There are two basic political parties in the U.S.: liberals and Democrats. Liberals believe in freedom, and their last core philosophy paper was titled It’s About Freedom. Liberals also believe in the right to pursue one’s dreams and use one’s talents. However, not all Liberals are Democrats. Let’s look at the differences between the two. We’ll begin by discussing the differences in philosophy, and the differences between Democrat and Liberal party policies.

While liberals emphasize the importance of limited government and the need for private sector growth, social democrats focus on ensuring that income equality is achieved down the slope of the income distribution. Social liberals, on the other hand, believe that the state must act to improve the lives of the poor and middle class. While liberals believe in capitalism as a means to provide for people, leftists believe that serious intervention in the capitalist system is necessary to guarantee workers’ basic needs.

Generally, liberal states have high minority populations and public expressions of LGBTQ+ acceptance. In Washington, for example, there is a three-point liberal advantage over conservatives. In New York, the Democratic Party has the largest number of moderate voters, with 37% voting Democratic in 2016. In other states, liberals do better in large metropolitan areas and upstate states. These differences are not always indicative of political views or party policies.