Going back to the 1700s, "liberal" meant interested in safeguarding the rights of the individual against the state; this was back when most states were monarchies and there were no bills of rights and the state could do to individuals as it pleased. In other words, "liberal," then, was kind of conservative as we would understand it today: rooted in individual liberty. But by the 1880s, liberalism would begin to concern itself not just with impositions of state power but with private-sector power as well. "After Progressive Republicans came to power," writes Richardson, "the word 'liberal' would still refer to the inherent worth of individuals, but now those embracing liberalism believed enabling individuals to succeed required a strong, not a weak, government.
( Michael Tomasky )
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