political philosophy. Of course, liberalism is the exact opposite of any kind of socialism. This abuse started with American conservatives (most of whom are simply ignorant) and spread so much in recent decades that you will hardly find an American who doesn't equate "liberal", "left", "socialist" and "communist" (all of them should be very distinct terms, not synonyms). Sadly, this usage is spreading to British usage as well. Anybody who is guilty of this confusion of basic terms of political philosophy only shows his/her/their complete ignorance. They simply don't know what they are talking about. Let us not forget: Karl Marx hated liberals (well, he hated and despised anyone who didn't agree with him. Bakunin, of all people, used to complain of Marx's intolerance).