11-20-2007, 07:35 PM
These terms are so awkward and internationally unreliable...
in britain, 'liberal' can easily mean right of centre, as in old-Tory, opposite of old Labour. and this is now confused by the spread of the US sense of liberal=left-leaning, so the term has become unreliable. there also is a capital-L liberal party, which combines conventional tory Liberal positions on individualism - left behind by the centre-seeking Conservative Party - with some Green-ish positions. words, words, words!
moreover, in britain 'libertarian' means far-left (eg situationism around the time of May-68, left of the old communist-socialist spectrum) in extreme contrast to the far-right meaning it has in the US (ie i own several guns and if you infringe my 'freedom' by one iota i'll blast your *** and send you to hell you pinko degenerate).
!!!!
/michael
in britain, 'liberal' can easily mean right of centre, as in old-Tory, opposite of old Labour. and this is now confused by the spread of the US sense of liberal=left-leaning, so the term has become unreliable. there also is a capital-L liberal party, which combines conventional tory Liberal positions on individualism - left behind by the centre-seeking Conservative Party - with some Green-ish positions. words, words, words!
moreover, in britain 'libertarian' means far-left (eg situationism around the time of May-68, left of the old communist-socialist spectrum) in extreme contrast to the far-right meaning it has in the US (ie i own several guns and if you infringe my 'freedom' by one iota i'll blast your *** and send you to hell you pinko degenerate).
!!!!
/michael



