A Word About "Liberal"

Over the last forty years, the word "liberal" has become a pejorative, synonymous with "unAmerican." As a result, many Democrats have shied away from being called liberal. "Liberalism" is railed against by culture warriors such as Ann Coulter, Sean Hannity, and Bill O'Reilly. However, this is a mischaracterization of the ideology. Liberalism is defined as "a political ideology that seeks to maximize individual liberties."

Today, there are differing views on how best to maximize liberties. One view, referred to as "classical liberalism" seeks to limit the size of the government and allow the individual as much freedom as possible. The other view, popularized in the early 20th century, is "social liberalism" seeks to maximize individual freedoms by improving social conditions, usually through government intervention and regulation. The use of government programs often puts classic liberals at odds with social liberals. For much of the 20th century, "liberals" referred to social liberals and "conservatives" described classic liberals.


Surely, there have always been traditionalists in the United States. In terms of liberalism, there were always people who were more liberal and people who were more conservative. Throughout American history, there were liberals and conservatives in most major parties. For the most part, the broad difference among these people was the best way to preserve and expand the liberal ideal of freedom.

However, over the last twenty years, the Republican Party has skewed towards classic conservativism, which historical has been absolutist in nature. It is unconcerned about the size of the government but obsessed with preserving or restoring traditions. It demands an emensely strong executive branch. It itches to flex its military prowess And we see this with the Bush Administration, which has increased the size of the government, both financially and in terms of executive power and has started a war of prevention. Working to preserve civil liberties has become an unAmerican and "liberal" scheme to ruin the country. We are told to believe that liberalism is a foreign ideology and contrary to American ideals.

However, this ignores history. The United States was founded very specifically on liberal ideals. Liberal theorists such as Montesquieu, Rousseau, and Locke in particular had major influences on the Founding Fathers and their beliefs. The Declaration of Independence reads very much like a John Locke treatise, and the Constitution borrows many ideas from Montesquieu and other liberal writers. Liberalism is at the core of the United States and its institutions. To claim otherwise is factually inaccurate and intellectually dishonest.