Why is being called a Liberal an insult?

[OccamsRazor]

Certain people on these forums use the term Liberal as if it were a weapon. I have been told that I am a Leftie or a Liberal and by implication I should be insulted by such a label.

Here is a quick definition

1. Not limited to or by established, traditional, orthodox, or authoritarian attitudes, views, or dogmas; free from bigotry.
2. Favoring proposals for reform, open to new ideas for progress, and tolerant of the ideas and behavior of others; broad-minded.

I would feel complemented to be labelled such.
In fact some years ago my wife called me "liberal to the core", she meant it as a complement and I was proud to be described in this way.

Which leads me to my question. Why is being called a liberal used as an insult and would people would use it in this fashion be insulted if they were described using the definition above?

[kctheshootinfool]

I think that if we are to really get to the bottom of the issue, we need to see how the the dictionary term liberal got twisted into being synonomous with Anne Coutler's (a wolf howls in the background ) use.

First I think it necesarry to have someone with an atagonistic view of a liberal to define one. That would be good starting ground for seeing how the term liberal came to be an insult. Just a thought.

I personally do not fully agree with ALL of these, but from my experience, here's a start:

1. Liberals care more for the will of the minority over the will of the majority.
2. Liberals care more for animal and foreign rights than that of human beings and their fellow citizens.
3. Liberals are 'communists' because they desire total government control over peoples' welfare and the economy. At the least, they are socialists at heart who detest the concept of capitalism, and being rewarded for success.
4. Liberals encourage failure in life, rewarding the unproductive and punishing the productive, and blaming the failure of the poor on the success of the rich.
5. Liberals are Godless, because, by and large, many of the policies they support contradict Biblical philisophy (gay marriage, abortion, removal of references to God or Christ from the classroom/government/public property).
6. Liberals weaken our country by de-emphasizing the importance of the military in defending our freedom.

[bernee51]

Why is being called a liberal used as an insult and would people would use it in this fashion be insulted if they were described using the definition above?

The perjorative use of the word 'liberal' seems to be a phenomenon chiefly associated with the USofA.

The reason it is seen as a perjoraitive is because it (liberal modernity) exasperates traditional religion. Pluralism, which denies any one faith the power to organize the whole of social life, is fostered. Liberalism hold s that public authorities must submit to the consent of those over whom they aspire to rule, thereby undermining the legitimacy of all forms of absolutism. Ihe scientific methods, stematic skepticism,is emplyed to settle important questions of public policy. The growth of the capitalist marketplace is encouraged which unleashes human appetites and gives individuals the freedom to choose among an ever-expanding range of ways to satisfy them.

[OccamsRazor]

The perjorative use of the word 'liberal' seems to be a phenomenon chiefly associated with the USofA.

Yes I think you are correct. I must admit that from an external position the USA seems acutely conservative.

I think that you have summed it up perfectly:

The reason it is seen as a perjoraitive is because it (liberal modernity) exasperates traditional religion. Pluralism, which denies any one faith the power to organize the whole of social life, is fostered. Liberalism hold s that public authorities must submit to the consent of those over whom they aspire to rule, thereby undermining the legitimacy of all forms of absolutism. Ihe scientific methods, stematic skepticism,is emplyed to settle important questions of public policy. The growth of the capitalist marketplace is encouraged which unleashes human appetites and gives individuals the freedom to choose among an ever-expanding range of ways to satisfy them.

I think that the following provides proof of bernee51's point:

1. Liberals care more for the will of the minority over the will of the majority.
2. Liberals care more for animal and foreign rights than that of human beings and their fellow citizens.
3. Liberals are 'communists' because they desire total government control over peoples' welfare and the economy. At the least, they are socialists at heart who detest the concept of capitalism, and being rewarded for success.
4. Liberals encourage failure in life, rewarding the unproductive and punishing the productive, and blaming the failure of the poor on the success of the rich.
5. Liberals are Godless, because, by and large, many of the policies they support contradict Biblical philisophy (gay marriage, abortion, removal of references to God or Christ from the classroom/government/public property).
6. Liberals weaken our country by de-emphasizing the importance of the military in defending our freedom.

