What real liberalism looks like

A great tragedy of American political etymology is the fate of the word “liberal.” Although the liberal philosopher John Locke can be seen, intellectually, as a founding grandfather of the United States, the word liberal mutated to mean “left.” American liberalism jumped from John Locke to Dewey and then to Rawls.

The result is that “liberals” and “libertarians” are seen as being on the opposite sides of the spectrum, when in terms of social issues they are often in agreement. Brink Lindsey, Director of the Open Society Project at the Niskanen Center, has valiantly attempted to rally some supporters to what he calls the “Liberaltarian” banner.

Read more at Brookings

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