The term is now used with a variety of meanings which have little in common beyond describing an openness to new ideas, including some which are directly opposed to those which are originally designated by it during the nineteenth and the earlier parts of the twentieth centuries.these are some quotations:
" Liberalism is a most important by-product of Rationalism, and its origins and ideology must be clearly shown. " Francis P. Yockey " Liberalism is an attitude rather than a set of dogmas - an attitude that insists upon questioning all plausible and self-evident propositions, seeking not to reject them but to find out what evidence there is to support them rather than their possible alternatives." Morris Raphael Cohen "Liberalism is financed by the dividends from Conservatism. " Craig Bruce " Liberalism is Rationalism in politics." Francis P. Yockey "Liberalism is trust of the people tempered by prudence. Conservatism is distrust of the people tempered by fear. " William E. Gladstone "A man who has both feet planted firmly in the air can be safely called a liberal as opposed to the conservative, who has both feet firmly planted in his mouth" Jacques Barzun