Just a comment about point 6. Please state cases where the military has defended your freedom and this has been contested by liberalism.

[McCulloch]

I think that it is a only an insult by those heavily influenced by the extremely closed-minded conservitism of the USofA. In Canada, the lack of stigma attached to the label Liberal is reflected in the fact that since Wilfrid Laurier, then leader of the Liberal Party was elected Prime Minister 1896, every leader of the Liberal Party has served as Prime Minister.

[Cathar1950]

The poll has changed since I first started reading this thread.
I find this thread interesting because I have said in the past “when did being liberal become bad?”.
I think I even had a liberal education.
I also went to a private Christian college my majors were in the liberal arts.
I went to MSU and Wayne State, guess what, Liberal arts again?
I went to the University of Rochester; you guessed it, liberal arts again.

I think you might be right; it does seem like an American (USA) problem.
I hear it on the 700 club all the time.

Kctheshootinfool’s ideas sound just like the ranting of Pat Robertson.
Of course 1John had to bring in some kind of homosexual slam defining all liberals as satanic.

Platypus wrote:

Anarchism starts to look pretty good when judging both lines of thought by their extremists....

It does seem to be the only pragmatic solution.

Micatala wrote:

And I was just thinking what a nice thread this was.

I know I was thinking the same thing.
When they going to make those laws?

[micatala]

1. Liberals care more for the will of the minority over the will of the majority.
2. Liberals care more for animal and foreign rights than that of human beings and their fellow citizens.
3. Liberals are 'communists' because they desire total government control over peoples' welfare and the economy. At the least, they are socialists at heart who detest the concept of capitalism, and being rewarded for success.
4. Liberals encourage failure in life, rewarding the unproductive and punishing the productive, and blaming the failure of the poor on the success of the rich.
5. Liberals are Godless, because, by and large, many of the policies they support contradict Biblical philisophy (gay marriage, abortion, removal of references to God or Christ from the classroom/government/public property).
6. Liberals weaken our country by de-emphasizing the importance of the military in defending our freedom.

I have certainly heard these sorts of criticisms of liberals from a variety of sources. We might look at each of these to determine how these are informed by actual liberal beliefs and actions. It is, after all, a common practice on all sides of political discourse to twist, mischaracterize, or satirze your opponents' views, often by creating straw men or picking the most extreme examples of your opponents' views. In my view, liberal bashers have succeeded to some extent in making liberal an insult by replacing its actual meaning with these caricatures.

The problem will be that even if we only consider self-identified liberals, this group would be very large and very diverse. Some of the above descriptions would likely apply to certain subgroups quite well. THe question would be do any of these descriptions describe liberals in any general sense.


Let me offer a rephrasing of each of these six items just as an example of how it is easy to put 'spin' on political labels.

1. Liberals care about seeing that all people are treated humanely and with respect. They are especially concerned about mistreatment of subgroups that have suffered a history of abuse, and work to see that these historical abuses are remedied.
2. Liberals look at the world holistically, and put more value on seeing the world as a whole operating as a civilized and constructive society, than in promoting parochial, sectarian, or nationalistic interests.
3. Liberals see government as a potential solution to certain problems. They do not value capitalism for capitalism's sake, but view the higher good of humanity as more important than capitalistic principles.
4. Liberals encourage those who have more to shoulder a larger share of the responsibility for caring for the poor. Liberals acknowledge that people may be poor despite their hard work and best efforts at attaining a sustainable economic situation.
5. Liberals acknowledge that not everyone agrees about the nature of God or even the existence of God, that different religions can have value even if they disagree with each other, and that we should respect each person's right to practice or not practice religion as they see fit.
6. Liberals do not value militarism as an end in itself. Liberals acknowledge that war is a last resort, and usually represents a failure to solve problems by other means. Liberals are not necessarily pacifists, but they do understand that war and the preparation for possible war through massive arms programs have serious deleterious effects that are often discounted by those who promote war and militarism.

[Cathar1950]

I like Mel's list better.
But it is probably more of a continuum on both sides.
I can't stand Anne Coutler. Her stupid mouth and giggle makes me want to hurl. I usually like blonds. She is Jerry Springer material.
I don’t think she stands for all conservatives. I know many most are friends and relatives.

