What Is An Economic Liberal?

[Sheiky 0]

In a politics lesson today I discovered that my understanding of what a 'liberal' politician is was actually the exact opposite of what 'liberal' really means. I was quite surprised at this as I was sure i've heard some people on this forum use 'liberal' in the same sense that I thought it belonged to, and criticise Obama for being a liberal because his policies were so left wing.So, what is a 'liberal' politician, in both economic and social terms.Who are 'liberal' politicians? And what political party is most associated with them?

[hblask 1]

In a politics lesson today I discovered that my understanding of what a 'liberal' politician is was actually the exact opposite of what 'liberal' really means. I was quite surprised at this as I was sure i've heard some people on this forum use 'liberal' in the same sense that I thought it belonged to, and criticise Obama for being a liberal because his policies were so left wing.So, what is a 'liberal' politician, in both economic and social terms.Who are 'liberal' politicians? And what political party is most associated with them?

The phrase has changed over the years. Liberal used to mean approximately what libertarian means now. They are now called "Classical liberals", to distinguish them from the big government liberals that have taken over the Democratic party. So if your professor was using it in the classical liberal sense, he probably should've made that clear, because that is not how it's used anymore. In it's current sense, liberal means big government solutions to social problems.

[checkymcfold 0]

with a little less henry-hubris.... :)social liberals are what people commonly think of as libertarians, and think that people should be able to generally do what they want in terms of their social lives as long as it's not really getting in the way of others doing the same.economic liberals believe that government programs are often the best or most prudent solution to economic troubles. it's less about "big government" as such than it is about the idea that things like social security, welfare, and education funding are best approached from a central platform.contemporary democrats are generally liberal in both senses, although neither party is really that liberal in terms of social issues.in terms of the economy, neither party really advertises itself as economically liberal, either, since the idea of "big government" has become such a boogeyman in contemporary discourse.

[Sheiky 0]

The phrase has changed over the years. Liberal used to mean approximately what libertarian means now. They are now called "Classical liberals", to distinguish them from the big government liberals that have taken over the Democratic party. So if your professor was using it in the classical liberal sense, he probably should've made that clear, because that is not how it's used anymore. In it's current sense, liberal means big government solutions to social problems.

This is EXACTLY what I said!!!He said 'No, that's the exact opposite of liberalism' Literally like ten minutes earlier he'd said how Barack Obama was a Liberal, and yet no one in my class noticed that Obama's policies are the exact opposite of the 1950s meaning of Liberalism which he told us was the only one.We're taught that the main quality of the Conservative party is that they are frightened of change and they have no ideologies, which I found just completely ridiculous. We're also taught that capitalism failed before socialism did. Damn school.

[Naked_Cowboy 0]

This is EXACTLY what I said!!!He said 'No, that's the exact opposite of liberalism' Literally like ten minutes earlier he'd said how Barack Obama was a Liberal, and yet no one in my class noticed that Obama's policies are the exact opposite of the 1950s meaning of Liberalism which he told us was the only one.We're taught that the main quality of the Conservative party is that they are frightened of change and they have no ideologies, which I found just completely ridiculous. We're also taught that capitalism failed before socialism did. Damn school.

lol. too late to drop the class? you might want to have that guy committed if possible.

[Sheiky 0]

lol. too late to drop the class? you might want to have that guy committed if possible.

It's ridiculous. I mean, I don't consider myself aligned to any political party, but he was likening a conservative to your grandma who's scared of computers and mobile phones, which I thought was misleading and a bit offensive. I'm not entirely sure on this one, but he was talking about how conservatives believe that the wealth will 'trickle down', and my contention is that Conservatives don't actually think this at all; The core belief of conservatism is that of 'rugged-individualism', that people with wealth deserve to have wealth, and that people who don't should work harder because they have incentives to. People characterize conservative thought like this a lot, but to me that's not it at all, whereas more left-wing politicians believe that it's the government's job to try to fight inequality of wealth ('spread the wealth around' if you will), I think right-wing thinkers are more of the belief that it's not the government's business to 'equalise' the wealth or to increase the wealth of those with none. I may be wrong on this, so i'd like some input from more seasoned conservatives on what they think they're party stands for in this regard.

[strategy's_touch 0]

you are misinterpreting what trickle-down means. it doesn't impy that wealth is distributed from top to bottom by gov't, just that it naturally finds its way there because of how the economy functions.

[Sheiky 0]

you are misinterpreting what trickle-down means. it doesn't impy that wealth is distributed from top to bottom by gov't, just that it naturally finds its way there because of how the economy functions.

