I recently asked a few of my peers what "liberalism" means to them:
-In the eyes of many, liberal is associated with strange/unconventional/out there.
-A strong central government that has a social responsibility to take care of the people (spending money on the poor, the elderly, rehabilitating criminals). Liberals are more 'free thinking' than conservatives and believe in equality among all individuals and peaceful conflict resolution.
-Bill Clinton is a lot more liberal than John Kerry, who seems to be a moderate Democrat.
-A liberal will also do his/her best to improve everyone's status, especially those who do not have a voice.
-To continue the Founders' quest for freedom from governmental tyranny and oppression of the weak by a narrow-minded majority.
-Big government (i.e. welfare, government funding of the environment, public health care).
Shuffling back and forth across the Pond, I've noticed that Americans and Europeans seem to have very different notions of liberalism. While in the Old World a liberal would sit on the right side of the aisle, we put liberals to the left (for the sake of argument, a "liberal" is anyone who identifies him or herself as one). The easiest explanation is that the "center" of European politics is located somewhere left of the U.S. center; however, this strikes me as rather simplistic.
Academics distinguish between political liberalism (a progressive attitude toward social issues) and economic liberalism (a belief in free market economics and a minimal economic function for the government). As an observer of the politics of Western nations, I propose the following: in the U.S., the mainstream has accepted economic liberalism as a fact of life, leaving political issues up for debate. In Europe, political liberalism has been mostly taken for granted, whereas the debate on economic liberalism opposes free-marketeers and those who favor a stronger role for the state. These people are called "socialists;" their American counterparts are called "liberals" despite being illiberal in the economic sense (they are, of course, conservative in no sense). In both societies, the accepted form of liberalism is discussed at the level of implementation - the best way to achieve an agreed-upon goal.
As collegiate political junkies, we live in a liberal/conservative duality. Yet what is conservatism? I propose: conservatism is the belief that the way the world has been run in the past is the best, and that change is generally detrimental to society. Again, we must distinguish between political and economic liberalism. Political liberalism does indeed appear radically opposed to conservatism. I happen to have "liberal views" on abortion, gay rights and the place of religion in society, pitting me against most conservatives. Economic liberalism, however, is much trickier. A free market and hands-off government? Hmm, sounds a lot like conservatism to me. And it stands to reason: Both Adam Smith's "invisible hand" economics and the Protestant work ethic (a dominant American value dear to conservatives) stem from Calvinism and have evolved together.
To recap: political liberalism != conservatism, and economic liberalism = conservatism. So by the transitive property, political liberalism != economic liberalism? Yes. Mamma mia.
Take the issue of globalization - the erosion of national sovereignty through the action of transnational actors. If I'm politically liberal, I hate globalization. It lets Nike tell Cambodia what labor laws it should have so that 12-year-olds can make sneakers until their fingers bleed. It forces developing countries to compete with rich nations like the U.S. and Japan, which have a comparative advantage in almost everything. It's the reason American jobs are being outsourced from Detroit to India. It destroys local cultural identity, replacing it with the MTV/Britney Spears/McDonald's package deal. It contributes to the spread of HIV/AIDS and SARS through migration.
However, I'm a schizo, and I am now economically liberal. Are you kidding, I love globalization! It's the free market on a global scale. It is individual freedom to communicate, travel, and trade as never before. It allows consumers to purchase the same product at a lower price - now that my car is built in India rather than Michigan, it's much cheaper thanks to lower wages for Indian factory workers. Plus, now that (almost) everyone speaks some form of International English, wears blue jeans and listens to Madonna, human beings around the globe have more in common than ever before, and some day, these linkages are sure to make war obsolete. It's a small world after all.
Going back to my original question; who's liberal? According to my panelists:
-Democrats
-France, Germany and the United Kingdom
-John F. Kennedy, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Lyndon Johnson (domestically, at least) and Paul Wellstone
-John Kerry, Ted Kennedy, Joe Biden, Barack Obama, Tom Daschle, and Madeline Albright
So, are you liberal? Am I? Politically, I'm a progressive. I believe that liberalization is less of a political movement than it is the natural (and at times, painful) progression of humankind - which leaves me a political liberal. I consider myself a moderate economic liberal-- yes to free markets, no to "savage capitalism." I consider the modern Democratic Party politically liberal and economically moderate, while the Republican Party is politically conservative and economically liberal. Mamma mia indeed.
See what I mean? Either we're all liberal, or none of us are.
