American Prospect Online – Liberal Agenda
What does liberalism stand for?
Anybody who’s ever had to raise money knows the meaning of the phrase “elevator pitch”: You’re in an elevator with a potential moneybags, and you have, say, seven floors to tell him why he should write you a check.
Well, we all know the basic outline of conservatism’s elevator pitch: “We believe in freedom and liberty, and we’re for low taxes, less government, traditional values, and a strong national defense.” But what is liberalism’s? We at the Prospect have, among us, attended or sat on about eleventy hundred panels since the election at which someone invariably says something like the following: “We know what conservatives stand for. But what do we stand for?”
No one in Washington seems to know. So we turn to you. Give us liberalism’s elevator pitch.
We want you to submit a single sentence of no more than 30 words.
Here’s mine:
Society’s point is to be less cutthroat than nature. Not just for rich or poor, men or women, young or old, white or black, majority or minority… but for all.
Certainly better than the screeches put up here…
Actually, it’s a fair question, and one I’d like to see a serious answer to. I’ve pretty much always been a conservative. I understand ‘our’ base tenants, but I don’t understand the liberal base tenants. What are they?
What is society’s base unit?
What do we owe our children?
What is the purpose of the government?
What does “personal responsibility” mean to a liberal?
Is there objective right and wrong?
I have tried to have conversations with liberals to get at some of these answers, but none have been very satisfying (perhaps because “liberal” and “conservative” are just lables and no one person embodies the whole mindset…)
What do liberals stand for?
“I understand ‘our’ base tenants, but I don’t understand the liberal base tenants.”
Like mathematical axioms, they are going to be items accepted as “truth”, from which all other ideas are constructed. By being labled (or being able/willing to label) “conservative”, you accept certain truths that are defined as “Not Liberal”. Pretty much by definition you can’t understand the tenants, because they are contrary to your world view. This is pretty well illustrated in the questions you choose to try and understand them. You have already framed the argument in terms of “What Conservatives think”, so it is not surprising that you get confusing or improper answers.
But what they hey, I am a sucker for this sort of thing. (I would also like to hear what “your” answers are, rather than my assumptions based on the questions.)
“What is society’s base unit?”
The individual, as the decision-making party. But until you look at non-familial relationships (no common genes), there is no real sense in calling it a “society”, as opposed to animal instinct.
“What do we owe our children?”
Freedom to be themselves and a safe world within which to do so.
“What is the purpose of the government?”
To aggregate personal power into forms that can achieve that which the individual cannot. Specifically to act as a safety net in instances where the situation was unavoidable by the individual alone. (Economic depression, natural disasters, etc.)
“What does “personal responsibility” mean to a liberal?”
An obligation to help those less fortunate.
“Is there objective right and wrong?”
There are some very good guidelines, but no absolutes. “Though shall not kill”. Except to save the life of another. And in times of war. As long as it is a just war…
In the end my guess is that most of the answers really won’t be all that different. But definitions of “safe” and “obligation” and “just” will be colored by personal preferences. (See “objectivity”.) And on a very large scale, those prefernces can be broken down into two very broad camps. And one of those divisions can be “Conservative” vs “Liberal”.
(Not that those labels are themselves objective – “Liberals” are fiscally irresponsible, yet Clinton balanced the budget and paid down the natinal debt. Conservatives are supposed to be isolationist, and yet Bush wants to bring democracy to the world by very active means. All labels are merely another means to determine “Us” and “Them”. Which leads back to the difficulty of understanding that which is “Not Us”…)
David
Oh, and to answer the original question (and illustrate how it is perception, not goals that differ):
As you can see from my caps, it really only comes down to one difference: Do what has worked for us in the past, because it is proven to work; Or change what we are doing because there is room for improvement. (Now if we could just find a way to determine if the changes we make will be an improvment, and by how much, without 6000 more years of beta testing…)
David
How about:
People before money?
My answers to my own questions:
What is society’s base unit?
Family. Individuals are selfish and self-seeking; a family, though composed of selfish individuals, looks to the future. Actually there’s a whole essay in this.
What do we owe our children?
Training to invest them with character and ability to eventually provide for themselves and their future family.
What is the purpose of the government?
Defense, basic infrastructure, laws that both govern the people’s behavior and that help establish the national identity.
It is not the government’s responsibility to provide a safety net for the unfortunate, it is the individuals responsibility to help others.
What does “personal responsibility” mean to a conservative?
It’s my responsibility to take care of my person and my family by making character driven choices and living up to the consequences of my decisions.
Is there objective right and wrong?
Yes. Doesn’t mean there aren’t gray areas, but by and large, there is right and wrong.