ABOUT THIS FAQ
This FAQ has been an enjoyable project for me,
and I hope the reader finds it so as well. To help you get
the most out of it, let me explain what this FAQ is and is not.
The purpose of this FAQ is fourfold: 1) to provide an ever-growing
collection of liberal arguments, written in plain English; 2)
to ground the debate in studies and statistics; 3) to rise above
the current level of bumper sticker slogans; and 4) to rebut the
most currently popular myths.
Conversely, there are several things that my FAQ is not intended
to do. It is not intended to be a typically short FAQ, readable
in a single sitting. My Short FAQ on Liberalism
already serves this purpose. However, that document merely describes liberal
positions without explaining or defending them. This FAQ is more
like an encyclopedia, useful for looking up arguments on particular topics
of interest.
Nor is this FAQ intended to represent every shade of liberalism,
which is impossible. It merely represents my personal philosophies (which
many would probably call mainstream liberal),
plus all the improvements, additions, and corrections that people
have mailed in to me. I am not dogmatic in this regard; I am
easily swayed by strong evidence. At the moment, this FAQ is rather US-centric,
with an emphasis on current US issues.
This is due to my own personal experience; I welcome additions based on the
experience and issues of other nations. I do believe, however, that the
principles described here should be useful to virtually everyone.
Nor is this FAQ intended to serve as an introduction to various
opposing political philosophies. That is even more hopeless than
trying to cover all the variants of liberalism. And at any rate,
the best way to learn of someone else's political philosophies
is to get them straight from the source, not from their opponents.
Here are some FAQs of other political ideologies:
Conservatism FAQ
Libertarianism, by Eric Raymond
Libertarian FAQ
Objectivism: The philosophy of Ayn Rand, by Chris Walker
Anarchist Theory FAQ, by Bryan Caplan
The National Political Index --
An enormous and excellent collection of links to political parties, their FAQs, and other
information.
The Jefferson Project: The
Comprehensive Guide to On-Line Politics -- Another site with tons of links to political
issues and partisan arguments.
My descriptions of my opponents' beliefs are meant only to identify
them, so as to contrast and present the liberal position. Accusations that
I am building strawmen will thus be firmly rejected, given the
links above. The responsibility for highly detailed knowledge of other
political philosophies belongs to the reader, since including
them here would double or triple the size of this FAQ. But I think the
reader will find that I treat the opposition's arguments fairly and with
sufficient detail to make a meaningful rebuttal.
This FAQ also does not intend to make a case for liberal Christianity.
Readers will note that I frequently quote from the Bible to support
liberal positions. But this is only because Christian conservatives
claim that the Bible is the source for all their political beliefs.
My quoting from the Bible is intended to show that
their Biblical support is either highly problematic or completely
nonexistent, and that liberals actually have the better claim.
But I don't pretend the Bible yields a coherent liberal philosophy
either -- no document that advocates slavery ever could -- so I'll leave
that to liberal Christians as an exercise.
Nor is this FAQ intended to copy the style of political debate
that dominates talk radio and the Internet: sensational, emotional,
demagogic, rabble-rousing, name-calling, or punching hot buttons.
There is already a dearth of cool, reasoned analysis in the Great
American Debate, and this FAQ is an attempt to fill that niche.
If my treatments of emotional topics like abortion and racism
seem academic, this should be viewed as a breath of fresh
air, not as evidence that I lack all humanity. :-)
My methodology has been to footnote every statistic or factual
claim that I make. Wherever possible, I try to cite primary sources.
If those are not available, I try to cite the top scholars in
their field; if those are not available, then peer-reviewed journals. I am quite
keen on presenting the most accurate and authoritative data possible.
Please write me with any suggested improvements to the FAQ.
For those curious about my academic background, I am currently
applying for grad school in political science, having emphasized
it while earning my degree in Russian studies. The fact that I
studied the Soviet Union in college does not make me a communist
or a socialist, although it greatly assisted me in understanding
these systems. I was also raised in a Christian conservative family,
so I am intimately familiar with that belief system as well. And
to round out my political education, I received my degree from
the University of California - Santa Cruz, one of the five most
liberal cities in the nation, and a frequent target of Rush Limbaugh's
wrath. As you can see, I've been evangelized by nearly everyone!
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