- 16 Aug 2013 03:02
#14288510
In my country, the word "liberal" is basically opposed to "conservatism", and has nothing to do with economics. Liberal means that you favor freedom, progress and fairness, while conservative means you favor more tradition, tribalism and loyalty. As a result, conservatives are typically more religious, racist, militaristic and family-oriented than liberals, who are more science-oriented and more open to new ideas.
Some people in the US use these terms pretty much the same way as I use it ( e.g Jonathan Haidt in this TED talk: http://www.ted.com/talks/jonathan_haidt ... _mind.html )
However, many Americans seem to associate these terms with economic views: liberal with government regulation and spending, Keynes etc while conservatives are associated with free market economics, Mises, small government etc.
How come these terms have become associated with economic ideas in the US? Is a liberal (in the original sense) american much more likely to oppose free markets, or american conservatives (in the original sense) much more likely to distrust government? This seems pretty paradoxical to me.
Also, could we all agree to go back to using Liberal and Conservative in the traditional way?
Some people in the US use these terms pretty much the same way as I use it ( e.g Jonathan Haidt in this TED talk: http://www.ted.com/talks/jonathan_haidt ... _mind.html )
However, many Americans seem to associate these terms with economic views: liberal with government regulation and spending, Keynes etc while conservatives are associated with free market economics, Mises, small government etc.
How come these terms have become associated with economic ideas in the US? Is a liberal (in the original sense) american much more likely to oppose free markets, or american conservatives (in the original sense) much more likely to distrust government? This seems pretty paradoxical to me.
Also, could we all agree to go back to using Liberal and Conservative in the traditional way?