Do any of them know what the word "liberal" actually means?
this post was submitted on 14 May 2024
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It has 2 common definitions:
You're almost never going to hear the right-wing use #1. Authoritarian communists will use #1 as a catch-all for modern capitalism.
The US is such a right wing country that liberals are the mainstream left. In Europe, liberals are centrists and they aren't further to the right than American libs.
The meme says "American Republicans" so I thought we were considering this from an American pov. Definitions are going to change going to other countries and doubly so when talking about politics.
It isn't just about it meaning something else when 'going to another country'. 'Liberal' has an actual definition with a history.
I'm honestly kind of confused about american liberals digging their heals in on this definition when it has historically been taken to mean something they don't seem to agree with anymore.
The word "awful" has an actual definition with a history too. That history starts with it meaning "full of awe"
https://www.etymonline.com/word/awful
Word usage and definitions change over time. If you know people use a word differently then you need to at least explain the definition you are using or you're just going to confuse or alienate people who understand the word differently.
I'll happily state my case for whatever usage I'm adopting, and ask for clarification when I suspect someone is operating on a different one, but I don't see any case to be made for the vague american label when discussing anything beyond american electoral politics - for the same reason i'm happy to jab at the usage in the same context, because it's the assumption of neutrality it asserts that I take issue with and am calling attention to.
Because regardless of history or whatever, the definition were giving you is how the 300 million Americans who actually use the term define liberal. Doesn't matter what you or I think, if we want to have effective communication we need to use words as they are used. I really don't feel like dying on that particular hill.
I made my stand with "literally", I'm not wasting effort on holding fast to a Eurocentric definition of liberal.
I don't actually disagree with you, I just find it frustrating trying to use a more precise meaning to make a point and being met with resistance. I think a part of the problem is that leftists are trying to point at a distinction that exists within the overbroad american-liberal label that separates leftism proper and center-right democratic institutions, and i feel as if some centrists don't enjoy the discomfort of being singled out from the more progressive side of the caucus. I could be wrong, and I don't really care if I am, but I think it's important to acknowledge the tensions and to try not to erase the diversity of ideology that exists within the 'liberal party'.
I think Leftists are trying to play up those tensions more than they truly exist, and some of the smarter ones are specifically exploiting the difference in terminology to do so. "Liberals", in the US, are actually quite left wing (outside of the "anyone right of Lenin is literally Hitler" lemmy bubble). But by associating US liberals with European economic liberals, it muddies the water and allows for a ton of motte-and-bailey style arguments.
Even with whatever scale you're using to make that statement, there is still a distinct ideological divide between socialists/anarchists/communists and modern democrats. A centrist may fundamentally agree with the central tenets of liberalism (the right to property being the biggest point of disagreement), even if they ostensibly agree with many (if not most) progressive issues. Most people wouldn't notice those differences because they result in the same types of value statements, but leftists see them in high contrast because liberals will cater their policy decisions around preserving liberal institutions (e.g. the right of private property, small businesses, market-based financial instruments, ect).
I don't think it muddies the water at all, I think it precisely identifies the point of disagreement. I'm also not even sure what 'motte-and-bailey' arguments you could be talking about, let alone having seen one in practice.
As I said
Bailey: Democrats are right-wing
Motte: Democrats are liberals, and liberals are right wing
Establishing that "liberal" = right wing allows for a motte they can retreat to whenever someone clues in that they're trying to say Democrats are the opposite of what they actually are
Far be it from me to point out you're doing exactly the kind of disingenuous re-framing you're accusing others of by excluding those to the left of you as fringe. Yes, American liberals are 'left-leaning' compared to conservatives (on exactly the same arbitrary binary scale that is being critiqued by the comparison), but they still share core elements of classical liberalism, particularly by the emphasis on protecting liberal institutions like private property and market-based mechanisms. This isn't about muddying the waters—it's about acknowledging the nuance in political ideologies. There's real divide between those who support these liberal institutions and those who aim to dismantle them. It doesn't matter if you think that perspective is fringe - the distinction being made is still there. We're pointing to a genuine ideological distinction, not just retreating to safer rhetorical grounds.
People making the liberal comparison aren't trying to place you on a political binary, they're trying to point to a distinction that you're actively trying to erase or dismiss.
