Why do liberals claim to be progressive yet support an economic system which stifles innovation?
916217
It is an innovative economic system though.
315652
There is nothing wrond with being liberal, its the opposite of conservative...  Liberal covers the entire left side of the political spectrum - it's generic for people who believe in individualism, freedom, equality, the social contract and rational evidence-based (as opposed to morality-based) public policy but often disagree on the application of these principles.
1023084
The liberal’s ultimate goal is an all powerful central government that controls every aspect of an individual’s life until there is no such thing as an individual. They are socialist despots that believe only they should have ALL the power over everyone else. Local, state level and private sector have always produced better results than liberal big government interference has on ANY issue. Federal interference in education has increased cost and lowered both results and expectations dramatically! With that example of that one glaring failure of liberalism would you want that on the one seventh of the economy that is health care managed the same way? Just look at all the doctors from socialist systems that flee to America to practice!\n And as for civil rights and social equality! Every Civil Rights Bill EVER passed has done so with the majority of the liberal, and I mean democrats philibustering and their majority voting AGAINST the bill! A conservative republican freed the slaves, conservative republicans by their majority votes passed EVERY Civil Rights Bill!\nAnd the two-faced, low life liberals “claim” to be the voice, heart and soul of the down trodden minorities??? Give me a break!\n When you slip and give liberals power they give in return, the Federal Reserve, income taxes on the individual, selective service (the draft) and WW1, WWII, Korea, Viet-Nam.\nThey are the ANTI’S…Anti, individual, capitalist, responsibility, republic (see art4, sec4), which makes them Anti-America!\n Liberals are vermin living on the fringes; just look at the voting pattern, east and west fringes vote for those vermin, the entire rest of the country rejects their failed philosophy. If they win nationally it will once again be the tail wagging the dog as it were.
342798
Modern liberal theory can be best understood by reading Elizabeth Anderson's posts referred to below.  It is solidly grounded in capitalism, it is highly critical of central planning of every aspect of economic life, but it is far more intellectually sound than modern libertarian and conservative economic theory, which has an almost fundamentalist mindset when it comes to free-markets and taxation.  One may be right in accusing the extreme left-wing in American politics of flirting with profoundly anti-capitalistic sentiments, but one would be a fool to pretend that modern liberal theory is anti-capitalist.  If you wish to attack modern liberal theory, start by reading up on it.  There is a reason why the academic world is not dominated by libertarians and conservatives, and it has to do more with the relative value of their ideas--which have not done quite so well in the free marketplace of intellectual inquiry--and less to do with inherent bias in the academic system.  One way to learn about both liberalism and conservatism is to read Rawls, Nozick, Hayek (whom I actually admire quite a bit), Sen, Dworkin, etc.  And once you have read the careful and intellectually stimulating discussions between these people, it becomes incredibly silly to suggest that modern liberal theory believes in socialism.
394781
The problem is that-regardless of what the claim-liberals are all about individuals. They care only about issues that relate to them and what is in the best interest of them and them alone.  While we like to see the whole country flourish, and not just sit around and complain about how hard we have it.  Your points will never get across to them because they don't understand what it means to sacrifice your own benefits-and your own life-for what you believe in.\n\nIn response to EVILEMPIRE's statement:  That seems to be another problem with liberals, they feel that if you don't question every single thing, you are a "thoughtless drone".  There's nothing wrong with sometimes questioning government, it's what the country was founded on but, just because you agree with things that the governement does that doesn't make you a complete moron or a "thoughtless drone."  If you really wanted to go that route I could say the same about liberals who believe everything the Communist News Network throws at them.
101188
It is a liberal conspiracy to tax you until you cannot support yourself any more. Then you would have to depend on the government for support, and then they will declare victory.
426534
People in rural areas tend to have less education and they tend to stick to old ideas. Republicans just now how to appeal to these kinds of people. Liberals tend to use logic to analyze the situation rather then following their emotions. In cities there are a lot of ideas thrown at you allowing you to look at things from a different perspective from different people, which is why liberals tend to support diversity and equality.
791863
They aren't understood; they are manipulated for political purposes. Currently, the Reps do it more...labeling liberalism as something so bad.
957190
What you don't understand is that liberals don't want to take away those values, they actually want to make them possible. Without regulation, workers' rights protection, and a living wage, people do work hard but they CANNOT plan and these days the expected work hours are creeping up to a 10-hour day all over the world. We've lost the 8-hour day we fought so hard for. The purpose of this is to have time to be wtih family, where bonds can be created. If people have to work all the time just to survive, they can't properly raise a family... and then where will people get their family values or their morality? From the TV? If you care about family values, you should support higher wages, lower work hours, benefits, and health care. If people can plan for their future and live a decent life with the jobs they get, there will be more family values, less crime, fewer abortions... as a matter of fact just about all the things that piss off conservatives are best dealt with by taking care of the working class.
