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Are Two “Isms” Ruining American Political Discourse?
Linguist John McWhorter argued in 2019 that the terms liberalism and socialism were ruining American political discourse.
The initial liberal ideals are now known as “classical liberalism.” This means advocating for unrestrained free markets and civil liberties. Today’s libertarians endorse “classical liberalism.” Conservatives claim they want to preserve liberalism, but they’re referring to traditional institutions. Liberalism is usually associated with the left, but these two schools of thought are on the right.
During the Great Depression, FDR’s New Deal initiatives started a new age of “social liberalism” that is championed by the left today. This type of liberalism was not concerned with free markets but rather with the government’s role in alleviating poverty and discrimination.
McWhorter stated that the general public no longer has any understanding of what the term “liberal” means and that, in an era of intense political polarization, the term should be dropped to avoid unneeded confusion.
As far as socialism goes, McWhorter claims that the term has been redefined so many times that its meaning is impossible to grasp. Originally, socialism meant the government owning the means of production and distribution in order to provide for the basic needs of all its citizens.