SOCIAL LIBERTARIANISM – The Ideology of Progressive Freedom
Social Libertarianism is one of the six core political ideologies on
the Map My Politics ideology chart, occupying the area below the
centrist zone and to the left of the libertarian zone. The ideology
extends considerably on the conventional left-right continuum,
spanning between an orientation towards the free market and a more
mixed economy. But social libertarians uniformly place tremendous
value on personal liberty, again proving the utility of a two-axis
chart.
In terms of economic liberty, social libertarians value the free
enterprise system, but they are more broadminded about moderating
certain aspects of it, as compared to conservatives or their
libertarian namesakes. For example, social libertarians do not view
natural resources as a private good to be consumed without
regulation, so they are much more prone to advocate for
environmental restrictions. Another issue commonly supported by
social libertarians is universal basic income, which combines an
embrace of market economics with a social safety net. At the more
leftward extreme of the social libertarian ideology, a concern for
inequality and social justice can rival that of liberalism; such
social libertarians sometimes self-identify as “bleeding heart
libertarians” – or are mocked by right-leaning libertarians the same
way. Many ideologies on the Map May Politics chart have a divergence
along a particular axis, however. What connects the adherents in a
unifying ideological principle, which in the case of social
libertarians is the merit of a mixed market economy.
Regarding the y-axis of social liberty, social libertarians are
fully supportive of a classically liberal approach towards civil
liberties. Indeed, many social libertarians came of age during the
online digital era and embrace a virtually absolutist approach to
free speech – no pun intended. Such social libertarians consider it
an article of faith that one’s personal behavior and lifestyle
choices are largely off-limits from societal control, whether in
matters of sexuality, religious belief, or recreational drug use.
This embrace of social liberty means that social libertarians
typically oppose any bans on hate speech or obscenity, even if they
might not personally condone such behavior, endorse same-sex
marriage and support Internet-related freedoms such as net
neutrality and digital privacy.
The roots of social libertarianism can be traced to the same
Enlightenment philosophers who influenced libertarianism but also
include more modern thinkers who have expanded on the notion of
liberty in the modern age. For example, Isaiah Berlin’s
groundbreaking 1958 essay, “Two Concepts of Liberty,” has proved
enormously influential among social libertarians. Berlin, a British
public intellectual who taught at Oxford, distinguished between what
he called positive and negative liberty in his essay. Negative
liberty is the freedom from interference, while positive liberty is
what we are free to actually do, and these different conceptions of
liberty, while equally valid, often come into conflict in public
policy. Other philosophers who have advanced left-libertarian
thinking include Hillel Steiner, Philippe Van Parijs and Peter
Vallentyne.
Because the United States is – for the most part – a two-party
system, social libertarians have sometimes had a difficult time
finding a good fit within either the Democratic Party or the
Republican Party, so they often self-identify as independent, or pay
more particular attention to individual candidates and party
platforms rather than voting along party lines. Prominent American
social libertarian politicians have included Mike Gravel, Jared
Polis, Ron Wyden, and Andrew Yang. Important American social
libertarian thinkers and writers have included Camille Paglia, Matt
Zwolinski and Arianna Huffington.
For further reading about the social libertarian ideology,
click here.
To return to your Results page and the Map My Politics Ideology
Chart, where you can learn more about other ideologies,
click here.
SOCIAL LIBERTARIANISM – The Ideology of Progressive Freedom
Social Libertarianism is one of the six core political ideologies on the Map My Politics ideology chart, occupying the area below the centrist zone and to the left of the libertarian zone. The ideology extends considerably on the conventional left-right continuum, spanning between an orientation towards the free market and a more mixed economy. But social libertarians uniformly place tremendous value on personal liberty, again proving the utility of a two-axis chart.
In terms of economic liberty, social libertarians value the free enterprise system, but they are more broadminded about moderating certain aspects of it, as compared to conservatives or their libertarian namesakes. For example, social libertarians do not view natural resources as a private good to be consumed without regulation, so they are much more prone to advocate for environmental restrictions. Another issue commonly supported by social libertarians is universal basic income, which combines an embrace of market economics with a social safety net. At the more leftward extreme of the social libertarian ideology, a concern for inequality and social justice can rival that of liberalism; such social libertarians sometimes self-identify as “bleeding heart libertarians” – or are mocked by right-leaning libertarians the same way. Many ideologies on the Map May Politics chart have a divergence along a particular axis, however. What connects the adherents in a unifying ideological principle, which in the case of social libertarians is the merit of a mixed market economy.
Regarding the y-axis of social liberty, social libertarians are fully supportive of a classically liberal approach towards civil liberties. Indeed, many social libertarians came of age during the online digital era and embrace a virtually absolutist approach to free speech – no pun intended. Such social libertarians consider it an article of faith that one’s personal behavior and lifestyle choices are largely off-limits from societal control, whether in matters of sexuality, religious belief, or recreational drug use. This embrace of social liberty means that social libertarians typically oppose any bans on hate speech or obscenity, even if they might not personally condone such behavior, endorse same-sex marriage and support Internet-related freedoms such as net neutrality and digital privacy.
The roots of social libertarianism can be traced to the same Enlightenment philosophers who influenced libertarianism but also include more modern thinkers who have expanded on the notion of liberty in the modern age. For example, Isaiah Berlin’s groundbreaking 1958 essay, “Two Concepts of Liberty,” has proved enormously influential among social libertarians. Berlin, a British public intellectual who taught at Oxford, distinguished between what he called positive and negative liberty in his essay. Negative liberty is the freedom from interference, while positive liberty is what we are free to actually do, and these different conceptions of liberty, while equally valid, often come into conflict in public policy. Other philosophers who have advanced left-libertarian thinking include Hillel Steiner, Philippe Van Parijs and Peter Vallentyne.
Because the United States is – for the most part – a two-party system, social libertarians have sometimes had a difficult time finding a good fit within either the Democratic Party or the Republican Party, so they often self-identify as independent, or pay more particular attention to individual candidates and party platforms rather than voting along party lines. Prominent American social libertarian politicians have included Mike Gravel, Jared Polis, Ron Wyden, and Andrew Yang. Important American social libertarian thinkers and writers have included Camille Paglia, Matt Zwolinski and Arianna Huffington.
For further reading about the social libertarian ideology, click here.
To return to your Results page and the Map My Politics Ideology Chart, where you can learn more about other ideologies, click here.