Do you identify as a theocrat (any religion) or Christian Reconstructionist?

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

What is this nonsense? Theocracy is not just "the people who run the government are religious," it is explicitly a dictatorship of the clergy. Some very dumb takes in this thread.

[Alcibiades]

I'll admit I find the idea of a Christian theocracy to be appealing, but only if it was an all liberal, all the time one.

What do you think liberalism is?

Socially progressive policies and social democratic economics.

This is perhaps the worst, shallowest (not to mention factually incorrect) definition of “liberalism” from someone who actually claims to be a liberal that I have ever seen. Far more central to liberalism is the belief in individual liberty and rights, that all people should be free to choose how they want to live their life so long as they do not infringe on others’ rights to do the same*, an idea which is fundamentally incompatible with any sort of theocracy.

Secondly, your assertion that “social democratic economics” is inherent to liberalism is laughably ignorant. Many liberals, including me, do basically agree with social democrats on most economic questions, but, equally, many others advance an almost libertarian conception of the state. Perhaps you should have paused over the veracity of your definition when using an offshoot of socialism to define liberalism.

_{*The problem comes of course with how exactly to implement this sentiment in practice, and this is the main cause of division between the many competing interpretations of liberalism. All, however, would agree that this ideal can never be realised within a theocracy.}

[If my soul was made of stone]

I'll admit I find the idea of a Christian theocracy to be appealing, but only if it was an all liberal, all the time one.

What do you think liberalism is?

Socially progressive policies and social democratic economics.

This is perhaps the worst, most shallow (not to mention factually incorrect) definition of “liberalism” from someone who actually claims to be a liberal that I have ever seen. Far more central to liberalism is the belief in individual liberty and rights, that all people should be free to choose how they want to live their life so long as they do not infringe on others’ rights to do the same*, an idea which is fundamentally incompatible with any sort of theocracy.

Secondly, your assertion that “social democratic economics” is inherent to liberalism is laughably ignorant. Many liberals, including me, do basically agree with social democrats on most economic questions, but, equally, many others advance an almost libertarian conception of the state. Perhaps you should have paused over the veracity of your definition when using an offshoot of socialism to define liberalism.

_{*The problem comes of course with how exactly to implement this sentiment in practice, and is the main cause of division between the many competing interpretations of liberalism. All, however, would agree that this ideal can never be realised within a theocracy.}

The rub is that most Americans, regardless of political persuasion, would agree on this definition.

[H. Ross Peron]

I'll admit I find the idea of a Christian theocracy to be appealing, but only if it was an all liberal, all the time one.

What do you think liberalism is?

Socially progressive policies and social democratic economics.

This is perhaps the worst, most shallow (not to mention factually incorrect) definition of “liberalism” from someone who actually claims to be a liberal that I have ever seen. Far more central to liberalism is the belief in individual liberty and rights, that all people should be free to choose how they want to live their life so long as they do not infringe on others’ rights to do the same*, an idea which is fundamentally incompatible with any sort of theocracy.

Secondly, your assertion that “social democratic economics” is inherent to liberalism is laughably ignorant. Many liberals, including me, do basically agree with social democrats on most economic questions, but, equally, many others advance an almost libertarian conception of the state. Perhaps you should have paused over the veracity of your definition when using an offshoot of socialism to define liberalism.

_{*The problem comes of course with how exactly to implement this sentiment in practice, and is the main cause of division between the many competing interpretations of liberalism. All, however, would agree that this ideal can never be realised within a theocracy.}

The rub is that most Americans, regardless of political persuasion, would agree on this definition.

This. BRTD offers a pretty good definition of American liberalism, especially as practiced in places like his native Upper Midwest.