Liberal means the near opposite of leftism. In the US, and abroad, I think that we are seeing a clear shift of the right wing factions towards liberalism, away

Liberal means the near opposite of leftism. In the US, and abroad, I think that we are seeing a clear shift of the right wing factions towards liberalism, away from conservatism and religion. Likewise, there is a corresponding left wing shift towards Marxism. I personally think that is how the political factions will be characterized over the next century. I would characterize liberalism's tenets as: 1.) Universality under the law (not contextualized by identity) 2.) Focus on maximizing individual liberty and minimizing centralized authority 3.) Laissez-faire focus on accountability. You reap what you sow I would only differentiate a liberal from a libertarian in that a liberal is just more likely to accept certain market failures as being better served by the state. A liberal is more likely than a libertarian, for example, to support anti-monopoly clauses, or heavy taxation or regulation of negative third-party-externalities. But a liberal and libertarian are of the same ilk; and value liberty as the primary virtue.