Politically Liberal

Liberalism
Liberalism is a political philosophy or worldview founded on ideas of liberty and equality. Whereas classical liberalism emphasizes the role of liberty, social liberalism stresses the importance of equality. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally they support ideas and programs such as freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of religion, free markets, civil rights, democratic societies, secular governments, and international cooperation. Liberals typically believe that government is necessary to protect individuals from being harmed by others; but they also recognise that government itself can pose a threat to personal and corporate liberty.

Liberalism first became a distinct political movement during the Age of Enlightenment, when it became popular among philosophers and economists in the Western world. Liberalism rejected the prevailing social and political norms of hereditary privilege, state religion, absolute monarchy, and the Divine Right of Kings. The 17th-century philosopher John Locke is often credited with founding liberalism as a distinct philosophical tradition. Locke argued that each man has a natural right to life, liberty and property, while adding that governments must not violate these rights based on the social contract. Liberals opposed traditional conservatism and sought to replace absolutism in government with representative democracy and the rule of law.

Prominent revolutionaries in the Glorious Revolution, the American Revolution, and the French Revolution used liberal philosophy to justify the armed overthrow of what they saw as tyrannical rule. Liberalism started to spread rapidly especially after the French Revolution. The 19th century saw liberal governments established in nations across Europe, South America, and North America. In this period, the dominant ideological opponent of classical liberalism was conservatism, but liberalism later survived major ideological challenges from new opponents, such as fascism and communism.

During the 20th century, liberal ideas spread even further as liberal democracies found themselves on the winning side in both world wars. In Europe and North America, the establishment of social liberalism became a key component in the expansion of the welfare state. Today, liberal parties continue to wield power and influence throughout the world.

Neoliberalism
Neoliberalism is a policy model of social studies and economics that transfers control of economic factors to the private sector from the public sector.

Neo-liberalism (or sometimes neo-liberalism) is a term which has been used since the 1950s, but became more prevalent in its current meaning in the 1970s and 80s by scholars in a wide variety of social sciences and critics primarily in reference to the resurgence of 19th century ideas associated with laissez-faire economic liberalism. Its advocates support extensive economic liberalisation policies such as privatisation, fiscal austerity, deregulation, free trade, and reductions in government spending in order to enhance the role of the private sector in the economy Neo-liberalism is famously associated with the economic policies introduced by Margaret Thatcher in the United Kingdom and Ronald Reagan in the United States. The implementation of neo-liberal policies and the acceptance of neo-liberal economic theories in the 1970s are seen by some academics as the root of financialization, with the financial crisis of 2007–08 one of the ultimate results.

The definition and usage of the term has changed over time. It was originally an economic philosophy that emerged among European liberal scholars in the 1930s in an attempt to trace a so-called 'Third' or 'Middle Way' between the conflicting philosophies of classical liberalism and socialist planning. The impetus for this development arose from a desire to avoid repeating the economic failures of the early 1930s, which were mostly blamed by neo-liberals on the economic policy of classical liberalism. In the decades that followed, the use of the term neo-liberal tended to refer to theories at variance with the more laissez-faire doctrine of classical liberalism, and promoted instead a market economy under the guidance and rules of a strong state, a model which came to be known as the social market economy.

In the 1960s, usage of the term "neo-liberal" heavily declined. When the term was reintroduced in the 1980s in connection with Augusto Pinochet's economic reforms in Chile, the usage of the term had shifted. It had not only become a term with negative connotations employed principally by critics of market reform, but it also had shifted in meaning from a moderate form of liberalism to a more radical and laissez-faire capitalist set of ideas. Scholars now tended to associate it with the theories of economists Friedrich Hayek and Milton Friedman. Once the new meaning of neo-liberalism was established as a common usage among Spanish-speaking scholars, it diffused into the English-language study of political economy. Scholarship on the phenomenon of neo-liberalism has been growing. The impact of the global 2008-09 crisis has also given rise to new scholarship that critiques neo-liberalism and seeks developmental alternatives

Ordoliberalism
Ordoliberalism is the German variant of social liberalism that emphasises the need for the state to ensure that the free market system produces results close to its theoretical potential. The term "Ordoliberalism" was coined in 1950 by Hero Moeller, and refers to the academic journal ORDO.

Ordoliberal ideals (with modifications) drove the creation of the post-World War II German social market economy and its attendant Wirtschaftswunder. However, Ordoliberals promoted the concept of the social market economy, and this concept promotes a strong role for the state with respect to the market, which is in many ways different from the ideas that are nowadays connected with the term neo-liberalism.

Ordoliberals separate themselves from classical liberal, notably Walter Eucken, with Franz Böhm, founder of Ordoliberalism and the Freiburg School, rejected Neo-liberalism.

