What do you consider liberal?

Liberals: What makes you a liberal and why?

Conservatives: If you're a conservative, what do you consider it to be and why?

lol, as a centrist I get to comment on both threads!

Liberals: What makes you a liberal and why?

My liberal side comes out when fairness and equality are concerned. I believe in social mobility (that a lack of money should be no barrier to good education or opportunities), I believe that it is the duty of the state to provide for its citizens, particularly benefits for those who need them. I am against free market capitalism because I do not wish to be a slave to corporate greed and I expect the government to stop businesses raping the country and the planet to line their coffers. I am for intellectual freedom and against religious privelege. I do believe in higher taxes for higher earners... but not too much. I believe that technological, scientific and intellectual progress is they key to our future development.

I want devolution for England within a looser United Kingdom (whereas conservatives prefer the Union to remove devolution for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland and become together in a British indentity). As far as Europe is concerned, I think there are misplaced priorities. Left wingers here tend to be pro whereas right wingers are anti. I am generally pro market ties with Europe.

Conservatives: If you're a conservative, what do you consider it to be and why?

I'm not really going to answer that, in the way you are expecting simply because I am not really a conservative or a liberal so I'm going to give a quick summary of what it means from an academic viewpoint.

Liberalism as a movement began in the 19th century and is all about personal freedoms and equality, human rights, intellectual freedom, democracy and usually, secularism. What you Americans call "Libertarian" is actually true "Liberal".

I don't see "Liberalism" as being the opposite of "Conservatism", because it is the wrong comparison to make. "Social Progressive" is the polar opposite of Conservatism because it is about constant change. A country is strong so long as it progresses, whereas Conservatism believes a country is strong so long as it doesn't change and remains deepy rooted in its traditions.

I can agree with most of that. You already know where i stand on many issues.

What's funny is that Libertarianism is confused with being a right winger. If i say that this and that are allowed by our constitution and conservatives say it isn't, then how can i be labeled that way? There's many things i stand for that liberals would agree with and cons wouldn't. But it doesn't make me a righty.

As far as some of what you pointed out, we have that piece of paper called a constitution. I always ask people why it shouldn't be followed. Many side-step the issue on certain views. But that paper can and has been amended. As far as i'm concerned, the fed has no power to do a lot of what it does, constitutionally. Why, if it's not constitutional, do people want it run over in the way that both parties have done for decades?

I think that is only a question that somebody on your side of the pond, yet shares my political views, can answer.

Yeah, people that live here can answer that fine. But your side of the pond can't in many cases unless they spent years here or studied the constitution. It'd be like me trying to tell you guys what you should or shouldn't be allowed to do constitutionally in the UK.