge generalization to encapsulate those who plan on voting for either the democratic or the republican parties. I'm speaking from a US perspective. This stuff works oppositely in some places.[/QUOTE] What I am asking for is the pedigree of the idea. Christianity's pedigree can be traced to Judaism, Greek Philosophy, Gnosticism, some polytheistic themes thrown in. Then there the philosophers who followed. Like St Augustine. You get the idea. What the meat behind the liberal school of thought? Any Rand isnt considered part of it. Why not?
[QUOTE=TheBloodyNine;51053440]I've never seen conservative used as a criticism, just liberal.[/QUOTE] Conservative doesn't flow off the tongue as well as 'right winger'. You can't use it as dismissively.
A MISERABLE LITTLE PILE OF SECRETS BUT ENOUGH TALK. HAVE AT YOU
[QUOTE=TheBloodyNine;51053440]I've never seen conservative used as a criticism, just liberal.[/QUOTE] i, personally, have seen people using conservative to denigrate others
[QUOTE=Ninja Gnome;51053723]i, personally, have seen people using conservative to denegriate others[/QUOTE] Yes. to the right, the left is satan's spawn. to the left, the right is beelzebub's offspring. I am still interested what you ( the forum) claim to be liberal. As in its intellectual history. Im looking through the links provided, but I want to see what those better educated then me will say.
[QUOTE=TheBloodyNine;51053440]I've never seen conservative used as a criticism, just liberal.[/QUOTE] so strange that liberal is a bad word in america
i prefer the classical definition of liberal, but in america it is practically a synonym for "democrat".
[QUOTE=Ninja Gnome;51053759]i prefer the classical definition of liberal, but in america it is practically a synonym for "democrat".[/QUOTE] you mean baby-killing, satanic communists?
[QUOTE=Ninja Gnome;51053759] "democrat".[/QUOTE] Which is a party that acts as a big tent of ideas and competing interests. When i said you, I meant memebers of the forum.
[QUOTE=Guriosity;51053768]Which is a party that acts as a big tent of ideas and competing interests.[/QUOTE] exactly. nuance has been all but murdered in america's sphere of political discussion. people seem to treat it more like a match of football between two bitter rivals, adopting the policies of their side as though they are the team colors
[QUOTE=Ninja Gnome;51053777]exactly. nuance has been all but murdered in america's sphere of political discussion. people seem to treat it more like a match of football between two bitter rivals, adopting the policies of their side as though they are the team colors[/QUOTE] Which is why I created my own political theory to address that. To talk about my views would derail the thread. I ask the question to see how well the forum dwellers know their own views. Cause a lot on other forums don't. Cant fight for a cause if a person doesnt know shit of the who, what, when where and why for what they are fighting for.
to me, a liberal is someone who values personal freedoms, coming from the latin word "liberalis" meaning 'of freedom'. i would say they should also have compassion for their fellow man, and a willingness to help bring each other up. they should strive for a world where no man fears persecution for their body or way of life, instead adopting a "live and let live" attitude. i consider myself a liberal by this definition of my own accord. sadly, this is an idyllic definition which doesn't gel too well with the reality of how the term is used regularly within this fine nation of ours. i am not sure if the modern definition of "liberal" has a definite school of thought behind it, just ideas cobbled together from vaguely left ideologies.
Liberalism has drifted away from its classical values and the modern view is more in touch with individualism.
frickin' liberals catch the wave
If you're American and don't mind the balls touching, mind criminals being put down, like SOLAR FREAKIN' ROADWAYS, and just want everyone to get along, you're a liberal. If you're European and Americans (mostly republicans) think you're a filthy commie, you're a liberal. You are absolutely not a liberal if: You're a redneck You're a /pol/lack You're a turbo SJW/feminist You're an actual commie Basically, liberals like boring but practical politics and rarely commit to radical solutions, but still seek change. I'd call them normal people but that's just because I'm a filthy commie.
weak leftists that won't embrace full communism
[QUOTE=Bert the Turtle;51053939]weak leftists that won't embrace full communism[/QUOTE] Its documented a few have. Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism is a book which describes a few cases. In case of communistic china, all it takes is a few whacks across the back of the head.
[QUOTE=Bert the Turtle;51053939]weak leftists that won't embrace full communism[/QUOTE] Hilarious when american conservatives who say liberals (but mean Democrats) are marxists (but mean communists but actually mean stalinists) Imagine the logic putting neoliberals and communists in the same bucket.
If seedeater weren't banned we could summon him to give a really good response. But as someone said, reading the wikipedia page for "liberal" is actually a pretty good place to start. "Liberal" encompasses a lot of things even before we get to the fucktards who think everyone mildly to the left of them is a liberal commie.
[QUOTE=mdeceiver79;51054396]Hilarious when american conservatives who say liberals (but mean Democrats) are marxists (but mean communists but actually mean stalinists) Imagine the logic putting neoliberals and communists in the same bucket.[/QUOTE] I can do that. I can actually do that [QUOTE]seedeater [/QUOTE] Who?
[QUOTE=Guriosity;51055812]I can do that. I can actually do that Who?[/QUOTE] Was a poster who was basically an expert on political science. He was slain by the mods tho
I suppose my idea of being liberal is being compassionate and considerate of all, of being open to new ideas and being willing to question existing schools of thought. That's the only way I can sum it up in a sentence but yeah.
[QUOTE=TheBloodyNine;51053440]I've never seen conservative used as a criticism, just liberal.[/QUOTE] Not trying to be offensive here or insult anyone and seeing as I'm not even American I don't know how much weight my statement has in this debate, but literally every German I know and have talked to about consevative Americans tends to view the conservatives as the "dumb and idiotic" type of American with outdated views and stuff. At least the conservative republicans.
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