what are characteristics of American liberalism?

Answer 1

Having political or social views favoring reform and progress
tolerant of change; not bound by authoritarianism, orthodoxy, or tradition,
a person who favors a political philosophy of progress and reform and the protection of civil liberties

Answer 2

American Liberalism is based in two phases of liberalism.

One is Classical Liberalism which emphasizes an elected government, constitution, and is anti-authoritarianism. Both the Republicans and Democrats are Classical Liberals.

The other is Progressive Liberalism, which is only emphasized by the Democratic Party. It's major tennents are the active use of the Government to protect the economy, specifically the American worker, it is not anti-Capitalist, but it will come off as anti-big profit at times by fostering greater compitition between businesses. In international affairs, it favors working with other nations, not bossing them around. On social issues, they believe that the Government should not be used to inforce percieved "morals" as this brings the government too much into the private lives of indivduals. They back minority rights and protection from the week against the strong and the use of welfare to aide the poor.

Answer 3

The term liberalism in the United States today most often refers to Modern liberalism in the United States, a political current that reached its high-water marks with Franklin Delano Roosevelt's New Deal, and Lyndon Johnson's Great Society. It is a form of social liberalism, combining support for government social programs, progressive taxation, and moderate Keynesianism with a broad concept of rights, which sometimes include a right to education and health care. However, this is by no means the only contemporary American political current that draws heavily on the liberal tradition. Libertarianism is often said to be generally resembling, though not necessarily identical, to American classical liberalism, which advocates the laissez-faire doctrines of political and economic liberalism, equality before the law, individual freedom and self-reliance, which is in contrast but not necessarily in contradiction to social liberalism's concern with state-provided equality of opportunity.

Answer 4

wow...ive never seen so many angry rednecks in one spot.
Oh wait, i had the displeasure of living in houston for 4 years, i take that back. Anyways...


First of all, unlike the angry war mongering hicks that answered first, I will provide my credentials. I speak 3 languages and am studing diplomacy and international relations at Seton Hall University. I have traveled all over the world and lived in South America for two years (not texas my entire life billy bob).

Anyways this is a really big question, liberalism in general believes that all people are generally good and do not intened harm, as opposed to conservatism or realism which says that one must protect himself because of the general mal intent of humans. Obviously there are a thousand different topics that you could cover but liberalism generaly promots freedom for all in all forms (such as legal gay marriage, the right to abort a baby if the mother feels it is neccessary, etc.).

To the extreme contrary of what some of the highschool drop outs have said, liberals do not cut and run from war. In fact, more U.S wars have been conducted under democratic leadership than republican (check your facts next time guys).

And as im sure you can tell, liberals also tend to give better answers to questions and not angry, uneducated rants.

oh and 2008 is a no contest, you angry red necks are gonna have a fun time answering to a Clinton for another 8 years.

Answer 5

Liberalism in the United States of America is a broad political and philosophical mindset, favoring individual liberty, and opposing restrictions on liberty, whether they come from established religion, from government regulation, or from the existing class structure. Liberalism in the United States takes various forms, ranging from classical liberalism to social liberalism to neoliberalism.

The United States Declaration of Independence speaks of "unalienable rights" to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness", which can be identified as ideals of classical liberalism, and asserts that government may exist only with the "consent of the governed"; the Preamble to the Constitution enumerates among its purposes to "secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity"; the Bill of Rights contains numerous measures guaranteeing individual freedom, both from the authority of the state and from the tyranny of the majority; and the Reconstruction Amendments after the Civil War freed the slaves and aimed to extend to them and to their descendants the same rights as other Americans. "Liberalism" in the sense of John Locke and freedom to acquire property, was a parallel concept. Historians debate how much it contradicted or reinforced republicanism.

The term liberalism in the United States today most often refers to Modern liberalism in the United States, a political current that reached its high-water marks with Franklin Delano Roosevelt's New Deal, and Lyndon Johnson's Great Society. It is a form of social liberalism, combining support for government social programs, progressive taxation, and moderate Keynesianism with a broad concept of rights, which sometimes include a right to education and health care. However, this is by no means the only contemporary American political current that draws heavily on the liberal tradition. Libertarianism is often said to be generally resembling, though not necessarily identical, to American classical liberalism, which advocates the laissez-faire doctrines of political and economic liberalism, equality before the law, individual freedom and self-reliance, which is in contrast but not necessarily in contradiction to social liberalism's concern with state-provided equality of opportunity.

Answer 6

Freedom, as laid out in the Constitution of the United States, and The Declaration of Independence.

Answer 7

Judging by the answers given here, liberals are the people who don't stoop to the lowest common denominator and engage in vitriolic rhetoric.

Answer 8

Well done Matthew - it is interesting to note that for all thier hatred - conservatives actually have no idea what liberalism is or what liberals believe in!

Answer 9

Liberals tend to believe in the social contract, that we are stronger as a nation when we empower each other and conduct our government for broad social benefit rather than for individual benefit. Liberals do not believe that the end justifies the means. Liberals believe in the common good. They care about their own neighbors, their own communities and people who are different than they are.

They strive to enfranchise as many people as possible. They led the fight for black Americans and women to get the right to vote. Liberals believe in the separation of church and state. They led the fight for older and disabled Americans who wanted public restrooms and sidewalks to accommodate wheelchairs. They fought for American workers who wanted a decent minimum wage and a forty-hour work week. They outlawed child labor so children wouldn’t have to work like slaves in factories and mines. They stand for working mothers who need equal pay and decent childcare and helped institute safe retirement plans from employers. They support preschool nutritional programs and after-school programs for the poor. They fight for prenatal care programs and health care for all so our children can grow up healthy.

Liberals support homosexuals who want to be able to rent a house or an apartment or get a job or adopt a child or form a civil union without discrimination. They fight for police organizations that plead for a ban on the guns that slaughter police officers and over 40,000 Americans every year. Liberals believe in taking care of the environment and protecting our people from pollution and poisons that are being put in the air and water. They led the fight for the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act and protection of our national parks from development and degradation.

They stand for protecting our Constitutional freedoms, including freedom of speech. They want the Internet to remain free. They want to strengthen the study of science and technology so that our young people will be able to pass the new global job market tests and have bright futures.

Liberals fought for laws to regulate the meat packing industry and to have products properly labeled for our protection. Liberals fought for affordable public transportation, workers’ compensation and unemployment benefits. Liberals instituted the federal insurance of the FSLIC to protect our money from unscrupulous bankers who ruined the banking system before the Great Depression. They fought for student loans, mortgage assistance, rural electrification and Social Security.

These are some of the reasons I’m proud to be a liberal because, as a Christian, these issues represent my moral values: caring about the less fortunate, being tolerant of my fellow humans, taking good care of the planet God gave us.

Answer 10

I don't know that American liberalism is any different than any other liberalism.

Here are its traits:


liberalism

Main Entry: lib·er·al·ism
Pronunciation: 'li-b(&-)r&-"li-z&m
Function: noun
1 : the quality or state of being liberal
2 a often capitalized : a movement in modern Protestantism emphasizing intellectual liberty and the spiritual and ethical content of Christianity b : a theory in economics emphasizing individual freedom from restraint and usually based on free competition, the self-regulating market, and the gold standard c : a political philosophy based on belief in progress, the essential goodness of the human race, and the autonomy of the individual and standing for the protection of political and civil liberties d capitalized : the principles and policies of a Liberal party