Talk:Liberalism/old version usages

A (very) short first remark

Capital-"L" Liberal and small-"l" liberal: In most countries, Capital-"L" Liberal is used to label the members of sympathizers of a Liberal Party, while small-"l" liberal is used to label the adherents of liberalism.

Political liberalism

Although the world's various self-defined liberal parties were originally founded on the Enlightenment tradition, the political usage of the term "liberalism" has significantly evolved from that tradition and has diverged from one country to another. The ideological content of this political liberalism depends on the geographical context. The original Enlightenment liberals were outsiders proposing a new order, but beginning in the late 19th century, liberals began coming to power in various countries.

Classical liberalism

The term "liberal" also refers to a tradition political philosophy that tries to circumscribe the limits of political power, and to define and support individual rights. This is often called classical liberalism and is related (though not identical) to the ideology known in the U.S. as libertarianism.

Economic liberalism and Neoliberalism

Economic liberalism and the closely related Neoliberalism insist upon the necessity of free trade and see no merit in a government that meddles in the marketplace. Some forms of economic liberalism oppose cartels and monopolies as market-distorting factors comparable to government intervention in markets; neoliberals are generally more tolerant of monopolies and cartels than of government regulation. Neoliberalism borrows from some of the ideas of classic liberalism, but departs significantly in other ways. Neoliberalism rejects the New Deal and welfarism and its popularity is typically ascribed to Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher, who were politically quite distant from many of the non-economic views generally associated with liberalism and adhered to conservatism. See also capitalism.

New liberalism/modern liberalism (US)

Another common usage of the term "liberalism", originally specific to the United States although now gaining some currency in the UK, is as a shorthand for the ideology of "new" or "modern" liberalism -- also called social liberalism -- with left-leaning values similar to those of European social democracy.

Non-political usages

In addition to the political usages above, the term "liberal" is also used in theology to refer to people who hold to views which depart from their religion's orthodoxy. (See: liberal theology, Modernism (Roman Catholicism).) The term liberalism is also used for a position with respect to international relations that supports multilateral action and international governing bodies such as the United Nations.