Social liberalism

Examples of Social liberalism in the following topics:

• Liberalism

  • Both modern American conservatism and social liberalism split from Classical Liberalism in the early 20th century.
  • Conversely social liberals adopted the Classical Liberal belief in defending social civil liberties.
  • These theories came to be termed "liberal socialism", which is related with social democracy in Europe.
  • Some confusion remains about the relationship between social liberalism and socialism, despite the fact that many variants of socialism distinguish themselves markedly from liberalism by opposing capitalism, hierarchy and private property.
  • Several commentators have noted strong similarities between social liberalism and social democracy, with one political scientist even calling American liberalism "bootleg social democracy".

• The Democratic Party

  • The Democratic Party is a major political party in the US which promotes a social liberal, social democratic and progressive platform.
  • Since the 1930s, the party has promoted a social liberal, social democratic and progressive platform, and its Congressional caucus is composed of progressives, liberals, centrists, and left-libertarians.
  • New Deal liberalism meant the promotion of social welfare, labor unions, civil rights, and regulation of business.
  • Since 1912, the Democratic Party has moved to the left of the Republicans on economic and social issues.
  • Since the 1890s, the Democratic Party has favored liberal positions ("liberal" in this case meaning social liberalism).

• The Development of Sociology in the U.S.

  • Spencer had argued that society would naturally evolve and progress while allowing the survival of the fittest and weeding out the socially unfit.
  • Thus, social ills such as poverty would be naturally alleviated as the unfit poor were selected against; no intervention was necessary.
  • As a political approach, Ward's system became known as "social liberalism," as distinguished from the classical liberalism of the 18th and 19th centuries.
  • While classical liberalism (featuring such thinkers as Adam Smith and John Stuart Mill) had sought prosperity and progress through laissez-faire policies, Ward's "American social liberalism" sought to enhance social progress through direct government intervention.
  • He has, in fact, been called "the father of the modern welfare state. " The liberalism of the Democrats today is not that of Smith and Mill, which stressed non-interference from the government in economic issues, but of Ward, which stressed the unique position of government to effect positive change.

• Political Ideology

  • Modern American liberalism aims at the preservation and extension of human, social and civil rights as well as the government guaranteed provision of positive rights.
  • American conservatism commonly refers to a combination of economic liberalism and social conservatism and to an extent, libertarianism.
  • Liberals and progressives commonly advocate strong civil liberties, social progressivism, cultural pluralism, government ensuring of positive rights (education, health care, etc.) and a mixed economy.
  • Libertarians commonly hold liberal views on social issues but conservative views on economic issues.
  • Within the left are the largely secular and anti-war "Liberals", the socially conservative but economically left "Conservative Democrats", and the economically "Disadvantaged Democrats" who favor extended government assistance to the needy.

• Evaluating Global Theories of Inequality

  • Social theorists think differently about global inequality based on their sociological perspective.
  • There is significant debate among sociologists, other social scientists, and policy makers over the best approach to global inequality.
  • The idea that all members of a society should be equal is often associated with modern liberalism.
  • In modern liberal societies, individuals tend to value human rights according to the idea that all people are born with equal value.
  • Differentiate between the positions on social inequality taken by functionalists, Marxists, modern liberalism, and social justice advocates

• Foundations of the Welfare State

  • Esping-Andersen constructed the welfare regime typology acknowledging the ideational importance and power of the three dominant political movements of the long 20th century in Western Europe and North America: Social Democracy, Christian Democracy and Liberalism.
  • In this context, social policies are perceived as "politics against the market."
  • Examples of the Liberal welfare state include Australia, Canada, Japan, Switzerland and the United States.
  • Between 1932 and 1981, modern American liberalism dominated U.S. economic policy and the entitlements grew along with American middle class wealth.
  • Compare and contrast the social-democratic welfare state, the Christian-democratic welfare state and the liberal welfare state

• The Disadvantages of Mixed Economies

  • In contemporary terms, "social democracy" usually refers to a social corporatist arrangement and a welfare state in developed capitalist economies.
  • Critics of contemporary social democracy argue that when social democracy abandoned Marxism it also abandoned socialism and has become, in effect, a liberal capitalist movement.
  • Others contrast social democracy with democratic socialism by defining the former as an attempt to strengthen the welfare state and the latter as an alternative socialist economic system to capitalism.
  • Social democracy can also be contrasted with market socialism.
  • While a common goal of both systems is to achieve greater social and economic equality, market socialism does so by changes in enterprise ownership and management, whereas social democracy attempts to do so by government-imposed taxes and subsidies on privately owned enterprises.

• Social Change

  • The Roaring Twenties represented a significant shift in American cultural values, morals and social roles.
  • The Roaring Twenties was a decade with a distinct cultural edge in which ideas about morality and social roles shifted as much as the booming economy.
  • Fueled by ideas of sexual liberation, however, dating underwent major changes on college campuses.
  • "Petting," or sexual relations without intercourse, became the social norm for college students.
  • Redskin (1929) and Son of the Gods (1929) dealt sympathetically with Native Americans and Asian Americans, respectively, by rejecting social bias.

• Conservatism

  • Conservatism is a social and political philosophy that supports retaining traditional social institutions and has many modern variations.
  • Liberal conservatism is a variant of conservatism that combines conservative values and policies with classical liberal stances.
  • It contrasted itself with classical liberalism, which supported freedom for the individual in both the economic and social spheres.
  • A social conservative wants to preserve traditional morality and social mores, often through civil law or regulation.
  • Social change is generally regarded as suspect.

• The Capitalist Critique of Socialism

  • Critiques of socialism generally refer to its lack of efficiency and feasibility, as well as the political/social effects of such a system.
  • Milton Friedman supported his assertion that socialism fails by taking a look at the American economy, contending that the weakest areas were those that were state-owned.
  • Criticism of socialism refers to a critique of socialist models of economic organization, efficiency, and feasibility, as well as the political and social implications of such a system.
  • Economic liberals, pro-capitalist libertarians, and some classical liberals view private enterprise, private ownership of the means of production, and the market exchange as central to conceptions of freedom and liberty.
  • Some critics of socialism argue that income sharing reduces individual incentives to work; incomes should be individualized as much as possible.