Reply #8: have always viewed the word liberal [View All]

[salin]

to mean a view that the government does have a role to play in society beyond military defense/protection. Ergo Social Security, Medicare, the FDA and other regulatory agencies (granted some did reach a point of excessive regulation - but those started being brought back in the eighties ad nineties... and now are being made to work for corporations rather than protecting society...), promoting civil rights, etc. Compared to a conservative view that used to stand for believing that problems in society could not and should not be addressed by any power of the government (and if the fester... oh well...) and that government should only be in place for military defense. On that definition I agree with the poster who claimed liberal - but uses the term progressive for specific policies.