Reply #11: Liberalism is the necessary balance to consrrvatism

[Armstead]

Frankly, the lying dogs of the hard-right will never concede that anything short of complete corporate fascism is worthwhile. They want to let a dog-eat-dog form on unbridled capitalism create a new version of France prior to the French Revolution.

But to people who are not blinded by fuindamentalist ideology, the list of accomplishments of liberalism are long. But, at base, its role is to provide a counterbalance to the excesses of "markets" anbd ensure that otehr valuyes and interests have a role in society. It is also society's self-policing mechanism, to avoid excessive concentrations of wealth and power. And it is society's conscienbce -- making sure that the needs of the population that fall outside of the commercial/profit omperative are addressed.