What is Liberalism

Kevin Drum is asking his readers to define liberalism pithily.
LIBERAL PRINCIPLES....What do liberals stand for?
My take: Defending individuals against the power of government, church, corporation and economic oligarchy. Individual worth and individual freedom.

These principles are hardly adequate to define a program, so I would supplement them with some notions that I think are compatible with more than one philosophy of government:

a)Government should only do for the people what they can't do better for themselves. (Lincoln)

b)We need to be good stewards of our country and planet.

c)War is a terrible evil, and should only be undertaken as a last resort.

d)Do onto others as you would have them do onto you.

e)A people can only be free if they can know the truth. Secrecy in government is a positive evil.

Since many of Kevin's commenters took advantage of his invitation to post crude parodies of liberalism, here's my version of contemporary Republican conservatism:

a)Government of, by and for the Super-Rich.

b)Posturing instead of policy, here and abroad.

c)Endless war to distract the populace from a crumbling economy.

d)Lies, corruption and propaganda.

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