Difference b/w Idealists and Liberalists

Any answer to this depends on whether we are focusing on political or philosophical

discourse, and whether we are using the terms as political labels or mere descriptors.
Generally, in current discourse ‘Liberal’ is used as a political term whereas ‘idealist’ is
more a philosophical term.

Liberalism is both a political movement and a philosophical alignment, but we

typically use it as a political designation in modern Western discourse. So, a liberal is
a person who follows the so-called left spectrum of the political continuum. A liberal
usually believes in an active government that works for the benefit of the people.

An idealist is a person who believes in a certain set of ideals (understanding of what

is perfect) and who tries to maintain strict adherence to those. Idealists are often
perceived as unrealistic, or at least impractical, in that their ideals may not fit the
actual reality of the world.

A liberal may indeed by an idealist, but liberals may also have a more utilitarian,
practical focus. Further, a conservative (someone on the so-called right of the
political continuum) may be an idealist in that he/she adheres to a set of ideals
rather than focusing on more practical concerns. Thus, we see that an idealist in the
philosophical sense is not someone of a particular political bent, but rather someone
who puts his/her ideals before other considerations.

To complicate things, a person may be an idealist philosophically but not in practical

application. For example, Thomas Jefferson’s writing show a strong idealistic bent,
but his actual behavior, both in his personal life and his political life, frequently did
not adhere to his expressed ideology.

In current political discourse, we often seem to use the term ‘idealist’ to mean
someone, usually a liberal, who adheres to his/her political beliefs strictly and
uncompromisingly. Further, ‘idealist’ as a political label is often conflated with
‘utopian’, and the term has even taken on a somewhat pejorative slant with respect to
politics.