"Classical liberalism (also called classic liberalism or simply liberalism) is the original form of, and is today a tendency within, liberalism. It is a political school of thought that first emerged in the 17th and 18th centuries, upholding individualism and free market economics. Classical liberalism focuses on concepts of individual autonomy and private property, and argues that the sole legitimate function of government is to defend these. Classical liberals promote the use of precisely delineated constitutions that are difficult or impossible to modify, intended to prevent governments from assuming an interventionist role."
does this sound like a modern day liberal?!
2006-11-08 15:54:59 · 7 answers · asked by General P 2 in Politics & Government ➔ Politics
haha, two thumbs down but no one has the balls to answer the question.
2006-11-08 15:57:50 · update #1
Hm. are you surprised, really?
I see more people took the time to answer but the thumbs down is funny and yes, irritating. I say if you rate the question, answer it and SAY WHY!!! maybe cause of the initial question, but your "additional details" just sound like a real question.
i hate to say this, but I hate them.
2006-11-09 04:00:24 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
Yes, it sounds close enough to the modern day liberals to me, however, issues change--and therefore concepts evolve to fit the needs of the current citizenry. Even though liberals today take the ideas you state here a bit further, they aren't as far as they may seem. Individual autonomy- gay rights, women's/minority rights, reproductive rights, etc.
To me, your definition of a classical liberal sounds a bit extremist as well...it is impossible for an effective government to be completely hands off. And the conservatives aren't hands off by any means. Earmarks in 2002 numbered around 900 totalling 2.7 billion dollars....in 2005 there were over 13,000 earmarks totalling over 27 BILLION DOLLARS?! Dems. might put money into social programs, but Repubs. just put $$$ in various pork "pet projects" that do nothing to help the common man.
People are sick of the social darwinist position of the conservatives, it's wrong and hurts our country.
That is why the people mandated a change, I have a renewed faith in the democratic process. I only hope the Dems can perform...we'll have to see....
Good question, by the way. :o)
2006-11-09 00:11:54 · answer #2 · answered by ♥austingirl♥ 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Political parties rarely stay constant in their stands on issues and how to run countries over hundreds of years. As the world moderizes, political views and the issues have to change with it - though I did think that many of the concepts above still remain in the Democratic Party. Take the United States Republican Party for instance:
From Wikipedia:
The Republican Party was established in 1854 by a coalition of former Whigs, Northern Democrats, and Free-Soilers who opposed the expansion of slavery and held a vision for modernizing the United States.
The new party was created as an act of defiance against what activists denounced as the Slave Power -the powerful class of slaveholders who were conspiring to control the federal government and to spread slavery nationwide. The party founders adopted the name "Republican," echoing the 1776 Republicanism in the United States values of civic virtue and opposition to aristocracy and corruption. And, it harkened back to the party's lineage to Jefferson's early Republican Party of 1792. The new party emphasized a vision of modernizing higher education, banking, railroads, industry, and cities, while promising free homesteads to farmers.
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Does the above sound like modern day Republicans? It sure doesn't to me. It's better to stay in the here and now. It's sort of hard to see the revelancy of pointing out differences between a "classical liberal" and the liberal of today - other than a vehicle to convey your contempt for liberals. So the Democratic party has changed, so have Republicans. Shrug...
2006-11-09 00:17:35 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
Yes, at least one strand of liberalism. It certainly sounds closer to a modern liberal than a conservative fundamentalist. Many liberals support free market, and almost all liberals support individualism. Thats why liberalism is supportive of abortion rights, drug legalization, gay marriage, limited government interference in personal life, etc. The modern liberal stance on those issues is the same as the classical liberal stance on them.
Another major strand in modern liberalism is the socialist strand. But in america, this strand is less popular and the classical strand dominates. Even in the social strand, individualism is a dominant theme.
The popular uses of liberal and conservative cover a wide variety of philosophies. "Liberal" is used to mean everything from marxism to anarchism and "conservative" is used to mean everything from religious fundamentalism to libertarianism. Don't be fooled by popular and vague uses of liberal and conservative.
2006-11-09 00:02:53 · answer #4 · answered by student_of_life 6 · 3⤊ 0⤋
If liberals can take the ancient institution created to ensure healthy human procreation (i.e. marriage) and try to turn it into some kind of fringe benefit/tax savings free-for-all, can there be anything that they won't pervert?
Aren't perversion, distortion and assault the hallmarks of today's liberal? Don't they display for us the world of George Orwell, where good is evil and right is wrong?
2006-11-09 00:04:12 · answer #5 · answered by ANDYMAN 2 · 3⤊ 2⤋
Libs prefer to be called progressives. There is nothing progressive about them they just managed to Hi jack the Democratic Party.
http://blog.360.yahoo.com/blog-pOypG0szd7Pv_X1rQxw_4qCWpA--?cq=1&p=294
2006-11-09 00:08:49 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 2⤋
I'm guessing you're a con.
2006-11-08 23:59:00 · answer #7 · answered by notme 5 · 3⤊ 2⤋