In history and government, there are two versions of liberalism — progressive liberalism and classical liberalism. Both of them have some controversy surrounding them, particularly progressive liberalism, so it is important for people to understand what these mean and why they are important to daily life.
Because progressive liberalism is more well-known than classical or libertarianism, it shall be discussed first. Progressive liberalism — do absolutely anything you want — is the course some citizens, and some government officials, have taken over the years. These liberals believe the government should do whatever is necessary to help the poor, and social freedom (even for destructive things, such as a woman’s “right to choose”) should be wholly tolerated.
In progressive liberalism, pleasure and happiness are turned into god-like concepts, since liberals will advocate anything if it makes people happy, willfully ignoring the fact that people will be harmed later on. Perhaps the most infamous progressive buzzword is “tolerance.” The progressive liberal struggles to consistently apply an absolute standard of no discrimination, as any person would, because no one can live life never having opinions (even differing/contradictory opinions or mixed feelings) and thinking for oneself.
Further, one usually doesn't live life willfully forgetting the possibility of cognitive dissonance without trying to reconcile the two positions. So, of course there will be intolerance in “tolerance.” Unfortunately, progressive liberals discriminate against innocent people — Christian bakers, t-shirt printers, florists, photographers — because they refuse to squander their God-given gifts on same-sex weddings. They firmly believe that the people getting “married” are the innocent victims, and the godly, kindly artisans are the troublemakers, rather than the other way around. Inevitably, this culminates in a lawsuit, which sometimes does not end well for the Christians. One Christian wedding boutique owner refused to service a same-sex wedding. The result? Because of the ensuing lawsuit, her store went out of business. Evidently, the very same people who shout “Tolerance!” at the top of their lungs ironically practice unfair discrimination.
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Classical liberalism is the alternative kind of liberalism. Unlike its progressive counterpart, classical liberalism actually follows more closely the creational norms, the intended plan God had for His world. It is concerned about protecting liberty and property, and strongly encourages businesses to excel (unlike some progressive welfare programs, which de-incentivize work by enabling laziness and making hard work meaningless).
The idol of classical liberalism, however, is the free-market system. While it is not wrong, if it takes the place of submission to God and His Word, it becomes a god. Classical liberals seem to think the market is above critique — the economy can do no wrong. Whether they know it or not, they ultimately believe that it is a god. This will end pitifully for all parties involved. What if a small company is struggling to stay in business? The classical liberal will not do a thing, since according to their worldview, nothing the market does is wrong. If the company goes out of business, the workers may run into difficulty applying for a new job or finding work opportunities, causing their families to suffer greatly. Family friends will be grieved, too.
If the classical liberal had realized that while the market is important and essential, a fallen world affects it and it is therefore not perfect, perhaps he would have empathized with the workers’ plight and offered assistance. The classical liberal also believes that civilians will act peacefully if they have financial incentives, since (according to their worldview) nothing the market does is wrong. This will ultimately end in chaos. Clearly, the classical liberal’s firm belief that the market culture is above critique is mistaken.
Summarily, both types of liberalism take things God intended for good — love, success, and the free-market system — and then twist them around for evil, turning them into idols. They believe the ultimate good in life is human happiness and success, which is fallen, fickle and finite apart from the infinite God. They trust too much in humans’ imperfect judgment, rather than God’s perfect decisions.
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