ABSTRACT
Contemporary liberalism developed in the tradition of Jeremy Bentham, John Stuart Mill, Thomas Hill Green, and John Dewey. More collectivist and less individualist than their liberal predecessors, those of the contemporary school equate individual happiness with the happiness of society as a whole. Because private control of the means of production has been used to oppress large numbers of people, the democratic socialists favor government action to prevent oppression. Believing that people can devise institutions that will serve their needs better, they practice social engineering. The victories and defeats of such experiments can be found in the policies of the New Deal and the Great Society, the reactionary policies of Ronald Reagan, and the negligent policies of George W. Bush. Currently, with affordable medical care extended to millions of people as his policy flagship, Barack Obama is trying to develop liberal solutions to huge environmental, economic, and social problems while pursuing relatively conservative foreign policies.