599121
Depends what kind of liberal you mean (classical, American, etc.)\n\nAny way, it's such a huge answer I would just look it up on wikipedia.\n\nHere are some positions Americans liberals *may* take:\n\n    * A social "safety net" to minimize the suffering due to poverty, including welfare, medicare, unemployment benefits, health insurance, and retirement programs.\n    * Increased government role and funding for public education, public transportation, and alternative energy development.\n    * Increased regulation of business practices through OSHA, child labor laws, anti-trust laws, and minimum wage laws.\n    * Strong, government-protected labor unions\n    * Civil rights, including laws against discrimination based on gender, race, age, religion, sexual orientation, or disability.\n    * Affirmative action and transitional multi-lingual educational programs for children whose first language is not English.\n    * Broad voting rights\n    * Public assistance for undocumented aliens\n    * A spirit of international community and service to all people\n    * A woman's right to an abortion in private and without interference\n    * The right of the terminally ill to end their life\n    * Laws to protect the environment\n    * The elimination of the death penalty\n    * Animal rights\n    * Gun control\n    * A progressive tax system\n    * Marijuana legalization\n    * Advocacy of stem cell research and support of scientific study\n    * Adherence to the principle of separation of church and state\n\n\n\nShould add that Republicans over the last few decades have successfully turned the word "liberal" into a bad wor. So in politics what is and what is perceived to be "liberal" is not so clear.
932355
Please do not call Democrats "Liberals", they are not true liberals, they are against Property rights, School Choice and the Second Amendment.\nWhat they are is Leftists, they believe in a large central government and the redistribution of wealth.
1096452
I don't think it's so much that they WANT to pay more in taxes as much as it is that they are easily led by the Liberals in power who feel the best way to deal with any issue is to throw money ( tax-payers...not their own ) at it. And who can argue with their " Stellar " results ? Just look at how great Welfare works ! The bottom line is there's NO difference between the Lib And the Cons. ( if you are middle class ) They're BOTH Politicians who will waste our tax-dollars to further their own agendas and line their pockets. Rep. or Dem. if you're middle-class you're f*cked...the only question is HOW do you want to get f*cked ? would you rather have Libs giving your money to people who don't want to work, and backing issues like Gay marraige.....or by Cons. giving it to huge corporations...and making side deals with Oil conglomerates ? If you're middle-class it's the same destination, just different roads.
110012
Probably not. The liberals would rather have the homosexual population "kept down", like the blacks, women, and other minorities. This way they can have an excuse to give people money for nothing but being different. Problem with that is, everyone's different, and I shouldn't have to pay for you AND you're difference. Find a way to keep the liberals out of the equation, and you'd have a winning idea. As you pretty much always would.
903295
The liberal hierarchy believes in the redistribution of wealth, i.e. socialism, so as to destabilize America's economy, thus making the populace dependent on the government.\n\nThis is the goal of liberals---\n\nUnlike conservatives that wish to see ALL Americans prosper.\n\nConservatism teaches that a  wealthy, self-sufficient citizenry, makes for a stable and  strong America.
1144687
The left are considered liberals. Broadly speaking, liberalism seeks a society characterized by freedom of thought for individuals, limitations on power, especially of government and religion, the rule of law, the free exchange of ideas, a market economy that supports relatively free private enterprise, and a transparent system of government in which the rights of minorities are protected.\n\nThe right are considered conservative. To a conservative, the goal of change is less important than the insistence that change be effected with a respect for the rule of law and traditions of society.
188346
I used to think so. I always said that politics is just a mechanism to drive people apart. I felt that everyone, when it got right down to it wanted the same things; security, food, opportunity and a positive outlook. Liberals seem to want this but their approach is more motherly. they want to establish govt programs to equalize the playing field so that nobody can fail. Conservatives want to limit the amout of support so that those that are ambitious and creative are rewarded while those that do not produce are not rewarded with the fruits of those who are industrious. Either way, everyone really does want the same things, hopefully we can find a way to get along and make it work.
850110
the thing is if u import cheaper ur resources will be located to some other industry so in the long term ur economy will benefit from it..the thing the more open and liberal u are the better u get..we could build an utopian society if only we wanted so..