FDP: Are Germany′s ′liberals′ in reality ′libertarians′? | Germany | Deutche Welle:
September 25, 2017 - "The Free Democratic Party (FDP) is the comeback story of the German election.... On September 24 the FDP returned to the Bundestag with a two-digit result. Just four years ago, many commentators had pronounced the FDP dead when it was unable to collect the 5 percent of the vote necessary to enter Germany's parliament.
"But when Germans have to explain to foreigners what the party stands for, they often face a conundrum: How to translate the German 'liberal' into English.
"In German, the term 'liberal' is unambiguously tied to the FDP's pro-business, pro-civil liberties tenets. 'Liberals in Germany want the state be confined to providing safety for the people and a stable environment, but not meddle around with people with overabundant regulation,' explained German political scientist Michael Dreyer. The FDP, led by 38-year old former business consultant Christian Lindner, espouses progressive stances on social issues such as gay marriage, but these issues often take a backseat to the party's 'pro-business' economic platform, which is why the party and German liberals in general are often perceived as right of center.
"Part of the problem is that "liberal" does not fit nicely on one side of the political spectrum. While, for example, the British and Canadian liberal parties are both moderate leftist parties, the Australian liberal party is staunchly conservative.... In the US, progressive politicians ... are referred to as 'liberals.' Germany, meanwhile, has a long tradition of a strong Social Democratic Party.... Germany's Social Democrats, the Left Party and the Greens have pushed liberals to see themselves primarily as the protectors of citizens and companies from an overreaching welfare state.
"Presumably to avoid the ambiguity of 'liberal,' some English-language media use 'libertarian' to describe the FDP. Employed primarily in the US, the term refers to an ideology that favors a laissez-faire approach to the economy and endorses 'whatever floats your boat' social policies .
"While both German liberals and US libertarians want a smaller state, most FDP members reject the notion they are libertarians because the term is often associated with radically anti-government views.... Germans generally favor a much stronger welfare state than most Americans, which is why even the platforms of Germany's moderately right-wing parties ... overlap more with those of the Democratic Party than with the Republican Party, which has a strong libertarian wing, or the Libertarian Party itself.
"FDP members point to the example of health care to illustrate the difference between German liberals and US libertarians: While the FDP is in favor of state-sponsored health care, US libertarians want to see 'Obamacare' abolished."
Read more: http://www.dw.com/en/fdp-are-germanys-liberals-in-reality-libertarians/a-40001366
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September 25, 2017 - "The Free Democratic Party (FDP) is the comeback story of the German election.... On September 24 the FDP returned to the Bundestag with a two-digit result. Just four years ago, many commentators had pronounced the FDP dead when it was unable to collect the 5 percent of the vote necessary to enter Germany's parliament.
"But when Germans have to explain to foreigners what the party stands for, they often face a conundrum: How to translate the German 'liberal' into English.
"In German, the term 'liberal' is unambiguously tied to the FDP's pro-business, pro-civil liberties tenets. 'Liberals in Germany want the state be confined to providing safety for the people and a stable environment, but not meddle around with people with overabundant regulation,' explained German political scientist Michael Dreyer. The FDP, led by 38-year old former business consultant Christian Lindner, espouses progressive stances on social issues such as gay marriage, but these issues often take a backseat to the party's 'pro-business' economic platform, which is why the party and German liberals in general are often perceived as right of center.
"Part of the problem is that "liberal" does not fit nicely on one side of the political spectrum. While, for example, the British and Canadian liberal parties are both moderate leftist parties, the Australian liberal party is staunchly conservative.... In the US, progressive politicians ... are referred to as 'liberals.' Germany, meanwhile, has a long tradition of a strong Social Democratic Party.... Germany's Social Democrats, the Left Party and the Greens have pushed liberals to see themselves primarily as the protectors of citizens and companies from an overreaching welfare state.
"Presumably to avoid the ambiguity of 'liberal,' some English-language media use 'libertarian' to describe the FDP. Employed primarily in the US, the term refers to an ideology that favors a laissez-faire approach to the economy and endorses 'whatever floats your boat' social policies .
"While both German liberals and US libertarians want a smaller state, most FDP members reject the notion they are libertarians because the term is often associated with radically anti-government views.... Germans generally favor a much stronger welfare state than most Americans, which is why even the platforms of Germany's moderately right-wing parties ... overlap more with those of the Democratic Party than with the Republican Party, which has a strong libertarian wing, or the Libertarian Party itself.
"FDP members point to the example of health care to illustrate the difference between German liberals and US libertarians: While the FDP is in favor of state-sponsored health care, US libertarians want to see 'Obamacare' abolished."
Read more: http://www.dw.com/en/fdp-are-germanys-liberals-in-reality-libertarians/a-40001366
'via Blog this'
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