What characteristics make someone a liberal?

Question

I would really like to understand better, so give me examples, please.

I am getting lots of opinions here, which I really do appreciate but can you provide me with facts.

Is there such a thing as a semi-conservative libereal or the other way around?

Answer 1

The generally accepted definition is that liberals expect government to provide services to all of the citizens, and expect government to protect the freedoms and rights of all citizens.

Conservatives generally want less government, which means less government services, less government protection for citizens, and expect citizens to rely only on themselves for their needs and not government.

Look at how the conservative point of view has been corrupted over the past 20 years -- even the Republican platform still states that they believe in less government, yet W has enlarged the government (through the creation of new departments, hiring of employees, etc.) more than any other president since FDR. Conservatives officially believe in less government spending, yet W has spent more than any president in history, while cutting taxes for the rich so that there is no way to pay for all that spending without borrowing money to run up the biggest deficit in US history. At the same time he cuts government's services for the needy, he spends our money on defense contractors, needless wars, and incompetent agencies that do nothing to provide any real protection. "Conservative" has moved away from its original meaning, being taken over by religious fanatics (who want government to do MORE to enforce their own religious rules on all Americans) and by big-money defense/oil companies who want all the government's money but don't want to pay any taxes.

Liberalism has changed as well, though not as dramatically. Many "visible" liberals today are for everyone's rights except the fundamentalist religions, which they would like to squash. True liberalism is hard, you need to accept and protect the rights of everyone, even those you don't agree with. Many current so-called liberals don't live up to that ideal.

Answer 2

What constitutes a liberal?

A liberal is someone so hypocritical they can idly lounge, safely esconced in their 25 room Hollywood mansion with a heated swimming pool, separate jacuzzi, steamroom, and dry sauna, and preach about how the average person needs to cut their electricity usage so we can reduce oil imports. Heck, this "limousine liberal" might even preach this in public. He just has to climb into his Hummer. Or better yet, fly in his private jet to scold some average Joe about the evils of his oil consumption.

A liberal is overly emotional and illogical. When a conservative presents indisputable facts and shows direct correlation backed up by empirical evidence, the liberal will accuse the conservative of being mean-spirited or arrogant.

Liberals wallow in willful ignorance. They want something to be a certain way, and when a conservative proves he is wrong, the liberal gets whiny and petulant because it makes liberals feel all warm and fuzzy to "help" people. It doesn't matter that they are actually doing great damage to the people they purport to help.

One of the prime examples of this is welfare. Conservatives warned for decades that welfare was destroying entire communities, and hurting those it sought to help. People became trapped in the welfare system, and couldn't get out even if they wanted to. The liberals, on some level, loved this arrangement. They could point to these poor victims who couldn't extricate themselves from poverty and talk about how compassionate the government was. Compassionate? They were perpetuating the very poverty they supposedly wanted to alleviate.

Liberals preach that the government can cure all your problems. Nothing is your fault. You are always a helpless victim. Example: in the Bush-Kerry debates, the candidates answered
the question: "What should the government do to reduce unemployment?". In true liberal fashion, Kerry twisted his face into the very visage of selfless empathy and promised the sun and moon to everyone. The government can give you all jobs! Unemployment is not your fault. Let us handle everything for you. Let us make more programs. Let us make you more dependent on the government until you forget you are ultimately responsible for your own life.

What did Bush say? Take advantage of educational benefits you already have. If you have more training and improve your skills, you can get a better job.

Is that what people wanted to hear? No, it's what they needed to hear.

This brings me to the most critical point: personal responsibility.
You can see the enormous difference between liberal and conservative.

