George W. Bush is a Liberal

In this day and age of Republican dominance of the American political system, the term Liberal has become a label for the Conservative-Right to bash and insult the political opposition. It is the first defense mechanism of any Conservative Republican when describing one with an opposing viewpoint. Our current president plastered the term “Liberal” all over every electronic medium during the 2004 elections to describe his presidential opponent, John Kerry. But do Republicans even know what they mean when they say Liberal? If one was to ask a Conservative to define the word Liberal, their response would simply be, “A Democrat.” This answer is a simplistic distortion of the actual definition of the term. This misinterpretation makes most Conservative Republicans, even those serving in the Congress today, look hypocritical and ignorant. Unbeknownst to most Conservatives, they’ve been supporting the policies of a president, George W. Bush, which has been debatably one of the most Liberal figures in our history. To understand why President Bush is a Liberal, one must be enlightened on the precise definition of the word in the theoretical sense and where it’s rooted in political theory. Liberal theory is defined as a school of thought who argues that progress at peace is possible through institutional reforms that control international anarchy. The basic tenets of Liberal Theory encompass a broad range of different elements, but the ultimate goal is to achieve the spread of Liberal Democracy throughout the world. The different variants of Liberal ideology can be broken down into three major factions; Liberal Institutionalists, Liberal Pacifists, and Power Liberals. Liberal Institutionalists imply emphasis on creating and strengthening International Government Organizations (e.g. U.N., NATO) to produce economic, cultural and political change. They believe that military force can only be justified in direct self-defense or in a multilateral context for collective security to protect against aggressors or human rights violators. Inevitably, war is a last resort for this variant of Liberal theory. As opposed to Institutionalists, Pacifists are completely against any type of military force for any reason, and they are skeptical of International Government Organizations. They seek to promote human rights, through peaceful nonviolent means, and the spread of Liberal Democracy with Non-Government Organizations (e.g. Amnesty International, UNICEF). Pacifists utilize a constructive engagement approach when confronting human rights violators, as opposed to direct confrontation. Power Liberals contrast dramatically when compared to both Institutionalists and Pacifists. Power Liberals, otherwise known as Neo-Cons, implement Liberal goals through a realist approach. They emphasize the importance of unilateral military force to promote Liberal Democracy and capitalism throughout the international community. The Bush administration can be legitimately categorized under this variant of Liberal Theory. Its policy of nation-building and the Democratization process in Afghanistan and Iraq prove that the Bush administration is Liberal. No other figure in history has attempted such an international Democratization task which is the root principle of Liberal Theory. Institutionalists will argue that the Bush administration goes against Liberal Theory because of its use of unilateral military force, and its lack of respect for international institutions. Pacifists will argue that the Bush administration goes against Liberal Theory because of its lack of emphasis on human rights, and its attempt to spread Democracy and capitalism in parts of the world vital for geo-political reasons to U.S. interests. These arguments have substance and may properly describe the administration’s lack of candor to the true elements of Liberal Theory, but the goal of spreading Liberal Democracy is the same. The methodology of why and how to achieve the ultimate goal is another debate all together. Any true scholar of political science would agree with this assertion. So why do Conservatives use the term Liberal to defame the political opposition? Conservatives tie the term Liberal with issues such as abortion, gay-rights, taking prayer out of school and other divisive subjects; they can’t comprehend or grasp the true meaning of the term. If one was to make an observational comment of this misinterpretation of the term, there are only two words that come to mind that were mentioned earlier; hypocritical and ignorant. So the next time one chastises another for being a Liberal, ask that individual if they supported the Bush administration and its policies. If they answer yes, then they are supporting one of the biggest Liberals around. So with that same rational; that means they’re a Liberal too.