Why are you a liberal ? Some will say they believe in social justice, equality, and compassion. Others are liberal because they support a higher minimum wage, the right to legal abortion, reducing climate change, and affordable universal healthcare. Liberalism is often identified with open mindedness, flexibility, reason, and science too. None of these things are wrong, but liberalism is a distinct political tradition based on certain values. Paul Starr writes in the Oxford Companion to American Politics : Liberalism stands for a belief in the equal right to freedom and dignity, advanced by a government of constitutionally restrained powers. In different historical contexts, liberals have varied in their understanding of that ideal and the policies needed to achieve a free and prosperous society and secure world. Author Edmund Fawcett is more concise defining liberalism as a belief in constitutional government and rule of law; hostility to concentrated power and authority; faith in progress; respect for individual rights; and tolerance.
I am a liberal because I believe in it's values.
Individual freedom the core value. Think about it as noninterference - being left alone. You can do what you want. The only legitimate exercise of government authority is to keep individuals from harming or imposing on each other. This is the basis for freedom of speech, thought, expression, religion, and privacy. It also protects your property from the government. In America these freedoms are enshrined in the Bill of Rights which are the first ten amendments to the Constitution. However noninterference isn't enough. Individuals must be able to choose and follow their own goals. We can't talk about responsibility or initiative in any meaningful sense without choice or making your own way in society. Each person must decide on an occupation, where to live, their friends, and intimate relations. People make life plans and strive to accomplish all kinds of things based on their own thoughts, desires, and efforts. Oftentimes the state, social barriers, or other people deprive individuals of choice and hinder their goals. How does this happen ? Discrimination based on race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, or national origin undermines individual freedom. Poverty, hunger, homelessness, unemployment, and the lack of affordable healthcare deprive people of all kinds of choices. This makes personal goals unattainable too. Noninterference is often called negative freedom. The ability to choose and follow your own goals is called positive freedom. Individuals need both.
In liberalism individual freedom is upheld by limited government, equality, tolerance, and pluralism.
Limited government means the state is constrained. There are things it cannot do and they are spelled out in a written constitution. Liberals oppose a government with too much power that acts arbitrarily. Such a state denies negative and positive freedoms. Imagine a government that imprisons critics, censors speech, or ideas. That government will restrict press freedom. If it owns the means of production, trade, and commerce it can mismanage the economy making life miserable for it's citizens. Moreover nobody would oppose that government because their livelihood depends on it. Limited government prevents this from happening. This is the liberal effort to control power. No government, faction, or interest group can be too powerful if power is diffused. This checks people's efforts. In America limited government depends on the separation of powers among it's executive, legislative, and judicial branches. Through a system of checks and balances neither branch is too powerful. Conservatives and liberals disagree about what constitutes limited government. Conservatives think the welfare state, progressive income taxes, and regulated markets are inconsistent with limited government. Liberals support these things while seeking to protect civil liberties, privacy, and personal freedom from government interference. It must also be pointed out that while liberals have supported a larger administrative state they work to keep it transparent and responsive. This is done through freedom of information, open records, public hearings, inspectors general, enabling, and protecting whistle blowers.
Equality is one of the most difficult yet essential parts of liberalism. People want to be free, but they do not want the same thing for others. Liberals believe every individual has the same right to freedom. They must be equal before the law, have a voice in government, and a chance to make the most of their lives. To liberals each person has worth and dignity so their rights and wellbeing matter. Equal protection shields them from state or private abuse. For all these reasons liberalism gradually embraced democracy and universal suffrage. Furthermore straight, white, male, liberals became more supportive of rights for blacks, women, and LGBT people. Liberal equality doesn't mean everyone will have the same wealth, income, prestige, or level of success. But everyone should have the same opportunity unhindered by class, race, or gender. Moreover economic inequalities should never be so great that most people struggle to survive on the verge of destitution while a few are extremely rich. Lastly liberal equality assures each citizen a voice in their government which means the monied can't dominate government officials or policy making. Without equality some individuals are free and others are not. Liberals rightly oppose this.
