There are two different senses of the word liberal.

1. One who believes that (a) people ought to be free to live their lives as they so choose, (b) that the government should not promote any particular way of living one’s life, and (c) that real freedom requires a redistribution of wealth, facilitated by government. This is the most common contemporary meaning of “liberal.”

2. One who believes that individuals should be free to do as they like with their lives and their property without interference from other individuals or from the government. This meaning of “liberal” is usually called classical liberalism, or libertarianism. See: {libertarian}.