They're pointing to a distinction that no one cares about (except the fringe - yes, fringe - Leftists who want to abolish private property) and using that as a platform to imply or outright say false things about American liberals.
Very similar to the above example.
Motte: I, a Leftist, am criticizing the liberal support of private property, that's all
Bailey: liberals also support fascism/colonialism/laissez-faire capitalism/insert Republican ideology here therefore Democrats support fascism/colonialism/laissez-faire capitalism/insert Republican ideology here
Jesus, I can't keep having this argument with you. I will accept "Leftists who want to abolish private property [are fringe]" as an acceptance of the assertion that American Liberals share all or most of the central ideological tenants of Classical Liberalism.
LMAO, nobody is saying american liberals support any of those things on the basis of their liberal ideology. I'm not even sure you understand what a motte-and-bailey is, those two arguments don't follow.
Gaslight <--- you are here
Obstruct
Project
Feel free to cite any instance of that occurring to support your case.
https://lemmy.world/comment/10093125
https://lemmy.world/comment/10092791
https://lemmy.world/comment/10072111
https://lemmy.world/comment/10060494
Still waiting
So like you can't read?
"Scratch a liberal and a fascist bleeds". Doesn't get more clear than that.
I can't help it if you don't understand the point of that phrase
Gaslight <--- still here
Obstruct
Project
But the definition doesn't really change. Take universal healthcare. A liberal idea that's considered common sense in Europe and left wing in the US. Obamacare would be something you expect from a center right European and a left American. Both are called liberal.
And if the meme was from an exclusively American pov, it wouldn't specify "American Republicans"
You're correct, I specified "American republicans" to refer to the political party because everywhere else "republican" means anti-monarchist
Yeah, this is about as confusing as it gets, I feel like those labels rarely make much sense :(
Liberalism has never meant "leftism in general." It has always been an ideology supporting the individual via private property rights. Neoliberalism is the modern form of it.
Liberalism was considered left when feudalism was right, but liberalism has never meant leftism.
It's extremely frustrating hearing this repeated so often here.
It's fine if this is the colloquial definition you're used to hearing and using, but this is certainly not the way it's used outside of American politics and pretending like it's the only use comes off as both ill-informed and condescending.
When used derisively from the left, rest assured it is not referring to either of your adopted generalizations but a very specific ideology.
Ok. But this meme says American Republican.
The meme also says 'authoritarian communists' but there are plenty of anarchists and socialists who use liberal as a disparagement.
Yeah, this meme was close to something, but I think OP doesn't actually know much about politics.
ok, so among English speaking countries, how is it more often used? we've got multiple people in this thread aggressively telling him he's wrong, but no other definitions.
Look up liberalism for liberals.
I wasn't aware Americans made up their own meaning. Now I understand why upvoted comments mentioning "liberal values" receive a flurry of downvotes while I'm asleep, Americans have lost the meaning of another word, probably due to their media.
Though, just checking, the American dictionaries seem entirely correct still. Are you all confused?
Its the way the wealthy wamt the poor and middle class - undereducated and bombarded by agenda driven media.
The US propaganda machine is pretty damn effective domestically.
I think you're right. It's not like anything's changed, so people are obviously buying someone's bullshit from somewhere and it's working exactly as the seller intends.
Going to have start signalling when talking about the two different concepts, like...
Today I'd like to discuss liberalism.
vs
Today I'd like to discuss 🛻🇺🇸LIBeralism™🎸🦅
Since they're almost entirely opposing concepts sharing the same word.
https://www.dictionary.com/browse/liberal
liberal 1
[ lib-er-uhl, lib-ruhl ]
Phonetic (Standard) IPA adjective
Antonyms: reactionary
Like I said, it's fine assuming your own definition if that's the one most familiar to you, but that doesn't mean you have to stubbornly double down on semantics when confronted with a competing definition. When used derisively from the left it is almost certainly being used in the original sense of the word as per John Locke
The definition I see most often used here on Lemmy is: Liberal - literally anybody who doesn’t have Xi Jinping’s and/or Vladimir Putin’s cock(s) alllllllll the way down their throat
That works both ways. Pretending the European usage of the word is the only use comes off just as ill-informed and condescending.
The people who are using liberal derisively are playing off the american liberal self-identity. They're acknowledging both definitions in the jab.
I'm sorry but this is just flat out wrong in the way that only an American can be wrong
Thanks for your input. I learned a lot.