The Patriot Post® · In Brief: The Right Way to Label the Left
Years ago, people on the Left were liberals of a sort. They wanted to be liberal with free speech, liberal with taxpayer dollars, liberal with personal freedom to do whatever the heck you wanted. Not anymore. Today, they’re leftists — authoritarian busybodies who demand acquiescence to their ways of thinking. The Competitive Enterprise Institute’s Joshua Bandoch argues that’s exactly why the name change should stick.
As the 2024 election cycle intensifies, we’ll hear much from the Left about “liberal” and “progressive” values. That’s a savvy strategy, since few political words have more persuasive appeal than liberty and progress. They’re at the heart of America: “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” That’s why the first word in Joe Biden’s 2024 campaign launch video is “freedom” (a.k.a liberty).
Unfortunately, conservatives have allowed the Left to capture these powerful words. That’s a mistake, since it cedes the moral high ground to the Left. It’s also inaccurate, because conservative principles and policies advance liberty and progress far more effectively.
There’s a simple remedy: Adopt the term “leftist” to refer to the ideological Left and stop referring to them as “liberals” or “progressives.”
Preserving American Liberty is a critical objective for conservatives. Undermining it is what leftists want to do. So, truth in advertising is desirable, but Bandoch adds, “Appeals to liberty are persuasive because, as moral-psychology research shows, liberty is part of everyone’s morality.” The vast majority of Americans view it positively or at least neutrally.
As for progress, he admits everyone wants that too. It’s just not accurate for what leftist policies will do.
A true liberal holds liberty as a primary value and supports the principles and policies necessary to promote political, economic, and individual freedom. That’s how “liberal” is used everywhere.
Except in America, oddly. Research shows that leftist morality is driven primarily by equality (meaning equal outcomes or “equity”) and care (sensitivity to signs of suffering). Liberty is of secondary importance.
To the extent that leftists emphasize liberty, they generally adhere to a positive notion of liberty. It’s “positive” not because it’s good but because it requires actions to achieve liberty — actions like redistribution, regulation, and paternalism, all of which are coercive.
Progress is about making things better. Are only leftists concerned with improving the status quo? Do conservatives look to stunt progress, thrusting us back to the bad old days? No to both.
What are conservatives to do with the language, then? Bandoch offers three ideas:
First, disassociate the ideological Left from the terms “liberal” and “progressive” by adopting the term “leftist.” If we consistently speak this way, people will gradually stop associating these persuasive words with the Left.
Second, show how conservative ideas promote liberty and progress better. Data and logic are necessary, not sufficient. Instead, lead with emotional intelligence. Help people feel the power of liberty and progress by appealing to them directly, especially through stories about how liberty most helps the poorest among us.
Third, explain how leftist policies are opposed to liberty and progress in practice. For example, welfare without work creates dependence on government, which makes recipients less free. It stunts progress by robbing recipients of the dignity inherent in work. Republicans’ insistence in the debt-ceiling negotiations on linking work and welfare was morally right and politically popular.
By demonstrating what it really means to be liberal and progressive, we’ll move closer to the ideal of America as a place where everyone can pursue happiness.
National Review subscribers can read the whole thing here.