Today, the term “liberal” has come to mean big government, limited individual rights, more fascistic methods of governing, and a nanny state that takes care of our every expensive needs.
Unfortunately, presidents like Woodrow Wilson, FDR, and other so-called “progressive” thinkers of the early 20th century turned liberalism into progressivism, which has hijacked the liberal monicker. Unbeknownst to most “liberals” is that they are not in fact liberal, but more fascist and “progressive” in their thoughts (though one could argue that taking a society back to the communistic ways of society is not really “progress”). What used to be called “liberal” has now been named “classical liberalism.” Or, in short, libertarian (which isn’t as catchy).
Jonah Goldberg, author of Liberal Fascism, has written in his blog the following:
The fundamental insight of libertarianism is that the government is the government. It cannot be your mommy, your daddy, your big brother, your nanny, your friend, your buddy, your god, your salvation, your church or your conscience. It is the government. A big bureaucracy charged with certain responsibilities, some of which it is qualified to carry out, many of which it is not.
Wikipedia’s definition of Classical Liberalism as “a doctrine stressing individual freedom and limited government. This includes the importance of human rationality, individual property rights, natural rights, the protection of civil liberties, constitutional limitations of government, free markets, and individual freedom from restraint….”
If that’s what it means to be a liberal, then sign me up!
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