werepossum
Elite Member
- Jul 10, 2006
- 29,873
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Not really. American liberals are for what liberals have promoted for the last three hundred years - Western secular humanism. Not freedom FROM religion, but freedom from oppression for one’s religion. Free market, but with protections for individual liberty against both state and private sector. In short, liberals are for maximum individual liberty, though with the understanding that compromises have to be made to have civilization.American Liberals = Progressive Pro-Government Socialists
American Conservatives = Status-Quo Minimal-Government Capitalists
Unfortunately today that is being corrupted into progressivism, which indeed is increasingly authoritarian and trades individual liberty for group-based privileges. One of the major tenants of Western liberalism is that laws must apply equally to everyone, but proggies change that by group. In some ways, the progressive is the antithesis of the liberal.
As far as American conservatives, their adherence to minimal government is a mile wide and an inch deep. As we have seen, the loudest advocates of small government are just as happy as the foamiest proggies to use the armed might of government to control others’ behavior. Even Libertarians are all too often eager to extend more freedom to corporations than to individuals. Power corrupts.