Exam question help

[fa7al]

I've been reading this forum for a while (the politics as well as the tech part) but never got round to registering. Just got an exam question to do over school holidays and I dont really have a clue where to start. I thought some of you people might have some ideas. Ok, the question;

"Liberal Democrat" is a contradiction in terms. Discuss.

Of course this is referring to the UK lib dem party so help from fellow UKers would be great. An American view as well would be good though, that should help me get a good grade by discussing it from an alternate angle.

Feel free to debate the issue if you want to, and thanks in advance for any help

[sytaylor]

Well no, by definition its a person who believes in the view of the people being put first (democrat) and that the personal freedoms of people are the higest priority (liberal). How they choose to achieve this (via taxation and other such issues) is another matter all together and I'm guess what your exam question is getting at.

Depending on how long the answer has to be, discuss the definitions of both words, then the combined phrase and how they relate to geo-politics. Then point out the historical deviations from such idealology (amoung say the US democratic party). Once you set out what everyone believes and how it all differs, just argue that technically there is such thing as liberal democrat, but not all lib dems are liberal or democratic.

It is possible to believe in the voice of the "masses" of people, and defend the freedoms of one. Its what the USA was founded on, the bias of which wins, minority or majority is what makes life fun in politics.

[CybrSage]

I've been reading this forum for a while (the politics as well as the tech part) but never got round to registering. Just got an exam question to do over school holidays and I dont really have a clue where to start. I thought some of you people might have some ideas. Ok, the question;

"Liberal Democrat" is a contradiction in terms. Discuss.

Of course this is referring to the UK lib dem party so help from fellow UKers would be great. An American view as well would be good though, that should help me get a good grade by discussing it from an alternate angle.

Feel free to debate the issue if you want to, and thanks in advance for any help


In the US, a liberal is someone who wants to remove social norms and replace them with a tolerance that does include the acceptance of the original social norms.

In the US, most democrats are also liberals, though this is not a requirement.

[joltcola]

I find wikipedia is a great help with subjects & assignments such as this ( i got an A in my political sci class because of wikipedia). www.wikipedia.com

Also, liberal has many terms, definitions, and variations. It also changes due to date of reference, and location. A broad classical version of the term liberal would be the want of little intervention by the government into social, economic, and political issues. Which you can see is much different than what is considered a liberal today in the US.

As for the UK, and the Liberal Democrats, check out Wikipedia - Liberal Democrats (UK) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberal_Democrats_%28UK%29)


"Liberal Democrat" is a contradiction in terms. Discuss.

That is a challenging question, when looking at it from a historial perspective within the UK political spectrum. There has been so many changes , mergers, splits, etc through out the long history of the UK that it is hard to track. At least for a glancing view of the topics. My best guess at the contradiction that the teacher is wishing to look at is the differences of the traditional definitions of liberal, and democrat. Where liberal is a focus on personal liberties, and as little intervention by government as possible. Where, Democratic ideals are towards more social programs, which would result in more governmental intervention within buisness, politics, social issues, etc etc. Maybe I'm missing something as there is alot that goes into political ideologies that I might be missing as I'm not familure with UK politics.

Good luck to you..

-- jolt

[evilchris]

A liberal is a sissy, pre-teen girl scout who hates her country of origin and is only interested in things that benefit other countries while destroying her own.

Well, at least in the USA that's what one is.

[MOTÖRHEAD]

In the US, a liberal is someone who wants to remove social norms and replace them with a tolerance that does include the acceptance of the original social norms.

In the US, most democrats are also liberals, though this is not a requirement.

lol - I would say that the extreme liberals would fit into that mold. Though to say that all liberals in the US think in the same way is just like saying all conservatives are religous freaks.


P.S. Here's a off topic question for others to think about if they so desire. Do you feel that promoting conservatism in the Middle-East will be as successful as say pushing for more liberal views ? If not why ? If so why ?

[joltcola]

A liberal is a sissy, pre-teen girl scout who hates her country of origin and is only interested in things that benefit other countries while destroying her own.

Well, at least in the USA that's what one is.

This is a perfect example of not knowing the definition of a perticular political ideology. This will get you an F in your class. :p

-- jolt

[evilchris]

bZZZzzzzZZZz

bZZzZZZZzzzzZZZZZZZ bZZZT


What's that?

A fly following me around, get me my swatter!

[DaveW]

Liberalism is freedom. Democracy is majority rule.

You are trully liberated when you are free to do as you please. With a democracy you don't have that, instead you are restricted by laws determined by how the majority feels you should live your life.

Ironically, except on moral issues like abortion, its usually the Republicans who support individual rights and freedoms more than the Democrats. So you could argue that the Republicans are more liberal than the Democrats.

The word "liberal" today has been twisted into a dirty word to describe political correctness etc.

[fa7al]

Thanks for help, interesting thoughts ill bear in mind.