I know that, i'm saying that they're coming at it from too different angles. Left-Wing leaners believe that society should be engineered for more equal distribution of wealth, whereas Conservatives believe in more personal responsibility for people to earn a living for themselves, and that the 'trickle down' theory isn't really that central to their idology because they're not aiming for the same goal posts(Namely, equal wealth distribution) that left-wing politicians are aiming for. Ignore that over generalisations there because I'm just trying to make my point, and probably failing

[El Guapo 8]

I really hate this. It's unfortunate, but it seems to be a growing issue. Too many teachers are imposing their own beliefs into kids and young adults education.One of the best teachers I ever had was my junior year History teacher. He was as hippy and liberal as can be. Work Birkenstocks 365 days a year, jeans and some kind of hemp wear. But when he taught, he gave us the facts and then asked us to interpret how we felt about right or wrong and the roles of government in historical situations (i.e. Vietnam). He encouraged open political discussion.He never once told us how he felt on the subject, or other polarizing historical moments in history.

[vbnautilus 48]

I really hate this. It's unfortunate, but it seems to be a growing issue. Too many teachers are imposing their own beliefs into kids and young adults education.One of the best teachers I ever had was my junior year History teacher. He was as hippy and liberal as can be. Work Birkenstocks 365 days a year, jeans and some kind of hemp wear. But when he taught, he gave us the facts and then asked us to interpret how we felt about right or wrong and the roles of government in historical situations (i.e. Vietnam). He encouraged open political discussion.He never once told us how he felt on the subject, or other polarizing historical moments in history.

That bastard indoctrinated you with his personal belief in the value of open discussion!

[Sheiky 0]

I really hate this. It's unfortunate, but it seems to be a growing issue. Too many teachers are imposing their own beliefs into kids and young adults education.One of the best teachers I ever had was my junior year History teacher. He was as hippy and liberal as can be. Work Birkenstocks 365 days a year, jeans and some kind of hemp wear. But when he taught, he gave us the facts and then asked us to interpret how we felt about right or wrong and the roles of government in historical situations (i.e. Vietnam). He encouraged open political discussion.He never once told us how he felt on the subject, or other polarizing historical moments in history.

I would absolutely hate this as well, but in this case this is surprisingly not an issue at all. The teacher in question tries his damn hardest to be fair and non-judgeworthy despite the fact it's quite clear he is a Labour supporter. That isn't his fault at all because it's just hard for an openly gay teacher to support the Conservative part. The problem seems to be in the general teaching scheme of things, which to me is even worse. The more and more I learn outside of school(from this very forum for instance) the more and more fallacies and mis-representations I notice in the teaching standards.We even have a chemistry teacher who explains the scientific qualities of intelligent design every time he has nothing better to do, which I think is a disgrace.

[JubilantLankyLad 1,957]

what level of school is this? because you should find another one to attend if possible

[strategy 4]

Left-Wing leaners believe that society should be engineered for more equal distribution of wealth

the thinking from the left, as I understand it, is more about preserving upward mobility. give the potential for success to those who are smarter and/or willing to work harder.

[JustDoIt 10]

This is EXACTLY what I said!!!He said 'No, that's the exact opposite of liberalism' Literally like ten minutes earlier he'd said how Barack Obama was a Liberal, and yet no one in my class noticed that Obama's policies are the exact opposite of the 1950s meaning of Liberalism which he told us was the only one.We're taught that the main quality of the Conservative party is that they are frightened of change and they have no ideologies, which I found just completely ridiculous. We're also taught that capitalism failed before socialism did. Damn school.

How about this Fifth Grade Teacher.

You also referred to trickle down which in its originally called trickle down economics. Guess what, it never has been tried, yes we have had part I..... taxes cut done which put more money into the economy and helped create jobs and more revenue for the government. Part II of trickle down economics has never been implemented which is cutting government spending. So when you hear trickle down economics do not work...........it has never been tried. But if it had been implemented we would be so much better off.

[Balloon guy 158]

It's kind of pointless to discuss what liberal and conservative means in America to someone from another country.Too many changes in fundamental meanings between countries.In AMERICA: A liberal is someone that wants government to actively involve itself in the lives of others to help them regardless of their ability to help themselves.So an economic liberal would be a person that wants the government to actively involve itself in the financial lives of it's citizens, by deciding the fairness of individuals financial standings.Eveyone else is wrong, unless they said what I just said.

[copernicus 0]

What is an economic liberal?Wrong.