Julian Sanchez asks, if the leftists are done with it, can we have our word back?
Julian helpfully points out this definition, including
1. One usage of the term is for a tradition of thought, that tries to circumscribe the limits of political power, and to define inalienable individual rights. This usage is more common in continental Europe. See classical liberalism or libertarianism.
2. Another, less common usage, is to denote the tradition of various liberal parties. However, though said liberal parties were originally founded on the tradition above, they significantly diverged from it since they came to power in the 19th century, and liberal parties around the world are now based on a variety of unrelated ideologies, so the ideological content of the word depends on the geographical context. See political liberalism.
3. Another, common usage, denotes the ideology of social-democracy, as defended by the liberal party in UK since the early 20th century, under the influence of Fabianism. It is with this background that Keynes claimed to be liberal in the 1930s, and that many American leftists claimed to be liberal. This usage is very popular in the United States.
Now if we can just get conservatives to stop calling themselves libertarians....
Posted by Walter at July 11, 2003 08:07 AM