Dr. Martin Hash Podcast

“Liberal” is one of those strange words, like “modern,” that are both a concept and description, and though their concepts remains the same, what they describe changes over time; modern things of 50 years ago are not modern today but you still use the word “modern” to describe things. “Liberal” is the same way; 50 years ago, you may have been liberal but if you don't change with the times, you're not liberal anymore; in fact, by definition, you're a conservative. That's why using “Liberal” as a political label has become so confusing as to make the word unusable; it's more of a slur now, and there are few people that know the original definition.

Former Liberals, mostly White men, now call themselves Classical Liberals, but that term is already taken too, by Friedrich Hayek-style Classical Liberals from the generation even before, and that definition is conservative in comparison, even though their focus on liberty is the same. The new Classical Liberals are wealth redistributors, through taxation, Welfare, and inheritance; whereas original Classical Liberals are not. New Classical Liberals are less religious, more egalitarian, and foreign policy doves compared to Old School Classical Liberals. It's obvious that the term “Classical Liberal” has the same problem as “Liberal;” it's time for a new word to describe this group between the two, perhaps “Libertyist,” because liberty is now the dividing line.