The Liberal vs Democrat debate is often confusing. While both parties share the same ideals, one differs in their political philosophy. Liberals are opposed to privileged protection of private enterprise and overly active government intervention in the marketplace. While democrats are more likely to favor unregulated finance and progressive taxation, they are a long way from the ideal of private ownership of productive public enterprises and other means of production. While liberals tend to help the poor, democrats often threaten to expand state welfare and protect the interests of the rich.
While a few liberals want to keep the status quo, many others want to change it. The Democratic Party’s position on the issue has changed significantly over the past century. No longer is the party primarily the crusader of civil rights and implementer of social programs. Rather, it has adapted to the changing social needs of the country. Although the Democrats are still the majority of the American political scene, their ideology has evolved.
The ideological balance of the Democratic Party has changed in recent years, and liberals are the majority of the Democratic party. For more than two decades, most Republicans identified themselves as conservatives, while Democrats are sharply divided on economic and social issues. Gallup surveys American adults on a wide range of issues to determine their political views and identify their level of ideological alignment. They then ask respondents to rate their views on the various issues separately.