LIBERAL's 10 CORE Beliefs.

Get in, loser, we are bringing small-l liberalism back...

There is a new small-l liberal movement on the rise. In the face of rising populism and authoritarianism, more and more Americans are embracing liberal values and bold liberal solutions to the problems of the status quo.

In these times, it’s increasingly important we develop a refined definition of liberalism. One that is in line with its rich legacy and adequately captures it’s modern academic and small-l use. So here is my best attempt.

I believe you are liberal if you agree with the following 11 propositions:

1. Individual Liberty: The central goal of politics is the maximization of people’s freedom to live their lives as they please, pursue their passions, and achieve their fullest potential. (Related: Freedom of Speech, Assembly, and Thought)

2. Political Egalitarianism: All people are worthy of the same treatment, rights, opportunities, and consideration within the political domain. (Related: Equality before the Law)

3. Limited Government: State power must be constrained and dispersed in order to minimize the threats of government overreach, authoritarianism, and tyranny. (Related: Constitutionalism, Federalism, Separation of Powers)

4. Economic Freedom: An open market economy with robust property rights is one most conducive to abundance, prosperity, and social harmony.

5. Democracy: The government governs best when it is democratic and has its decision-makers incentivized to take actions that are in the people’s interest.

6. Methodological Individualism: Society can best be understood when looked at as fundamentally being composed of independent individual decision-makers, not uniformly acting collectives or groups.

7. Liberal Internationalism: Free trade, open immigration, cooperative security agreements, and international institutions are all strong tools for generating a more free and peaceful world. (Related: Cosmopolitanism, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development)

8. Societal Openness: Society thrives when it is defined by openness to difference and change. (Related: Pluralism, Tolerance, YIMBYism, Open-Mindedness, Technological Positivism)

9. Positive Sum Thinking: The world is not a zero-sum tug-of-war between groups; rather, through addressing issues of poorly aligned incentives and overcoming our ignorance, we can achieve true progress toward a freer society. (Related: Emphasis on a Message of Hope, Cultural Optimism, Concern for Questions of Growth and Efficiency)

10. Reason: Trust exists, and it is made accessible through the use of reason. In the face of a complex world, one must reject dogmatism and fundamentalism in the face of a reasonable assessment of the facts. (Pragmatism, Acceptance of Phenomena like Climate Change, Consequential Mindedness)

These criteria are definitive enough to discern rather comprehensively who is liberal and who is not, but not so restrictive so as to clearly preclude one of the two core strands of liberals, with these being classical liberals and social liberals.

The fundamental disagreement between classical and social liberals is on what freedom entails. Is it merely a question of freedom from coercion, or is it more broadly about maximizing people’s ability to have the life they wish?

This difference in accounts allows both classical liberals and social liberals to agree on the above core values while reaching differing views about the welfare state, with classical liberals viewing it as in violation of people’s freedom, and social liberals viewing it as freedom enhancing.

Now, of course, there are also noncore strands of liberalism worth acknowledging. These strands believe that the pure liberal conception is unsustainable, and thus, certain elements of liberalism must be revised so as to form a liberalism that can last.

One of the most notable examples of this type of stance is conservative liberalism, which takes too much openness to change and social transformation as something that could actually undermine the liberal project by tearing away at society’s social fabric. Another example is progressive liberalism, which views inequality as a threat to liberalism and makes an objective out of limiting it, even if that requires jeopardizing a certain degree of economic freedom.

Then, there are groups that have some other ideology but a more liberal variant, such as liberal socialists and liberal conservatives. Expectedly, because these people are not at their core liberals, they will find themselves with greater degrees of disagreement with these propositions.

What’s your liberalism score _/10? Leave it in the replies below!