backtrack wrote:
Monkey wrote:
Yeah! Have been thinking the same thing. Both political parties are based on very basic liberal principles. Rights of the individual, liberty, democracy etc. etc.
I'm not sure that's what Samba meant, but with his typing skills, you can never be too sure
I also don't know if I would class "Rights of the individual, liberty, democracy" as specifically liberal. They are more kind of basic aims that most governments aim for.
I think it's things like that that make "Liberal" a "dirty word," the assumption that it some how is innately hippyish. When in fact it's just been abused and redefined... from whatever it's original definition was.
I think you misread me. I mean liberal in a philosophical since, as in Rawl's since of liberal. There is no doubt that liberty, and individual freedom are liberal, and American values.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LiberalismLiberalism refers to a broad array of related ideas and theories of government that consider individual liberty to be the most important political goal.[1] Modern liberalism has its roots in the Age of Enlightenment.
Broadly speaking, liberalism emphasizes individual rights and equality of opportunity. Different forms of liberalism may propose very different policies, but they are generally united by their support for a number of principles, including extensive freedom of thought and speech, limitations on the power of governments, the rule of law, the free exchange of ideas, a market or mixed economy, and a transparent system of government.[2
