Can Someone Here Define The Terms Liberal, Moderate, Conservative & Neoliberal Democrat For Me.....

[global1]

Please compare and contrast those terms - as they seem to only be used here on this board amongst us avowed political junkies.

I don't know if the rank and file American voter makes such fine distinctions when choosing their favorite candidate. I believe that they find a candidate that speaks to their issues. It also seems to me that it is an 'economic message' that is appealing to most American People now - Dem, Repub or Independent.

Please help me understand these terms that are thrown around this board and why they are important in the grand scheme of things.

[Scuba]

1. Sure ...

Liberal: Screaming radical asking for unicorns and rainbows

Moderate: Eisenhower Republican

Conservative: Corporate shills who are also racists

Neoliberal: Corporate shills without the racism

[99Forever]

3. Thread win.

Nailed it in the 1st response.

[artislife]

13. spit coffee nt

[MineralMan]

2. The definitions depend on who's doing the defining.

I'm sure people will try to define your terms in this thread. That will illustrate my post title very nicely, I'm sure.

There are no actual standard definitions, so anything will do that matches the definers' biases.

[Bagsgroove]

4. Words

I do kind of like Scuba's definitions above, JFK's definition is what I think of when I call myself a liberal --

“If by a 'Liberal' they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people-their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights and their civil liberties-someone who believes we can break through the stalemate and suspicions that grip us in our policies abroad, if that is what they mean by a "Liberal", then I'm proud to say I'm a 'Liberal'."

I'll pass on trying to define the other terms, but on the whole, what each of those words mean is completely subjective.

My brother in law is a libertarian. He thinks of himself as a staunch conservative. He took one of those on-line quiz things that's supposed to tell you where you fall on the "Left-Right Spectrum," and was outraged that his answers labeled him as a "liberal."

He is against almost all government regulation of business, wants drastic cuts in both social spending and taxes, wants to eliminate most cabinet departments, and rants and raves about Obamacare.

On the other hand, as a libertarian, he's pro-choice on abortion, wants to cut military spending and to reduce U.S. military interventions around the world. He is for eliminating mandatory sentencing, eliminating laws against gambling, prostitution and drugs. He has no problem with gay marriage (though he thinks the government should get out of the marriage-as-legal-status business altogether).

So are libertarians liberal or conservative?

Our shortcut words to put people in boxes are not really very helpful.

[global1]

5. My OP Question Is How These Terms Are Applied To Dems....

What is a liberal Dem?

What is a moderate Dem?

What is a conservative Dem?

What is a neoliberal Dem?

Somehow these are all people who call themselves Dems - but then attach another moniker to Dem - to supposedly help better define what kind of Dem they are.

My thought is that this applying of these other monikers only happens to Dems that are avowed political junkies. When it comes to the rank and file American voter - they don't make such fine distinctions as to who they are. Most Americans think of themselves only as a Democrat, a Repug or an Independent.

It's not bad enough we use the terms liberal, moderate, conservative and neoliberal as they apply on the broad scheme of things - we choose to further segment ourselves with these terms as they apply to our chosen Party.

Question:

Do American People that are of the Repug persuasion that define themselves as liberal Repugs? Moderate Repugs? Conservative Repugs? and NeoConservative Repugs? or is this further defining of Repugs just something that the MSM and many of us political junkies do - in order to make ourselves seem like we are more in the know of things?

[Agnosticsherbet]

6. Neoliberalism Britanica: Neoliberalism, ideology and policy model that emphasizes the value of free

Neoliberalism

Neoliberalism, ideology and policy model that emphasizes the value of free market competition.

Despite their similar titles, neoliberalism is distinct from new liberalism. Both have their ideological roots in the classical liberalism of the 19th century, which championed the freedom (or liberty) of the individual. But liberalism evolved over time into a number of different (and often competing) traditions. New liberalism developed from the social liberal tradition, which focuses on individuals’ freedom to achieve fulfillment through state intervention (such as the right to free education and health care). By contrast, neoliberalism is closely related to economic liberalism, which emphasizes individuals’ freedom from state intervention (for example, in terms of the right to own private property and to enter into contracts). This variant of liberalism is often associated with the economist Adam Smith, who argued in his 1776 book, The Wealth of Nations, that markets are governed by an “invisible hand” and thus should be subject to minimal government interference.

This compares and contrasts Neoliberalsm and liberalism.

It should be remembered that most people do not really know what these words me, they believe in some idealized or demonized meaning of the words.

[2banon]

10. Seriously, thank you.

Sometimes I'm rather stunned to see such a misunderstanding of the term Neo-Liberalism.

Probably because it is often not included in the vernacular when any reference to today's Third Way Democratic Party policies, legislators, think tanks etc is in fact largely Neo-Liberal, sans a few in the Black and Progressive Caucus members of the House of course.

[Agnosticsherbet]

11. That is because most people have no idea what they words mean.

They come to symbolize a negative concept and are simplifed to mean just that negative thing.

The right does the same thing with Soialism and Liberalism.

[wyldwolf]

7. Here's my favorite

Puritopian, also known as a 'progressive.'

A Puritopian is a self-described liberal or progressive whose political orientation is to be angry, dissatisfied and unhappy with the state of the nation, because in their view, liberal policies are not being implemented quickly or forcefully enough. They have particular contempt for Democratic presidents.

They are ideological purists who disdain compromise and incremental change, which they see as "selling out" liberal ideas like full employment, an end to war, and liberal social policy. Their views can often sound like utopian fantasy where opposing views never exist.

Puritopians dislike Republicans but reserve their greatest disdain for Democratic presidents, whom they relentlessly attack for not meeting a set of ideological goal posts that are constantly adjusted to ensure that the president will be deemed a disappointment, "not progressive enough" or "just like a Republican" no matter what policy achievements are made.

Puritopians routinely dismiss or ignore congress' role in making or impeding policy, believing presidents can simply "use the bully pulpit" in order to overcome constitutional or legislative obstacles. more...

Eleanor Roosevelt responded to these types in a letter to members of the DNC in 1935, in response to heavy criticism that her husband was getting from the left:

"The ups and downs in peoples’ feelings, particularly on the liberal side, are an old, old story. The liberals always get discouraged when they do not see the measures they are interested in go through immediately. Considering the time we have had to work in the past for almost every slight improvement, I should think they might get over it, but they never do."

[Scuba]

8. Not quickly enough I could live with. Not at all just pisses me off.

[Comrade Grumpy]

9. No. Defining these terms on DU is impossible. Get used to ambiguity and contradiction.

[HFRN]

12. neoliberalism is the substitution of social/cultural issues for economic issues

Example:

Flag Burning

'Our party respects our soldiers and the military! How DARE anyone burn that symbol!'

'While our party respect our right to free speech! How DARE anyone try to take that away!

meanwhile, both parties support NAFTA, which stomps on working people, and transfers countless issues sovereignty away from citizens via congress, to unelected trade reps representing the world's billionaire class

so, if your biggest concern in life was having flags respected, or preserving your right to burn one, you had leaders looking out for you. But if your biggest concern was something menial, like your family's economic future, you were pretty much screwed, as you had no choice.

[mmonk]

14. You left out progressive. Progressive is the real and only difference,

that is, if you understand those who implement neo-liberal policies are not progressive even though they label themselves that. In that regard, Democrats need not ridicule their Republican opponents as gullible since they exhibit some of those same qualities.