[Nirvana-Eld]

I just had a thought. In the history of the U.S., I think that all good societal reforms came from the liberal train of thought at the time. Let me make a list and tell me if I'm wrong or if any additions are needed.

Abolition, Emancipation, Civil Rights, Women's Suffrage, Desegregation, Franklin Roosevelt's 'New Deal', Social Security, etc... There are probably alot more, but I cannot think of one conservative reform movement that was a) succesful or b) good (I have prohibition in mind). But if it is the case that it is liberals who have this seemingly apparent trend in beneficial reform movements, then why are the movements of today (gay rights, end to capital punishment, supporting the separation of church and state) so vehemently attacked by conservatives? Is it because it breaks their tradition for the sake of others? I would venture to say so.

History shows that societal reform movements (say, civil rights) are aimed at breaking the status quo (say, segregation) for the relief of a group(say, minorities). How is that any different from today with modern movements (say, gay rights) which is aimed at the status quo (say, restricting those rights) for the relief of a group (say, the gay/lesbian population). The only difference I see is a change in setting, identity, and different rights in question.

The one thing that should be mentioned is that conservatives are not entirely wrong. It is important at certain times and under certain circumstances that we keep the status quo and hold to tradition. (i.e. imediately after 9/11 and the wave of patriotism) but at the same time that ideal of keeping to tradition should be kept in check (i.e. now with the near civil war in Iraq). These are just some thoughts though...

[Edit: I just realized that I started something with my last post and didn;t follow through, my bad]

1. Liberals care more for the will of the minority over the will of the majority.
2. Liberals care more for animal and foreign rights than that of human beings and their fellow citizens.
3. Liberals are 'communists' because they desire total government control over peoples' welfare and the economy. At the least, they are socialists at heart who detest the concept of capitalism, and being rewarded for success.
4. Liberals encourage failure in life, rewarding the unproductive and punishing the productive, and blaming the failure of the poor on the success of the rich.
5. Liberals are Godless, because, by and large, many of the policies they support contradict Biblical philisophy (gay marriage, abortion, removal of references to God or Christ from the classroom/government/public property).
6. Liberals weaken our country by de-emphasizing the importance of the military in defending our freedom.

Ok now that we have a conservatives definition, we can try to see the link to insult. In this list, I see a trend of fear. This is a fear for the protection of the current state of things and to disrupt the current state of things is to disrput the general welfare in this mind-set.

So I think it is safe to say that once someone who pertains to the dictionary definition of a liberal comes in contact with someone rooted in tradition, namely a conservative, the conflict arises in the feeling that tradition/the status quo is immutable.

Once this threat to tradition arises, some of the more base conservatives will throw out names and insults that they attach to the term liberal. These insults will ultimately degrade the name of that which they are directed to. Now since America has a slight conservative majority, it would make sense that those who have influence over the conservative community might lower themsleves to name calling and thus have a negative affect on the community and their perception of liberals.

Any other ideas out there guys?

[Cathar1950]

Nothing has ever been accomplished turning back the clocks or returning to another time. We move on.

[micatala]

Ok now that we have a conservatives definition, we can try to see the link to insult. In this list, I see a trend of fear.

Also, in some of these one could say there is a trend towards selfishness, at least those who might want to 'insult' conservatives could try to make that case.

Certainly characterizing capitalism as a philosophy appealing to our most selfish insticts has a long history.

ALso, not being concerned about minorities, or the poor could be seen as selfish.

To the extent that our military protects us, and sometimes is used in ways which brings harm to those of other nations, this could be seen as selfish.


Perhaps a third characteristic is pride. By believing that current attitudes, practices, laws, religious beliefs are to be defended, conservatives believe that the alternatives are wrong. Some conservatives could be said to be taking too much pride in their own views by being unwilling to examine them reflectively and critically, to allow that their are alternatives which might be better.


Now, I don't mean to say that these are inherently a part of being a conservative, only that these might be tendencies or that it might be easy to 'spin' conservative attitudes in these ways, just as it is easy to 'spin' legitimate and valid liberal viewpoints into negative caricatures.