Liberal democracy
Liberal democracy is a form of government in which representative democracy operates under the principles of liberalism, i.e. protecting the rights of the individual, which are generally enshrined in law and a low role is played by the state in every day life.

Libertarianisum
Libertarianism (Latin: liber, "free") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as its principal objective. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and freedom of choice, emphasizing political freedom, voluntary association, and the primacy of individuals' judgment.

Libertarians generally share a skepticism of authority; however, they diverge on the scope of their opposition to existing political and economic systems. Various schools of libertarian thought offer a range of views regarding the legitimate functions of state and private power, often calling to restrict or even to wholly dissolve coercive social institutions. Rather than embodying a singular, rigid systematic theory or ideology, libertarianism has been applied as an umbrella term to a wide range of sometimes discordant political ideas through modern history.

Some libertarians advocate laissez-faire capitalism and strong private property rights, such as in land, infrastructure, and natural resources. Others, notably libertarian socialists, seek to abolish capitalism and private ownership of the means of production in favor of their common or cooperative ownership and management. An additional line of division is between minarchists and anarchists. While minarchists think that a minimal centralized government is necessary, anarchists propose to completely eliminate the state.

The term libertarianism originally referred to a philosophical belief in free will but later became associated with anti-state socialism and Enlightenment-influenced political movements critical of institutional authority believed to serve forms of social domination and injustice. The term has generally retained its political usage as a synonym for either social or individualist anarchism through much of the world.

However, in the United States it has since come to describe pro-capitalist economic liberalism more so than anti-capitalist egalitarianism. In the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, libertarianism is defined as the moral view that agents initially fully own themselves and have certain moral powers to acquire property rights in external things. As individualist opponents of social liberalism embraced the label "libertarian" and distanced themselves from the word liberal, American writers have adopted the term libertarian to describe advocacy of capitalist free market economics and a night-watchman state.

American Libertarianisum
The Libertarian Party (LP) is a libertarian political party in the United States that promotes civil liberties, free markets, non-interventionism, and laissez-faire ecanomics. The LP was conceived at meetings in the home of David F. Nolan in Westminster, Colorado during 1971 and was officially formed on December 11, 1971 in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The founding of the party was prompted in part due to concerns about the Vietnam War, conscription, and the end of the gold standard.

Gary Johnson, the party's presidential nominee in 2012, states that the party is more culturally liberal than the Democrats, but more fiscally conservative than the Republicans. The party has generally promoted a classical liberal platform, in contrast to the modern liberal and progressive platform of the Democrats and the more conservative platform of the Republicans. Current policy positions include lowering taxes, allowing people to opt out of Social Security, ending welfare, ending the prohibition of illegal drugs, supporting same-sex marriage rights, and supporting gun ownership rights.

There are 411,250 voters registered as Libertarian in the 27 states (plus Washington, D.C.) that report Libertarian registration statistics. By that count, it is the fifth largest party in the country. By other measures, such as popular vote in elections and number of candidates run per election, the LP is the country's third largest party. It has also many firsts to its credit, such as being the party under which the first electoral vote was cast for a woman for Vice President in a United States presidential election, due to a faithless elector.

Though the party has never won a seat in the United States Congress, it has seen electoral success in the context of state legislatures. Three Libertarians were elected to the Alaska House of Representatives between 1978 and 1984 and another four to the New Hampshire General Court in 1992. Neil Randall won election to the Vermont House of Representatives in 1998, which marked the last time to date a Libertarian was elected to a state house. Rhode Island State Representative Daniel P. Gordon was expelled from the Republicans and joined the Libertarian Party in 2011. John Moore, a Nevada State Assemblyman, switched from the Republicans to the Libertarians in 2016.

The preamble outlines the party's goals: "As Libertarians, we seek a world of liberty; a world in which all individuals are sovereign over their own lives and no one is forced to sacrifice his or her values for the benefit of others" and "Our goal is nothing more nor less than a world set free in our lifetime, and it is to this end that we take these stands." Its Statement of Principles begins: "We, the members of the Libertarian Party, challenge the cult of the omnipotent state and defend the rights of the individual." The Statement of Principles is foundational to the ideology of the party and was created specifically to bind the party to certain core principles with a high parliamentary burden for any amendment. The platform emphasizes individual liberty in personal and economic affairs, avoidance of "foreign entanglements" and military and economic intervention in other nations' affairs, and free trade and migration. It calls for Constitutional limitations on government as well as the elimination of most state functions. It includes a "Self-determination" section which quotes from the Declaration of Independence and reads: "Whenever any form of government becomes destructive of individual liberty, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to agree to such new governance as to them shall seem most likely to protect their liberty." It also includes an "Omissions" section which reads: "Our silence about any other particular government law, regulation, ordinance, directive, edict, control, regulatory agency, activity, or machination should not be construed to imply approval."

