WORDS MEAN THINGS. What does it mean for university students to tend to be "liberal?" The Northern Star does some investigative reporting.

“Think about the terms themselves,” [sociology professor Kay] Forest said. “Liberal means a supporter of social change and innovation. Conservative means a supporter of tradition and established institutions. Young people tend to see endless possibilities and dislike restrictions, while the experiences of age can teach that some traditions have their place and too much change has its social costs.”

These days, however, the people who dislike restrictions and seek reform of Social Security and representative governments in the Islamic Quarter are referred to in popular parlance as "conservative" whilst those who seek to restrict employers' freedom to hire, or the cars people drive, or to preserve Social Security, or who question the liberation of Iraq, are the "liberals."

It is difficult to find a better exemplar of a point that arises in Right Nation (details or compare prices.) Conservatism, U.S. style, is a very different beast from that the book's European audience is used to seeing.