Can Someone Tell Me?

[captainusa1]

What's the difference between liberal, American liberal, left-wing neoliberal, and liberal nationalist? They are some of the categories on the political test in the other thread. IMO, some of the categories are bogus. It's like the author created the categories based on his own personal opinions.

[recluse]

Not sure either, cap'n. I think that left-wing neoliberalism is the Clinton administration--gay rights but school uniforms, welfare reform but lots of small new social programs. I think that liberal nationalism is labor union members who want a strong military and protection of American jobs and industry.

But those are just my guesses.

[One Humanity]

@ Cap'n:
If that is true, the differences between today's parties are bogus too, because they represent these divisions.

It's a controversial issue, not only limited to that poll.

[captainusa1]

recluse said:

Not sure either, cap'n. I think that left-wing neoliberalism is the Clinton administration--gay rights but school uniforms, welfare reform but lots of small new social programs. I think that liberal nationalism is labor union members who want a strong military and protection of American jobs and industry.

But those are just my guesses.

That's a good explanation, Recluse. "Left-Wing Neoliberal" probably refers to the people whom you described. I don't think that it should have been at the top of my list, though. I also don't think that "Right-Wing Neoliberal" is a good term to describe Margaret Thatcher because she's a conservative rather than a neoliberal or right-winger IMO.

Maybe a liberal nationalist is a patriotic liberal. Social liberals might be libertarians. I don't know what the difference is between American liberals and liberals. I gather that the author uses "liberal" in the classical sense.

[captainusa1]

German1984 said:

@ Cap'n:
If that is true, the differences between today's parties are bogus too, because they represent these divisions.

It's a controversial issue, not only limited to that poll.

Some people here think that the differences between Democrats and Republicans are bogus. Anyway, what I meant is that I disagree with the author's labelling system. I think that he could have used better terms that more accurately described political beliefs. It might have helped if he would have explained what his labels meant.

[recluse]

I think that neo-liberalism refers to de-regulation and cutting of budgets (liberalism, being used in it's older, truer sense, meaning the same thing as libertarianism). For example, Thatcher's education reform and Clinton's welfare reform.

I'm guessing that "American liberalism" is our own less extreme (than Europe) form of democratic socialism that we politely call liberalism so that no one will think of them as commies.

[eufrenio]

Cap'n said:

I don't know what the difference is between American liberals and liberals. I gather that the author uses "liberal" in the classical sense.

Exactly! A "liberal" is a pro- free market conservative in Europe. Mrs. Thatcher would be a liberal in Europe. The word is used to refer to liberalism (free-market, small government) in its classical form.
What americans call a "liberal" would be called a socialist or a leftist in Europe.

[Graeme]

In Australia, liberal has nothing to do with socialism or leftist politics. That meaning is strictly American. Liberal has the same meaning as in Europe and it is definitely conservative, free market, private medicine, private schools, small business, law/order and family values. It is not right wing like nazism or fascism. The Australian Liberal Party is more conservative in outlook, pro US alliance and pro Iraq war. The Australian Labor Party is less conservative, more pro public schools, public medicine, less fond of the US alliance and anti Iraq war.

[captainusa1]

eufrenio said:

Exactly! A "liberal" is a pro- free market conservative in Europe. Mrs. Thatcher would be a liberal in Europe. The word is used to refer to liberalism (free-market, small government) in its classical form.
What americans call a "liberal" would be called a socialist or a leftist in Europe.

I mixed up the American and European definitions. My guess is that the author of the test lives in Europe. I still disagree with the results of the test, though. On my results, "American Liberal" is #2 while "American Conservative" is #7, which seems backwards to me.

[geirr]

I don't mean to overstate what others have said but your confusion lies with the word liberal. Neoliberal is not a political dogma but rather refers to what in Australia we call an economic rationalist. As Graeme stated Liberal in Australia is a centre right political party who are neoliberal in outlook (small government, pro business, screw the poor). Liberal actually means the same thing hear as it does in the USA, you can still say some one has liberal views and mean progressive but in the USA 'liberal' is more badge than it is elsewhere. We mainly call lefties progressives, left wing or socialist.

[captainusa1]

Geirr said:

I don't mean to overstate what others have said but your confusion lies with the word liberal. Neoliberal is not a political dogma but rather refers to what in Australia we call an economic rationalist. As Graeme stated Liberal in Australia is a centre right political party who are neoliberal in outlook (small government, pro business, screw the poor). Liberal actually means the same thing hear as it does in the USA, you can still say some one has liberal views and mean progressive but in the USA 'liberal' is more badge than it is elsewhere. We mainly call lefties progressives, left wing or socialist.

We have different definitions of conservatives and liberals here. American conservatives favor lower taxes and smaller governments while American liberals favor higher taxes and larger governments. Conservatives tend to have more traditional values. Liberals tend to have more progressive values.