Libertarian liberal, Third Way liberal, or collectivist liberal? (choices, choice)

[GeneCosta]

Generally speaking, what do you identify as: a libertarian liberal [laissez faire], a Third Way liberal [centrism], or a collectivist liberal [socialism/communism]?

[Ody]

Third way? Thats what the iron guard where classified as.


Position and way I got confused.

[Ody]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_Position

[giant space amoeba]

I really don't know how to class myself so i put 4th.

[Terrywoodenpic]

I know what a non-conformist is and I know hat a liberal is But the two combined is not a definition I understand From the British point of view.

Libetarian has become very much an American idea of liberalism and does not have a political equivalent in the UK where it would fall somewhere in the Conservative ranks.

Third way is a form of national socialist and not liberal at all.

Collectivist Is seen as a form of communism.

So you can see from the British understanding none of the choices would fall into the Liberal philosophy of politics.

[lilithu]

Originally Posted by Terrywoodenpic

Libetarian has become very much an American idea of liberalism and does not have a political equivalent in the UK where it would fall somewhere in the Conservative ranks.

Not in my book. To me, libertarian is at least as different from liberal as conservative. Libertarians and liberals largely agree on matters of social liberty, but we do so for very different reasons. In fact, while I argue more with conservatives because of our clash in values, I tend to be far more mistrustful of libertarians because of their extreme (imo) view on individualism.

[GeneCosta]

I share similar sentiments with libertarians over big government and corruption, but I don't see the barrier of republicanism as a reason to forget the most essential part of society when making political decisions: the community. Ideas, religions, feelings, sexuality -- those are issues for the individual to decide. The flow of money, however, affects us all. Measures of real democracy need to be taken to shake out the possiblity of corruption. The community should make collective decision-making, not just our representatives.

In case someone hasn't figured it out yet, I chose collectivist.

[Terrywoodenpic]

Originally Posted by lilithu

Not in my book. To me, libertarian is at least as different from liberal as conservative. Libertarians and liberals largely agree on matters of social liberty, but we do so for very different reasons. In fact, while I argue more with conservatives because of our clash in values, I tend to be far more mistrustful of libertarians because of their extreme (imo) view on individualism.

The Liberal politics in the UK is differentiated from libertarianism, because to us Liberalism is a collective ideal not a not an individual or selfish one.
We prefer local governance to national, and although a capitalistic party we prefer capitalism to have social controls.

We do indeed clash in values with our Conservative party mainly because of their libertarian values of self before society... Margaret Thatcher an Arc-conservative went so far as to say there is no such thing as society.

[PureX]

It becomes difficult to separate and identify these inclinations. I'm a "liberal" because that how I am, and how I have always been. I was born asking "why?", and "says who?", and "what about ...?". I became an artist because that's what artists do ... explore new ways of looking at and thinking about things. I'm a "liberal" by nature.

So if I think about liberty, I do so as a liberal. If I think about the economy, I do so as a liberal. If I think about society, I do so as a liberal. I am generally pro-libertarianism because I am liberal by nature. I am generally a democratic socialist because I'm a liberal by nature. And I'm even sometimes pro-conservative, because I am liberal by nature.

Innate liberalism like mine is not something that's easily pinned down. It's the general inclination to promote questions, and debate, and alternative possibilities, and to look at the complexity and relativity of an issue ad nausium. And as soon as I feel "nailed down", I'll begin looking for a way to change my mind. Because that's what a liberal does.

Liberalism embraces change, which is why it's not conservatism, which abhors change. Liberalism embraces novelty, which is why it's not conservatism, which abhors novelty. Liberalism is hard to quantify, which is why it's not conservatism, which wants to quantify all things for all time.