Why are democrats called liberals?

In my country the liberals are to the right but in US they are to the left? And I always though Republicans were more liberal in economic questions since they want more free market.

In what country are liberals considered right wing???

In what country are liberals considered right wing???

Ilovegames1992

In my country the liberals are to the right but in US they are to the left? And I always though Republicans were more liberal in economic questions since they want more free market.

Cow4ever

I think it has something to do with everyone in Europe being naked.cheese_game619

?

[QUOTE="Ilovegames1992"]

In what country are liberals considered right wing???

Cow4ever

I'm in Europe and when i hear the word liberal i think left leaning. WTF!?

[QUOTE="Cow4ever"][QUOTE="Ilovegames1992"]

In what country are liberals considered right wing???

Ilovegames1992

I'm in Europe and when i hear the word liberal i think left leaning. WTF!?

[QUOTE="cheese_game619"]I think it has something to do with everyone in Europe being naked.Victorious_Fize

?

[QUOTE="Cow4ever"][QUOTE="Ilovegames1992"]

In what country are liberals considered right wing???

Ilovegames1992

I'm in Europe and when i hear the word liberal i think left leaning. WTF!?

[QUOTE="Ilovegames1992"]

[QUOTE="Cow4ever"] Sweden. And all of Europe pretty muchCow4ever

I'm in Europe and when i hear the word liberal i think left leaning. WTF!?

The Liberal Democrats over here dont?

[QUOTE="Cow4ever"][QUOTE="Ilovegames1992"]

I'm in Europe and when i hear the word liberal i think left leaning. WTF!?

Ilovegames1992

The Liberal Democrats over here dont?

[QUOTE="Cow4ever"][QUOTE="Ilovegames1992"]

In what country are liberals considered right wing???

Ilovegames1992

I'm in Europe and when i hear the word liberal i think left leaning. WTF!?

In economics liberal refers to economists such as Adam Smith and David Ricardo, and neo-liberal to ones such as Milton Friedman and Alan Greenspan.

In economics liberal refers to economists such as Adam Smith and David Ricardo, and neo-liberal to ones such as Milton Friedman and Alan Greenspan.

theone86

I thought Milton Friedman was referred to as a classic-liberal?

[QUOTE="theone86"]

In economics liberal refers to economists such as Adam Smith and David Ricardo, and neo-liberal to ones such as Milton Friedman and Alan Greenspan.

airshocker

I thought Milton Friedman was referred to as a ****c-liberal?

why are liberals called democrats?

Liberal in the United States from the founding of the country until the early 1900s meant Classical Liberal. The 'progressive' democrats hijacked the term.

Classical liberals in the U.S. renamed themselves libertarian.

So if you read an American history book prior to the early 1900s where someone describes themselves as 'liberal' they mean classical liberal or libertarian.

The horrid putrid stinking mess that is American politics has distorted the meaning of words like conservative and liberal into infantile slanders that really mean us and them, dumb and dumber and what not. This results in Americans throwing around the world liberal (as an example)as both a badge of honour and a slur, not to mention as a catchall for all sorts of things which are not liberal. The same can be said for pretty much any politically charged word in American...aka the land where political reason is an oxymoron.

There are a few Dems in government that are moderate or conservative, but that's rare. Conservative Reps care about things like the Constitution, patriotism, family, and the military.topsemag55

So Dems are unpatriotic and don't care about family? :roll:

Anyway, what does this response have to do with the thread anyway?

Actually, I believe Republicans to be more inline with nationalism than patriotism.

Same reason they get lumped into socialism, it's mostly fear mongering from the Republicans.

[QUOTE="Ilovegames1992"]

In what country are liberals considered right wing???

Cow4ever

You can't really compare political spectrums across different countries all the time because each place has a different scope of spectrums. For example here in Canada our Liberal party is considered to be the centrist party, despite the fact that it is clearly more left-leaning than the Democratic Party of the US which is considered to be left-wing. And our social democratic party (NDP) is considered to be merely centre-left despite the fact that such a party in the US would be branded the Soviet Communist Party.

Most of the confusion comes from the fact that free-market capitalist economics are liberal ideas that have been adopted across the spectrum.

[QUOTE="topsemag55"]There are a few Dems in government that are moderate or conservative, but that's rare. Conservative Reps care about things like the Constitution, patriotism, family, and the military.GreySeal9

So Dems are unpatriotic and don't care about family? :roll:

Anyway, what does this response have to do with the thread anyway?

[QUOTE="GreySeal9"]

[QUOTE="topsemag55"]There are a few Dems in government that are moderate or conservative, but that's rare. Conservative Reps care about things like the Constitution, patriotism, family, and the military.Ace6301

So Dems are unpatriotic and don't care about family? :roll:

Anyway, what does this response have to do with the thread anyway?

[QUOTE="Ace6301"][QUOTE="GreySeal9"]

So Dems are unpatriotic and don't care about family? :roll:

Anyway, what does this response have to do with the thread anyway?

grape_of_wrath

[QUOTE="grape_of_wrath"][QUOTE="Ace6301"] Liberals believe in satanic rituals, baby eating and healthcare. Those monsters! On topic and less jokingly though: Democrats are referred to as liberals because they're more left leaning than the Republicans (not a hard feat to achieve at the moment mind you), it's pretty much a relativistic thing. Also Liberal means left wing the world over, I have family in Sweden and I have no idea where you're getting that liberal = right wing thing from.surrealnumber5

The horrid putrid stinking mess that is American politics has distorted the meaning of words like conservative and liberal into infantile slanders that really mean us and them, dumb and dumber and what not. This results in Americans throwing around the world liberal (as an example)as both a badge of honour and a slur, not to mention as a catchall for all sorts of things which are not liberal. The same can be said for pretty much any politically charged word in American...aka the land where political reason is an oxymoron.

SUD123456

[QUOTE="Ilovegames1992"]

In what country are liberals considered right wing???

Cow4ever

Democrats =/= Liberals

The words "Democrat" and "liberal" are not synonymous, since there are conservative Democrats. Likewise, the terms "conservative" and "Republican" are not synonymous. There are liberal Republicans.

I'm a conservative, moderate Republican. I agree with Republicans on most issues but with the Democrats on some.