Small-l liberal

Small-l liberal

The term small-l liberal, or wet, or moderate is used, particularly in reference to Australian and Canadian politics, to distinguish between holders of an ideology of liberalism and adherents to either the Liberal Party of Australia or the Liberal Party of Canada (capital L). The term is also used in other countries which have Liberal parties to distinguish liberal thinkers in general from supporters of the Liberal Party.

In Australia

Typically, one who self-identifies as a small-l liberal in Australia professes admiration for some version of classical liberalism. They are in strong support of individualism, civil liberties and freedom of choice, with an essentially market-oriented approach to economics. Small-l liberals are social progressives to various degrees, with attitudes ranging from lukewarm to strong support for issues such as same-sex marriage, a republic and Aboriginal reconciliation. They support a moderate degree of government intervention in areas such as health and education. They can be distinguished from Labor supporters by their mistrust of trade union influence.

Within the Liberal Party of Australia, social conservatism and monetarist economics are both in a position of dominance, leaving some small-l liberals to support groups such as the Australian Democrats who began their existence as split-offs from the Liberal Party. However, many who describe themselves as "small-l" are happily ensconced within the Liberal Party and co-operate closely with the conservative forces in that party. Peter Costello, for example, was viewed as supporting an Australian republic and an apology for the stolen generations, but had cultivated a decade-long political partnership with the monarchist and arch-traditionalist John Howard.

In Canada

In Canada, small-l liberals are modern liberals, and have generally aligned themselves with the Liberal Party of Canada, but some have also supported the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada. Both of these parties express some modern liberal ideals and support capitalism as the foundation of Canada's economy. Due to the composition of its membership and leadership however, the Liberal Party was for about thirty years (1963-93) to the left of the Conservatives in economic policy, until deficit issues forced a move to the right. In practice, both parties have often had somewhat similar economic platforms and can be characterized as centre or "brokerage" parties, rather than parties of the left or right, though the electorally diminished Progressive Conservatives merged with the larger and more socially and economically conservative Canadian Alliance, the union becoming the avowedly right-wing new Conservative Party of Canada in 2003, causing many small-l or only socially liberal members along with so-called "red tories" to join the Liberal Party.

It should be noted that some people who describe their political views as generally liberal may vote for the New Democratic Party, which is not a party based on economic liberalism but rather modern social democracy, which has some features in common with modern liberalism.

In the Canadian province of British Columbia, the British Columbia Liberal Party is on the political right. This is largely due to its absorption of a large number of people from the once dominant right-wing Social Credit Party, which collapsed after the 1991 election due to scandal. Most small l-liberals in British Columbia support on a provincial level the New Democratic Party or the Green Party.

ee also

*small-c conservative
*small-l libertarianism
*Liberalism in Canada


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • small-l liberal — /smɔl ɛl ˈlɪbrəl/ (say smawl el libruhl) Politics –noun 1. a person who is a member or supporter of the Liberal Party of Australia but who is nevertheless inclined towards non conservative social policies. –adjective 2. of or relating to such a… …  

  • small-l liberal — noun A liberal, that is, a person who holds liberal views, who is not a member of their countrys Liberal Party …   Wiktionary

  • Liberal — may refer to:PoliticsUnited States* One who supports social liberalism * Liberalism, a political ideology that seeks to maximize individual liberties. Within liberalism are competing schools of thought, in general they are: **Classical liberalism …   Wikipedia

  • Liberal Party of Australia — Infobox Australian Political Party party name = Liberal Party of Australia party party wikicolourid = Liberal leader = Malcolm Turnbull deputy = Julie Bishop | president = Alan Stockdale foundation = 1944 predecessor = United Australia Party… …   Wikipedia

  • Liberal Movement — The Liberal Movement (LM) was a minor South Australian political party in the 1970s. Stemming from discontent within the ranks of the Liberal and Country League, it was organised in 1972 by former premier Steele Hall as an internal group in… …   Wikipedia

  • Liberal — 1. noun a) A member or supporter of a Liberal Party b) A member or supporter of the , or its predecessors, or provincial equivalents, or their predecessors See Also: liberal, small l liberal, big L Liberal, Liberal Conservative 2. adjective a) Of …   Wiktionary

  • Small-c conservative — A small c conservative is anyone who believes in the philosophy of conservatism but does not identify with an official Conservative Party. Canadian contextThe term was especially popular in Canada during the 1990s when the Progressive… …   Wikipedia

  • Small-l libertarianism — The term small l libertarian is used by those who define themselves as ideologically libertarian, but are not members of or adherents to an official Libertarian Party in their country. Members or adherents of the organized Libertarian Party are… …   Wikipedia

  • Liberal arts colleges in the United States — are institutions of higher education in the United States. The Encyclopædia Britannica Concise offers the following definition of the liberal arts as a, college or university curriculum aimed at imparting general knowledge and developing general… …   Wikipedia

  • Liberal Party (Norway) — Liberal Party Venstre Leader Trine Skei Grande Parliamentary leader Trine Skei Grande …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”