>but what I have thought of as Liberalism could be described, using the definition above, as “a sense of the importance of the state over the individual, a subjection of the individual to complete subservience to the state, and a tight rein of state regulation and law over the individual.”

That sounds like totalitarianism to me, not liberalism. Here's the definition I turned up for liberalism from the Merriam-Webster dictionary online:

"a political philosophy based on belief in progress, the essential goodness of the human race, and the autonomy of the individual and standing for the protection of political and civil liberties"

That sounds pretty close to what I believe.

>This is the philosophy of Al Gore. This has nothing to do with housing, school rights and voting rights, all things that Al Gore thinks the state ought to control and dispense as he sees fit.

Let's be clear that Gore is _not_ a liberal. He's a centrist. It's been a while since we've had a major party presidential candidate that was truly a liberal. McGovern certainly was, Dukakis may have been. (Yes, I see the pattern. < g >)

Tamar