What is a Liberal?

[dda]

What is a Liberal?

By this I do not mean what is the Liberal Party all about in any country. In the U. S. we do not have a Liberal Party, yet we are always labeling people as "liberal" or "conservative" or "middle-of-the-road." This would be roughly the same of saying "left-of-center", "right-of-center" and "centerists."

What I am interested in is what qualities or positions are what one could truly describe as liberal or conservative or whatever.

In the U. S. we break it down even further by talking of "social conservatives" or "fiscal liberals" (or vice versa).

People who are against abortion, against gay marriage, etc. are considered "social conservatives." The converse defines "social liberals" though I have never heard that term articulated. I am not sure what a centerist position would be on such issues.

People who believe that the government needs additional funds in order to expand various programs are "fiscal liberals" while those who wish to limit the money given to government are considered "fiscal conservatives."

I personally tend to take a live-and-let-live attitude toward most social issues. If someone feels comfortable having an abortion, that is their business. If two people fall in love and want the sanction of the state to solemnize the union, I don't much care what the sexual composition of those two individuals is.

On fiscal matters, I tend to be more conservative. I think that the more money we give to government, the larger and more intrusive government gets, to me a bad thing.

If I were to run for political office in the U. S. I would be villified by both sides. Does this mean I am center-of-the road?

What do you think are the issues that define whether a person is liberal-conservative?