If a term is to have any meaning, it has to have at least some agreed definition. Otherwise it becomes a meaningless sound. Which maybe leftist has become.
I think that most terms like liberal, leftist, conservative, rightist, ad nauseam have become meaningless sounds, precisely because there is no established consensus on what they mean. To me, a "leftist" is more "left" than a "liberal": in order to be a "leftist", to me, you have to embrace at least some elements of outright socialism; a "liberal" is more likely to support a somewhat more highly regulated version of capitalism. I try not to use these classifications in conversation, though, simply because they are hopelessly amorphous and subject to an infinite degree of confusion and overlap.
I don't think anything is gained by using such labels to classify people, and I prefer to avoid it entirely. |
