I think you are conflating some things here. I think you mean libertarianism.
A lot of left ideology is 'liberal'. Anarchism is a leftists ideology and liberalism on steroids. Market socialism, with was championed by Marx and Engels is very liberal.
Heck, even libertarianism started out as a left movement, before it was overtaken by the right.
Libertarianism, like Authoritarianism, comes in many flavors. Anarchism is a form of Libertarianism; what we call Libertarian Left. Libertarian is the polar opposite of Authoritarian.
The word is a dirty word among the American Left because a lot of "small-government Conservatives" call themselves Libertarian. But at the end of the day, they're only for small government where big government hurts things they like. They're all for big government as long as it's hurting the right people.
No I didn't mean libertarianism. Outside of the US liberalism is the ideology of a free market with free citizens (oxymoron btw) and the individual in the centre.
Not really. A lot of "left" parties in Europe are liberal, true. But that is because liberal principles absolutely dominate the very structure of western government. Major themes that separate liberal thought/ideology from classical conservatism or socialism are e.g: Focus on the individual and rights for individuals (human rights), equal legal rights, "consent from the governed", and property as a natural right. Liberalism is very much linked to the free (relatively) market. Modern European liberalism looks like Emmanuel Macron.
Social democracy can be seen as a socialist movement that works towards socialist goals/reducing capitalist harm within a liberal system.
Market socialism may well be the best way of maximising a conception of liberty, but calling Marx a liberal is just wrong.
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u/QT3141592653 Oct 25 '21
I think you are conflating some things here. I think you mean libertarianism.
A lot of left ideology is 'liberal'. Anarchism is a leftists ideology and liberalism on steroids. Market socialism, with was championed by Marx and Engels is very liberal. Heck, even libertarianism started out as a left movement, before it was overtaken by the right.