This includes favoring minimally regulated markets, a less powerful federal government, strong civil liberties (including LGBT rights), the legal abolition of marriage (but, should it not be abolished, the party supports same-sex marriage), the liberalization of drug laws, separation of church and state, open immigration, non-interventionism and neutrality in diplomatic relations, free trade and free movement to all foreign countries, and a more representative republic. The party's position on abortion is that government should stay out of the matter and leave it to the individual, but recognizes that some libertarians' opinions on this issue are different. Ron Paul, one of the former leaders of the Libertarian Party, is strictly pro-life, but believes that that is an issue that should be left to the states and not enforced federally. Meanwhile, Gary Johnson, the party's 2012 presidential candidate, is pro-choice.

The Libertarian Party has also supported the repeal of NAFTA, CAFTA, and similar trade agreements, as well as the United States' exit from the World Trade Organization and NATO.


 * 1) Libertarianism
 * 2) Non-interventionism
 * 3) Fiscal conservatism
 * 4) Laissez-faire economics
 * 5) Lowering taxes
 * 6) Allowing people to opt out of Social Security (United States).
 * 7) Ending welfare and thus poverty
 * 8) Ending the prohibition of illegal drugs
 * 9) Supporting same-sex marriage rights
 * 10) Supporting Right to keep and bear arms in the United States.
 * 11) Respect for human rights.

Also see

 * 1) Political Spectrum

Links

 * 1) http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/tag/u-k-economy
 * 2) https://next.ft.com/content/726977dc-e76b-11e4-a01c-00144feab7de
 * 3) http://uk.businessinsider.com/george-osbornes-failure-to-rebalance-the-economy-in-one-chart-2015-12
 * 4) http://www.cs.mcgill.ca/~rwest/wikispeedia/wpcd/wp/l/Liberal_democracy.htm
 * 5) http://www.bahai.org/documents/essays/karlberg-dr-michael/western-liberal-democracy-new-world-order
 * 6) http://definitions.uslegal.com/l/liberal-democracy/
 * 7) http://australianpolitics.com/democracy/key-terms/liberal-democracy
 * 8) http://www.lp.org/issues/taxes
 * 9) http://www.lp.org/issues/poverty-and-welfare
 * 10) http://www.lp.org/issues/crime-and-violence
 * 11) http://www.lp.org/issues/social-security
 * 12) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libertarianism
 * 13) http://www.lp.org/news/press-releases/libertarians-say-marriage-equality-only-one-step-toward-#ending-legal-discriminat
 * 14) http://www.theshopsatcolumbuscircle.com/events/?filterby=week&week=43&yearby=2015&utm_active=1&datacenter=PROD&sesrc=AdCenter&ad=185806&kw=cocktail%20parties%20new%20york&network=Search&match=b&utm_source=adcenter&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=cocktail%20parties%20new%20york&utm_content=185806&utm_group=Events%20and%20Offers&utm_campaign=Shops%20at%20Columbus%20Circle%20-%20New%20York
 * 15) http://www.newyorkgloballimo.com/
 * 16) http://www.lp.org/issues/gun-laws
 * 17) Anarchism: A History Of Libertarian Ideas And Movements isbn 9781551116297
 * 18) http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/339321/libertarianism
 * 19) http://www.conservatismvsliberalism.net/
 * 20) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ordoliberalism
 * 21) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberalism
 * 22) http://www.dictionary.com/browse/liberalism
 * 23) http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/liberalism
 * 24) http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/liberalism/
 * 25) http://www.britannica.com/topic/liberalism
 * 26) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ordoliberalism
 * 27) http://www.governmentvs.com/en/liberal-democracy-definition/model-53-11
 * 28) http://www.cs.mcgill.ca/~rwest/wikispeedia/wpcd/wp/l/Liberal_democracy.htm
 * 29) http://australianpolitics.com/democracy/key-terms/liberal-democracy
 * 30) http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/liberal-democracy
 * 31) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberal_democracy
 * 32) https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Donald_Trump
 * 33) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libertarian_Party_(United_States)
 * 34) http://anotherangryvoice.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/what-is-neoliberalism-explained.html
 * 35) http://www.thefreedictionary.com/neoliberalism
 * 36) http://www.dictionary.com/browse/neoliberalism
 * 37) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neoliberalism
 * 38) http://www.investopedia.com/terms/n/neoliberalism.asp
 * 39) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neoliberalism