Liberal

From Libertarian Wiki

American libertarianism is generally considered to be part of the liberal tradition; libertarians sometimes take the label "classical liberal". In modern America, "liberalism" is generally interpreted to include more progressive or socialist characteristics, such as those represented by the "New Deal", and is emobodied in the Democratic Party. The paleoliberal movement is a response to this change of liberal philosophy.

Some libertarians distance themselves from the liberal tradition and associate with anarchism instead. It is often claimed that these two traditions are necessarily distinct from and in opposition to each other, although another school of thought posits anarchism (or at least American individualist anarchism) as a descendent of Jeffersonian classical liberalism, taking Jeffersonian thought to its logical conclusion.