defining liberalism

>Perhaps the best definition of "liberal" is "one who loves liberty." The following is perhaps my favorite quotation:
>
>"The spirit of liberty is the spirit which is not too sure that it is right; it is the spirit which seeks to understand the minds of other persons; which weighs their interests alongside its own, without bias ...
>." -- Judge Learned Hand, 5/21/1944 "

For a less idealistic definition of political liberals, Ambrose Bierce's Devil's Dictionary is a good source:

conservative (n.) a politician enamored of existing evils, as opposed to the liberal, who wishes to replace them with new ones.

    Dr. David Campbell
    Old Seashells
    University of Alabama
    Biodiversity & Systematics
    Dept. Biological Sciences
    Box 870345
    Tuscaloosa, AL 35487-0345 USA
    bivalve@mail.davidson.alumlink.com

That is Uncle Joe, taken in the masonic regalia of a Grand Exalted Periwinkle of the Mystic Order of Whelks-P.G. Wodehouse, Romance at Droitgate Spa

                 
Received on Thu Apr 15 19:08:22 2004