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liberalism

liberalism

78 5.8
A political belief that values individual freedom, equal rights, limited government, free markets, and social progress
  • noun
  • /ˈlɪbərəlɪzəm/
translation icon : liberalismo
  • Liberalism promotes the idea that every person should have the freedom to express their liberalism.
  • classical liberalism
  • liberalism and socialism
  • political liberalism

And the rules of just conduct are liberalism's response to that need.

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Examples

  • Liberalism really is about the individual, and it's about live and let live.

  • If civility supplies the spirit of liberalism, rights supply the letter.

    Academic text (1991)
  • Somebody said to me the other day, liberalism has failed.

  • But there is a bottom line responsibility that liberalism puts on each individual.

  • So this sort of alliance against Western liberalism is not hard to imagine.

  • There are clearly many varieties of liberalism, but central to them all are two claims.

    Academic text (1999)
  • I will not discuss the tie between liberalism and pluralism in this paper.

    Academic text (1999)
  • If this is correct, then it only shows the extent to which liberalism is misunderstood and its message undigested.

    Academic text (1999)
  • There was little by way of liberalism to resist the rise of rightist dictatorship.

    Academic text (1999)
  • The postwar international environment was characterized by a liberalism conducive to the expansion of international trade.

    Academic text (1991)

Synonyms

liberality
vsliberalism
  • Formal
1 7.6

An attitude that supports new ideas and freedom for people in society

is a broader political and economic philosophy with policy principles like limited government
liberalness
vsliberalism
  • Formal
6.7

Supporting new ideas and personal freedom

is the organized philosophy that adds support for markets and limited government

Antonyms

83 4.9

A belief in keeping traditional values and avoiding quick change

Compounds

A belief in personal freedom and government help to make society fair

How Liberal

progressivism
12 7.5
liberalism
78 5.8

Surface Forms

liberalism singular
liberalisms plural

Morphology

liberalism = liberal (transparent) = liberal + ism

The noun is a regular derivation from the adjective 'liberal' with the productive suffix '-ism' denoting an ideology; the meaning follows directly.

Etymology

The word liberalism comes from the Latin root liber meaning 'free' and shares this root with the familiar word liberty. So, liberalism is the idea of giving people personal freedom, equal rights, and less strict government control.