The Definition of Liberal[1] Given that liberalism represents the center of the political spectrum, the definition of liberal is often wildly abused by ideologues who seek to discredit liberal democracy by appropriating the word liberal for themselves. [2] Liberalism is not an ideology. Liberalism is best thought of as a standing argument based on a shared set of assumptions. This liberal argument is fought between two distinct kinds of liberals, classical liberals and modern liberals, whom Americans simply call "conservatives" and "liberals," respectively. [3] (Note that a Republican is not necessarily the same thing as a "conservative" and a Democrat is not necessarily the same thing as a "liberal," as party affiliations are often wrongly used by journalists and pundits as synonyms for political outlooks. Also note that the mere fact that someone calls oneself a conservative or a liberal does not make that someone so.) [4] Properly understood, then, the definition of liberal is either an American-style conservative or a modern liberal. Generally speaking, liberals (i.e. both "conservatives" and "liberals") believe in the rule of law, individual rights, democracy, the division of powers, the relative freedom and equality of individuals and free markets. What liberals bitterly disagree upon, however, is the interpretation of these beliefs. [5] For example, many conservatives argue that terrorists do not have rights while embryos do; many liberals, by contrast, argue precisely the opposite because they believe that terrorists are human beings whereas embryos are not. What is mutually agreed upon, however, is that there is such a thing as a human right; a philosopher would not accept that assumption without argument. (Hence the reason why philosophers tend to be so widely disliked!) [6] Given that the definition of liberal has come to refer mostly to modern liberals, this essay will concentrate on the left side of the liberal argument. For the sake of clarity among American readers, I will use the word liberal here to refer exclusively to modern liberals. Modern Liberalism[7] The definition of liberal can be divided into 6 key principles:
[9] For the liberal what is certain is not that rights and laws exist divinely or Platonically, but that we must govern ourselves as though they do. Whereas conservatives regard written law merely as a formality and an attempt to express the divine, liberals do not trust any right that is not expressly written in law, as they know that abstract rights are those most easily infringed. [10] Liberals stress that it is ultimately government that grants and guarantees rights, and in this the definition of liberal is essentially that of a spiritual pragmatist. While many, if not most, liberals are spiritual people, their spirituality is rarely conventional or orthodox, and they often distrust organized religion. [11] The second principle within the definition of liberal is a belief in progress. Unlike ideologues, modern liberals are not utopians and they do not believe that progress has a utopian end. Rather, they believe that every tomorrow can be made better than the last and that the world can be substantially improved from its present state. [12] "We have it in our power to change the world," John Kerry declared in his speech accepting the Democratic nomination for president, echoing the optimism of Thomas Paine some 200 years earlier.1 [13] At the root of the definition of liberal is a desire to change the world, and to use government as a tool to enhance freedom. Frequently, what the conservative would preserve, the liberal would replace with economic and social experimentation, aimed at improving society in a scientific fashion. [14] "Let us resolve to make our government a place for what Franklin Roosevelt called 'bold, persistent experimentation,' a government for our tomorrows, not our yesterdays," President Clinton said in his First Inaugural Address.2 [15] The third principle of modern liberalism is the preference for equality over liberty. While it is true that some forms of equality such as equality of rights and opportunity serve to enhance liberty, most modern liberals are willing to trade certain freedoms, such as greater personal choice, in favor of greater equality and social stability. [16] "All men are created equal," Thomas Jefferson wrote in the Declaration of Independence, and it is a maxim that the liberal takes quite literally, rejecting any and all claims to aristocracy or nobility whether based on birth, wealth, or merit. "The souls of emperors and cobblers are cast in the same mould," wrote Michel de Montaigne, and liberals hold emperors in no greater esteem than cobblers.3* [17] The fourth principle in the definition of liberal is a belief in the benevolence of government and of human beings. Modern liberals believe that human nature is essentially good, and that if an individual is corrupted it is usually the fault of some social or economic injustice. [18] Moreover, the modern liberal believes that government can and should play a positive role in the lives of its citizens, particularly in the lives of the disadvantaged. Government, for the progressive, is a champion of the downtrodden and an instrument for the improvement of humankind. [19] "The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have little," declared Franklin D. Roosevelt in his Second Inaugural Address.4 [20] This belief in the inherent virtue of humanity leads to the fifth principle of the definition of liberal, the belief in the perfectibility of individuals. Modern liberals believe that with the proper education, everyone can become virtuous and live a happy, meaningful life. [21] Modern liberals define education quite broadly so as to refer to an individual's entire upbringing, as opposed to merely schooling. What Marx remarked of communists is far more true of modern liberals: Progressives do not want society to give them something; rather, they want to give themselves a society.5 [22] Much of the liberal's antagonism toward custom derives from a fear of stagnation and a feeling that conservatism serves to stifle individual development. John Stuart Mill declared that the despotism of custom is everywhere the standing hindrance to human advancement, being in unceasing antagonism to that disposition to aim at something better than customary, which is called, according to circumstances, the spirit of liberty, or that of progress or improvement.6 [23] Finally, modern liberalism rests upon a belief in the community, and a feeling that "we're all in this together." Modern liberals believe that individuals are stronger working together than they are working alone. At the root of modern liberalism is not merely the desire for equality, but for the social progress that the progressive believes only an egalitarian society can achieve. [24] "In our personal ambitions we are individualists. But in our seeking for economic and political progress as a nation, we all go up, or else we all go down, as one people," Franklin Roosevelt told the nation in his Second Inaugural Address, and his words define the liberal dream as much today as they did when he first uttered them.7 [25] Modern liberalism is, at bottom, a desire for the kind of community that only equality and progress can achieve. For the modern liberal, to be part of something greater than oneself is to be truly free. 2006
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