Quote:
Originally posted by JSDSKI
Liberal ideology is strongly slanted towards maximum freedom of the individual vs the state or society - commonly referred to a "liberal" interpretation of mores and rights.
|
Actually, modern liberal ideology is slanted toward maximum freedom
only in relation to certain personal issues -- for example, drug use, medical procedures (abortion), freedom of speech and press.
When it comes to issues such as economic freedom, liberals normally do not side with the individual over the state or society. Most have limited agreement to the idea that people have any absolute right to their property, or to the idea that people should be free to contract with others and exchange goods and services without government interference. This opposition to economic freedoms is connected to their "fear" of guns in the hands of their fellow citizens -- they see the firearms as a "danger" in their attempts to take the property of others.
"Classical liberalism" --respecting both personal and economic freedoms -- is closely associated with
libertarianism today. Liberals, in the "Democratic Party sense," do not share the philosophy of classical liberalism.