Libertarianism and Conservatism vs. Liberalism and Progressivism

Let me start with definitions.

Libertarianism is the advocacy of individual Liberty. It's about Freedom, in both the economic and social spheres. As minimal government as possible, and certainly as little intrusion in peoples' affairs. Strict adherence to the Constitution, which was written by Libertarians to form a Libertarian society.

Conservatism is based upon three principles: Libertarianism, anti-Communism, and traditional values.

The words Liberalism and Libertarianism share a common root - Liberty, though the meaning of the word has radically changed over the past two centuries. Thomas Jefferson was a Liberal, and he would have nothing to do with the modern Liberal agenda. A true Liberal is a Libertarian. I wear the Liberal label proudly. In fact...

The modern usage of the term Liberal makes it a synonym for Progressivism. Progressives never met a govt. program they didn't like, nor a tax they didn't like. They see government as the solution to all of society's ills.

Terms often thrown around by left-leaning politicians include "social justice," and "economic justice" - these all are the main planks of the early Progressive movement and remain part of the lexicon today.

Wikipedia's definition of Liberalism:

Liberalism (from the Latin liberalis, "of freedom")[1] is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights.[2] Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but most liberals support such fundamental ideas as constitutions, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights, capitalism, free trade, and the freedom of religion.[3][4][5][6][7] These ideas are widely accepted, even by political groups that do not openly profess a liberal ideological orientation.

By this definition, I consider myself a Liberal.

Conservatives are 1/3 Libertarian - see the definition above. For this reason, people do confuse Libertarians with Conservatives. They share the small government, lower taxes, and rugged individual mentality, but they don't share ideas about the role of government, foreign policy, or the traditional values aspect.

People also confuse Conservatives with Neo-Conservatives. Ronald Reagan was an actual Conservative, but those republicans elected in 1994 that put Reagan on some sort of pedestal had little in common with him when it came to political philosophy. I look at public figures and I simply don't see many actual conservatives anymore, like William F. Buckley or Barry Goldwater or Reagan. All I see are Neocons. Or JFK, who was a rabid anti-communist, a laissez-faire economist, and favored lower taxes.

Neo-Conservatives are faux Conservatives. There is no element of anti-communism to their philosophy - the Berlin Wall fell before it became a widespread movement. There is no particular Libertarian element to their philosophy either - witness things like the Patriot Act, anti-abortion stance, and so on.

Neo-Conservatives take the traditional values aspect of Conservatism to extreme. This is a Christian nation, and in every way they push religion and other stodgy social values on people THROUGH GOVT.

Neo-Conservatives also have little to do with making govt. smaller. Before Obama's massive stimulus bill, the largest spending bill in history was a highway funding bill passed by Republicans during the Bush years, and I'd also point to a 50% growth in govt. from 2001 to 2008, and especially the hugely expensive Medicare prescription drug add-on.

Heck, W's first 100 days were full of legislation like "No Child Left Behind" - education being a rather lefty sort of agenda item, right? His father used his political capital during his first 100 days to pass a civil rights bill (Americans with Disabilities Act) and an environmental bill (Clean Air Act). Not exactly right wing agenda items, right?

If you think government is good, then you're likely a Progressive. If you think government is bad, then you're likely a Libertarian. If you believe in people, you're likely a Libertarian. If you believe everyone is an idiot except for you and needs to be told how to live, you're likely a Progressive.

So when I say Reagan was a Libertarian, it's because he said things like "govt. is not the solution to the problem, it is the problem."

In fact, I'll conclude this post with a quote from his first inaugural address:

And if you don't realize JFK was a Conservative, compare this quote from Reagan's speech with one from JFK's:

Reagan

JFK

 

The purpose is to try to convince everyone how superior Libertarians are. And how every president from Washington to Reagan was a Libertarian (and yet, strangely, we don't have a libertarian government). And so on.

barfo

 

It helps to explain how Denny became the Colonel Gaddafi of internet sports forums.

 

Really?

The purpose was to put forth definitions of a few of the more commonly talked about political philosophies on this board.

Judging from the big 3 poll, a lot of people don't get what the terms mean. Judging by how people call themselves libertarian, a lot of people don't get what the terms mean, either.

For example, I don't see how anyone can call themselves a Libertarian and oppose gay marriage.

 

OK, I'll bite. First, are you only a libertarian if you are 100% "libertarian"? Can you think gay marriage is great but also think that there are times that our military should step outside of our borders?

Secondly, can you call yourself a Libertarian if you think gay marriage is fine but don't want to give tax breaks based on it?

 

Conservatism is 1/3 traditional values.

I wasn't referring to specific values but more a favoring of the status quo or resistance to change.

I hope that clears it up for you.