Why Liberalism is the Hardest Ideology to Support in America

I believe liberalism is the hardest ideology to support in America, and for two very simple reasons: there are hardly any real liberal candidates, and most Americans don't actually know what it means to be a "liberal," thanks to the two conservative parties hijacking the term.

What Is Liberalism?

To begin, an explanation of liberalism:

The Spectrum

Imagine the political spectrum has four quadrants and two axes. The primary axis is the traditional left-right axis. This axis specifically deals with economic issues. The left of center is for "liberal" economics and the right of center is for "conservative" economics. Conservative economics are capitalism and all its derivatives, models, and progressions, including corporatism/crony capitalism. Liberal economics are socialism and all of its derivatives, models, and progressions, including communism.

The second axis is the social and civil axis, the vertical libertarian-statist axis that specifically relates to government issues. The more or larger government you favor, the farther into the statist half you get. The less or smaller government you favor, the farther into the libertarian half you get. Anarchism would be extreme libertarian, while authoritarian would be extreme statist.

It is possible to be a liberal libertarian or a conservative statist, and vice versa. It is not possible to be a libertarian statist or a capitalist liberal/socialist conservative, however.

What Is Liberalism?

Liberal economics advocate some form of socialism or communism. Even the most diluted form is still liberal as long as it still advocates (economic) social justice, wealth redistribution, social ownership of the means of production, and cooperative control of the economy. For examples of actual liberal economics, look at the Green Party and Socialist Party.

Aren't Democrats Liberals Too?

As a party, Democrats are not economic liberals at all. In fact, most Democratic politicians champion corporatism (also called "crony capitalism"), which is a progression of capitalism just like communism is a progression of socialism, making its advocates (the Democratic Party's leaders) economic conservatives. President Obama is no exception to this, while candidates like Senator-Elect Elizabeth Warren are.

So What's the Problem?

Economic liberalism is actually very popular among citizens of the U.S. The problem lies in our politicians. A very slim minority of our national and even state level politicians are actually liberal. Vermont is the only truly liberal state in the nation, with Washington possibly joining them in time. As for politicians, I can count them on one hand.

This is not so with conservatives, who control the vast majority of the country. Even libertarians have high-profile politicians elected to various offices, most of the time as Republicans.

That is why liberalism is the hardest ideology to support in the U.S.