Liberals

(noun)

Social liberals (modern liberals) and progressives constitute roughly half of the Democratic voter base. A large majority of liberals favor universal health care, with many supporting a single-payer system, diplomacy over military action, stem cell research, legalization of same-sex marriage, secular government, stricter gun control, and environmental protection laws as well as the preservation of abortion rights. Immigration and cultural diversity is deemed positive; liberals favor cultural pluralism, a system in which immigrants retain their native culture in addition to adopting their new culture.

Related Terms

Examples of Liberals in the following topics:

  • Liberalism

    • Liberalism is a broad political ideology or worldview founded on the ideas of liberty and equality.
    • Both modern American conservatism and social liberalism split from Classical Liberalism in the early 20th century.
    • Conversely social liberals adopted the Classical Liberal belief in defending social civil liberties.
    • Many fundamental elements of modern society have liberal roots.
    • In the 1960s and 1970s, feminism in the United States was advanced in large part by liberal feminist organizations.Many liberals also have advocated for racial equality, and the civil rights movement in the United States during the 1960s strongly highlighted the liberal crusade for equal rights.

  • Political Ideology

    • Among those who do identify as either liberal or conservative, few identify as "far left" or "far right. " Most Americans either identify as "moderate" or as "somewhat" liberal or conservative.
    • In another polling in June 2010, 40% of American voters identify themselves as conservatives, 36% as moderates and 22% as liberals, with a strong majority of both liberals and conservatives describing themselves as closer to the center than to the extremes .
    • Liberalism and conservatism are the most common ideologies in the U.S., apart from those who identify as moderate.
    • Moderates are commonly defined through limiting the extent to which they adopt liberal and conservative ideas.
    • Libertarians commonly hold liberal views on social issues but conservative views on economic issues.

  • The Democratic Party

    • The Democratic Party is a major political party in the US which promotes a social liberal, social democratic and progressive platform.
    • Since the 1930s, the party has promoted a social liberal, social democratic and progressive platform, and its Congressional caucus is composed of progressives, liberals, centrists, and left-libertarians.
    • New Deal liberalism meant the promotion of social welfare, labor unions, civil rights, and regulation of business.
    • Roosevelt's economic philosophy strongly influenced American liberalism and has shaped much of the party's economic agenda since 1932.
    • Since the 1890s, the Democratic Party has favored liberal positions ("liberal" in this case meaning social liberalism).

  • Conservatism

    • Liberal conservatism is a variant of conservatism that combines conservative values and policies with classical liberal stances.
    • Historically, the term referred to combination of economic liberalism, which champions laissez-faire markets, with the classical conservatism concern for established tradition, respect for authority, and religious values.
    • It contrasted itself with classical liberalism, which supported freedom for the individual in both the economic and social spheres.
    • The meaning of "conservatism" in America has little in common with the way the word is used elsewhere, since what most Americans consider conservatism is what much of the world considers liberalism or neoliberalism.

  • From Political Values to Ideology

    • Core American political values general fall in line with one of three political ideologies: liberalism, conservatism, or moderate.
    • People who value change and a greater emphasis on collective equality tend to relate to the ideology of liberalism.
    • Liberals support more government intervention to promote economic equality, and believe the government should have more of a say in peoples' lives.
    • Moderates hold an ideology somewhere in between liberalism and conservatism.
    • Differentiate between the political ideologies of liberals, conservatives, and moderates and discuss how they relate to American political values

  • Likeability of Political Candidates

    • In many elections, candidates are primarily differentiated by being either liberal or conservative.
    • A candidate's liberal or conservative ideology is usually expressed by affiliation with a political party — in the U.S. the Republican Party is understood to be conservative and the Democratic Party is understood to be liberal.

  • Foundations of the Welfare State

    • Esping-Andersen constructed the welfare regime typology acknowledging the ideational importance and power of the three dominant political movements of the long 20th century in Western Europe and North America: Social Democracy, Christian Democracy and Liberalism.
    • On the other hand, the liberal regime is based on the notion of market dominance and private provision; ideally, the state only interferes to ameliorate poverty and provide for basic needs, largely on a means-tested basis.
    • Examples of the Liberal welfare state include Australia, Canada, Japan, Switzerland and the United States.
    • Between 1932 and 1981, modern American liberalism dominated U.S. economic policy and the entitlements grew along with American middle class wealth.
    • Compare and contrast the social-democratic welfare state, the Christian-democratic welfare state and the liberal welfare state

  • The Republican Party

    • American conservatism of the Republican Party is not wholly based upon rejection of the political ideology of liberalism, as many principles of American conservatism are based upon classical liberalism.
    • Rather the Republican Party's conservatism is largely based upon its support of classical principles against the modern liberalism of the Democratic Party that is considered American liberalism in contemporary American political discourse.
    • Prior to the formation of the conservative coalition, which helped realign the Democratic and Republican Party ideologies in the mid-1960s, the party historically advocated classical liberalism, paleo-conservatism, and progressivism.

  • The Great Depression and the New Deal

    • Its basis was liberal ideas, the white South, traditional Democrats, big city machines, and the newly empowered labor unions and ethnic minorities.
    • The Republicans were split, with conservatives opposing the entire New Deal as an enemy of business and growth, and liberals accepting some of it and promising to make it more efficient.
    • Many historians distinguish a "First New Deal" (1933–34) and a "Second New Deal" (1935–38), with the second one being more liberal and more controversial.
    • By 1942–43 they shut down relief programs such as the WPA and CCC and blocked major liberal proposals.
    • Johnson's Great Society used the New Deal as inspiration for a dramatic expansion of liberal programs, which Republican Richard M.

  • The New Deal

    • The second was more liberal and more controversial.
    • The Democratic Party became the majority party, with its base in liberal idealists, the white South, traditional Democrats, big city political machines and the newly empowered labor unions and ethnic minorities.
    • Conservatives opposed the entire New Deal as an enemy of business and growth; liberals accepted some of it but promised to make it more efficient.