Good article, and there’s the same confusion this side of the pond. During the recent war in Lebanon, liberal, well-scrubbed middle-class people were to be seen carrying placards saying ‘We are all Hezbollah’. Weird.
In France ‘liberal’ means right-wing, in the sense of laissez-faire, let-it-rip capitalism.
In Britain, ‘progressives’ oppose more police powers and ID cards, but also support highly restrictive gun laws. They don’t see that a disarmed population is obliged to require more elaborate security measures. They’re too busy dreaming of a perfect world, where freedoms don’t have to be defended.
Pragmatism is a good baseline (English ‘what works’).
This kind of linking up is great, Jodetoad, you’re right, though of course all sorts of wackos can find reassurance on the net too.