Tolerance is a widely misunderstood and controversial concept. Many on the left define it as affirmation without value judgement. Conservatives claim it is permissive undermining morality, values, and community. Yet tolerance is essential to a free society. It means putting up with someone or something we strongly oppose. Tolerance allows us to argue and disagree while respecting each other's life and freedom. It is not avoidance or conflict resolution. It is the direct opposite of these things. We may never resolve our differences or deep disagreements; so we must live and govern ourselves together without tyranny or violent strife. All this leads to pluralism - the coexistence of many different people, values, and lifestyles in one society. This is the reality of a modern world connected by technology, a global economy, and immigration. Liberalism doesn't strive to impose an ideal way of life. It enables different, conflicting, competing values, and thoughts to exist together. The same thing is true in politics. Liberals want to win elections and gain political power to advance their agenda. But liberals don't want to abolish or repress their opponents. That would betray everything liberalism stands for. Liberals realize in a truly free political realm where reasonable people debate in fair elections they must lose sometimes. Then they adapt making better arguments. They offer better policies the next time. For liberal pluralists the clash of political interests and views where power is checked drives the democratic process. It forces people to find political solutions they can all live with. Like limited government and equality individual freedom is not possible without tolerance leading to pluralism.
None of this is abstract to me. Liberalism informs how I think about capitalism, social equality, identity politics, right, and left wing political views. While it's important to criticize liberal shortcomings, I do so in hopes of improving it. A broad minded liberalism that can critique systems and recognize the injustices faced by marginalized groups best advances individual freedom and a society that works for every person. I believe we lack a strong political liberalism right now, and our politics suffer because of this. At the same time these views are my own and other liberals may disagree.
Contrary to popular belief liberals are not against capitalism. I believe competitive markets and private enterprise assure freedom and lead to prosperity. Most people who own businesses don't become rich, but they do enjoy a middle class life. For many of them it's a dream come true and they gain satisfaction from entrepreneurship. They make choices and find their own way. Other people build large businesses into corporations with shareholders. They provide all kinds of goods and services we need and want. Unhindered by the government they create good paying jobs for others and get rich themselves. This wealth/income inequality is inevitable and necessary to reward risk, initiative, talent, and innovation. At the same time too much inequality threatens freedom and shared prosperity. It causes the average working person to struggle for survival while a wealthy elite thrives. This isn't good for our individual freedom, democracy, or material wellbeing. Regulations are needed to protect consumers, labor, the environment, and competition from excesses and abuses resulting from the pursuit of profit. Progressive taxes are a way to redistribute wealth and income. They also pay for a welfare state that takes care of needs which markets, civil society, and individuals cannot.
When it comes to social equality and ensuring freedom for every person a liberal politics must take up the struggles against systemic racism, sexism, homophobia, and transphobia. Nothing about this is easy. Activist methods and rhetoric may be objectionable at times. However we can't be true to liberalism or American ideals by downplaying or dismissing these struggles. The fights to protect abortion rights and maintain separation of church and state are important too. They go to the heart of what it means to live in a tolerant and pluralist society. Right now too many liberals say the focus on racism and these other issues is dividing the country. They claim it has polarized our politics making it impossible to get anything done for the American people. Many say it keeps liberals and the Democratic Party from getting white male socially conservative voters to win elections. Others oppose the focus on group identities; and shutting down views deemed racist, sexist, and homophobic is illiberal. Make no mistake about the liberal obligation to stand up for individual rights and free speech for all including the most objectionable. At the same time blacks, women, gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered people are not as free or equal to straight, white, cisgender men. They are kept out and silenced in many ways. Liberals must not put them off for political expediency or the privileges of straight white men who feel threatened by those demanding freedom and equality.
Liberalism is different from conservatism and socialism. Liberalism sees people as individuals whose lives and dignity should not be sacrificed in the name of order, tradition, stability, or collectivism. We liberals think that order and stability should benefit individuals. Furthermore each person has to decide what traditions to honor or reject while living their own lives. No person should be forced by the state or others to observe any tradition. This does not harm or impose on others. Throughout history tradition, order, and stability have allowed all kinds of injustice against individuals and certain groups.
Socialism is wrong because it vilifies the capitalist class as inherently oppressive. It strips them of their property in favor of workers and abolishes them as people. Liberalism rightly opposes this because it goes against freedom and equality. It vests all power in the workers with no regard for the individual. Even if socialism is achieved through democracy liberals see it as stifling, conformity, and regimentation that interferes with individuals. It deprives them of choice.
None of this means liberalism is the same as centrism which is always partly conservative. Liberals can join with the right to oppose fascism or work with the left to reform capitalism. However liberals always keep their own distinct values and goals in mind.
American history has shown what reformist liberalism can do to change the country for the better. We must rediscover and renew our commitment to political liberalism. This requires talking about our vision, values, and policies in terms of freedom. We should argue for an economy that benefits working people not just the wealthy; and a country where no one is left out because of race, gender, sexual orientation, or gender identity. Liberalism and it's adherents are far from perfect and the things they have failed to do are just as important as their accomplishments. For this reason liberalism must be challenged to live up to it's ideals. America is better off for the effort.
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