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While I agree that the American political "liberal" says much more than that, it's still similar. Hence the phrase "bleeding heart liberal."
by Psyonic 17y ago
While I agree that the American political "liberal" says much more than that, it's still similar. Hence the phrase "bleeding heart liberal."
- ggchappell 17y agoI don't agree. American liberalism is associated with allocating public funds to others. The article specifically stated private. So, for example, some Muslim societies are what we would call "ultraconservative" politically, but rank rather high on a liberalism scale by the definition in the article, due to private contributions to charities.
- otakucode 17y agoThat is a very important distinction I think. Many people misunderstand libertarianism to be very uncaring and not compatible with empathetic and charitable individuals or actions, but this is certainly not the case. Wanting to help other people is quite distinct from wanting to use coercion and physical force to compel others to do so against their will (which is what compulsory taxation is and should always be thought of as).