What is a 'liberal', and which party does it best describe?

What is a 'liberal', and which party does it best describe?

Matthew Jones (Political Science Instructor) gives expert video advice on: What is a 'liberal', and which party does it best describe?; What is a 'conservative', and which party does it best describe?; What is a 'progressive', and which party does it best describe? and more...

American liberalism describes what we call the "left side" of the political spectrum. It really applies, mostly, to the Democratic Party, although more so to the green party, a lot of people would say, than the Democratic Party. But, in terms of parties and power, the Democratic Party tends to try to encapsulate the left side of the political spectrum. That would be modern liberalism. Modern liberalism got its start and came into its own in the twentieth century, when it combined the progressive movement, which was workers' rights, social justice, that idea--this civil libertarianism, civil liberties, and that idea. It really came into national prominence with the Civil Rights Movement, and the fight to end segregation and for African-American equality, that sort of thing. Then it changed with the counter-culture of the 1960s and 70s. It changed to encapsulate feminism and then later on, gay rights, and that counter-culture, which is the anti-traditional, or against challenging traditional values. That was brought into that, and it still combines support for the welfare state, government intervention into the economy, workers' rights, social justice. That kind of encapsulates modern American liberalism.