In the US , the word "liberal" can be understood as any ethical action which frustrates moral charlatans. I've heard an older American say that Salvador Allende was too liberal for American business intrests to tolerate, when in fact the business people were the liberals and Allende was a socialist. It's important to distinguish liberals from leftists because liberal is understood to mean far more than it actually means in the US, and many "liberals" are actually leftists.