5 Votes
What's In a Name?
As a Canadian, there are a few things I don’t understand about American culture. One of them is the way words like "liberal" and "libertarian" seem to be used.
Often these terms are used together, and/or in the company of "left-wing." My confusion is that libertarians and left-wingers really don’t seem to belong in the same camp, and yet they are often grouped together. For example, someone who is liberal or left-wing seems to have a more socialist political leaning. A neo-liberal or a libertarian, however, is staunchly capitalist (although I have no idea which way one might vote) and supports free market economics, which seem to be more in keeping with a right-wing/conservative view.
It’s like there are three camps, with libertarians hovering oddly between left-wing and right-wing. So, I wonder if anyone can shed any more light on this, or if it’s just as confusing for Americans in trying to sort out their politics. The whole thing reminds me a lot of the Political Compass — but where do all these groups fit in?
Similarly tagged OmniNerd content:
- Reflections on my Omninerd Anniversary, by Occams over 3 years ago
- The Left and Women's Rights, by Brandon almost 4 years ago
- A Question of Morality, by NomadSoul over 4 years ago
- Discover the Networks, by PowerPointSamurai over 5 years ago
Print Friendly
Write an Article
Labels by indigosplinter
Nomad, I’ll try and answer this as concisely as possible, though there’s a certain amount of opinion in here, as I’m sure will become obvious as you accumulate more comments.
Just a few things?! I’ll do what I can.
"Liberal" and "Libertarian" are two completely opposite sides of the American political spectrum. I’m sure you have a decent understanding of what liberal is, so I’ll start with libertarianism.
You are correct, libertarians are staunch capitalists. They believe in an ultra-minimalist approach to government and that the government’s authority ends at the US Constitution, and that the free market should be allowed to decide as much as it’s capable (i.e. success/failure). Like American conservatives, they are constitutional strict constructionists. In a broad way, you can think of them as devoted individualists. Many essentially believe that the philosophy of "you leave me alone, I’ll leave you alone" should dominate politics and subordinate all other concerns. Their view of government is such that, while they believe very strongly that there are things the government should and must do, that the reins on it should be very tightly controlled. For instance, they do not think that the US Federal government should manage monetary or educational policy, but they do believe that it should regulate commerce and defense. And they are very vocal about the distinction. They tend to vote with the Republican Party, which has a solid libertarian wing.
I’ll just touch on neo-liberals or "classic" liberals—that’s a label sometimes assumed by American conservatives. I won’t debate the merits of them doing so (again, it’s opinion), but they consider themselves the proper heirs of classic liberalism in the 18th century British definition of the word.
Assuming the label "liberal" in American politics is somewhat problematic. Generally, it’s considered a dirty word, even among staunch left-wingers (although some use it with pride, others to be confrontational). True liberals tend to be on the far left of the Democratic Party, or members of the Green Party. Most other liberals, in the general sense, prefer to be called "progressives." It’s ("liberal") a dirty word (depending on who you ask) because, in the past, Americans have been disillusioned by liberal plans/policies with that label. One possible example is ERA. Some, because they have failed/met with suspicion, and some because (by, for instance, western European standards) America is fundamentally a center-right country. Liberalism implies a kind of activist policy that many find distasteful. However, progressives (and even liberals) believe that the government is the primary mechanism through which all positive (and negative) change can be effected. They believe the government has the role and the right to provide for the needs of an individual completely, generally in a collective fashion (used as in collective bargaining). They see the US Constitution as a living document. Again, you’re probably familiar with the rest of the details (depending on your perspective of the term), but those are the specifics of how it applies to American politics.