Answer 3

The best definitions begin with John Stuart Mill in "On Liberty"

To quote excerpts From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

On Liberty is a philosophical work in the English language by 19th century philosopher John Stuart Mill, first published in 1859. Mill was not opposed to government intervention in economic affairs; as a liberal, he believed that while property owners' rights needed to be protected, the state also had a role to play in the redistribution of wealth.
Perhaps the most memorable point made by Mill in this work, and his basis for liberty, is that "Over himself, over his own body and mind, the individual is sovereign". Mill is compelled to say this due to what he calls the "tyranny of the majority"
Mill's work could be considered a reaction to this social control by the majority and his advocation of individual decision-making over the self. The famous 'Harm Principle' is also articulated in this work: people can do anything they like as long as it does not harm others. All branches of liberalism - as well as other political ideologies - consider this to be one of their core principles. However, they often disagree on what exactly constitutes harm.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_Liberty
ALSO
http://www.cjnetworks.com/~cubsfan/libstand.html

Answer 4

liberal in the true sense of the word means generous. It can also mean open or, as I interpret it, open-minded.

liberals in politics (the most common association of the word) tend to support public funding of government-assistance programs. these programs range from government funding of the arts, scientific research, medicare/medicaid, food stamps, welfare, and the like. they also support social freedoms, and tend to be against government intrusion into personal decisions, such as religion, abortion, sexual preference, privacy, anti-censorship, etc.

although both sides have their fanatic/fringe positions, liberals are more often seen as compassionate and educated. They are supportive of the poor and indigent, those who really need assistance. no matter what the right-wing nut jobs have been manipulated into believing, some people need help.

liberals believe the lower and middle class need more help (tax breaks and social welfare).

conservatives believe corporations and upper class deserve tax breaks and social welfare (incentives).

Answer 5

turboweegie: oh you mean like how we define what people can and can not get married... oh wait that's the conservatives... or how we try and force one person's religion on everyone... oh wait that's conservatives... or how we take away civil liberties in the name of "security"... oh wait that's conservatives... or how we tell a woman what she can do with her body.... or how we promote business that clearly take advantage of people in other countries... oh wait all those are conservatives...

yeah... we clearly want to tell people what they can and can not do while the poor conservatives just want to stay out of everyone life... hahahaha

pachl@sbcglo.... hahaha... I've never seen a conservative produce "indisputable facts" on here... they just call people stupid, un-American and cowards... oh those are rational unemotional responses... hahahaha

the few facts they do have, they don't hardly EVER cite... I assume because they don't actually know where the email they received got the stats from...hahahaha... thanks for the laugh... if that's a conservative... there is not one on here or in government...

Answer 6

The belief that they know better than others how they should live, and that they should be able to use the powers of government to force people to live according to liberal visions. For their own good, of course. Because their political views are the only moral ones and all others are evil.

Answer 7

I know what characteristics make me a liberal. I believe in:

-- Limitations on the power of government and religion (it was liberals who first challenged the ideas of the "Divine Right" of royalty and of official "state religions.")
--The rule of law, equally applied to all people
--Freedom of thought and experession, even for ideas with which I do not agree.
--An open and transparent government in which the rights of social and ethnic minorities are guaranteed and equal
--That the individual knows best how to govern him or herself, but must also abide by the social contract that people make laws and must abide by them.
--That the government should provide for a basic opportunity for all citizens to succeed, including education, economic opportunity, and a minimum wage.

Answer 8

Intelligence is the main thing.

Belief in democracy and in the little people (the taxpayers), as opposed to big businesses and the wealthy who get all the tax cuts because they are all Republican. Must be nice to be a rich jerk.

Liberals are also not narrow-minded and ill-educated like conservatists.

Answer 9

whatever balls w...
Liberal in the US, is someone who believes that killing for oil, hating people for their skin colour and sexuality, being a ruthless capitalist who steps over human bodies is wrong and unethical.
Many say that liberals hate the US as the dork above said, but if love for one's country means to blindly accept everything and just worship a flag without knowing why, then it is just pathetic.
I am not a liberal though, but I just dont do the uneducated and blind patriots.

Answer 10

well you are probably a treehugger think the world is going to overheat becasue of "global Warming" dont care about unborn babies or the sanctity of marrige, very very emotional, and most important of all doesnt support America in any thing we do.