“A liberal believes in the permanence of humanity’s imperfection. He resigns himself to a regime in which the good will be the result of numberless actions and never the object of a conscious choice. He subscribes to the pessimism that sees, in politics, the art of creating the conditions in which the vices of man will contribute to the good of the state.”
Raymond Aron (1905–1983), L’opium des intellectuels , p. 262
P.S. He also wrote: “What passes for optimism is most often the effect of an intellectual error.”
Eric Koch’s book, The Weimar Triangle, is available at Indigo-Chapters and in your local bookstore. 
In other words “Hope over experience” perhaps.
Reminds me of the old joke: what do you get if you cross a Mafioso with a French philosopher?………….An offer you can’t understand.
‘Liberal’ has, perhaps, no definition, but is always in relation to the times and to the contemporary meaning of ‘conservative’. eg. Jefferson was ‘liberal’? A slave owner? But in relation to conservatives of the time he was.
Thanks for this Eric.
I always loved Bertrand Russel’s “A Liberal Decalogue”.
1.
Do not feel absolutely certain of anything.
2.
Do not think it worth while to proceed by concealing evidence, for the evidence is sure to come to light.
3.
Never try to discourage thinking for you are sure to succeed.
4.
When you meet with opposition, even if it should be from your husband or your children, endeavour to overcome it by argument and not by authority, for a victory dependent upon authority is unreal and illusory.
5.
Have no respect for the authority of others, for there are always contrary authorities to be found.
6.
Do not use power to suppress opinions you think pernicious, for if you do the opinions will suppress you.
7.
Do not fear to be eccentric in opinion, for every opinion now accepted was once eccentric.
8.
Find more pleasure in intelligent dissent that in passive agreement, for, if you value intelligence as you should, the former implies a deeper agreement than the latter.
9.
Be scrupulously truthful, even if the truth is inconvenient, for it is more inconvenient when you try to conceal it.
10.
Do not feel envious of the happiness of those who live in a fool’s paradise, for only a fool will think that it is happiness.
I suspect that Raymond Aron was using the standard French concept of liberal as what we would call a classic 19th century liberal economist, i.e. what we would be inclined to call a conservative. Certainly the current French media and political language equates liberal with a radical free-market advocate – not quite what we would call a libertarian but farther in that direction than in the direction of what we would consider liberal.
It was wrong-headed of me to give Raymond Aron’s quote the caption HE would have given to it. I thought of it too late.
You are perfectly right. In our political vocabulary, the definition would apply far more to a conservative than to a liberal.