# Most liberal place on Earth (country, city, location) **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 7, 2016, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-liberal-place-on-earth-country-city-location/754145 "2016-05-07T05:55:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2016, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-liberal-place-on-earth-country-city-location/754145/1 "2016-05-07T05:55:34Z")
Most liberal country - I would say either Iceland or Sweden. Most liberal city - I would say either Vancouver, Reykjavik or San Francisco. Most liberal location (has to be reasonably large to qualify) - the campus of UC-Berkeley…? What would your nominees be? ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2016, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-liberal-place-on-earth-country-city-location/754145/2 "2016-05-07T07:42:25Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > the campus of UC-Berkeley…? Oberlin. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2016, 9:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-liberal-place-on-earth-country-city-location/754145/3 "2016-05-07T09:34:59Z")
And by the way, you’ll have to define “liberal.” ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2016, 9:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-liberal-place-on-earth-country-city-location/754145/4 "2016-05-07T09:41:41Z")
Location: various [Speakers’ Corners](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speakers%27_Corner)? ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2016, 9:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-liberal-place-on-earth-country-city-location/754145/5 "2016-05-07T09:46:42Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > Most liberal location (has to be reasonably large to qualify) - the campus of UC-Berkeley…? > [@panache45](#): > > Oberlin. I’d nominate the Santa Fe, New Mexico campus of St. John’s College. I’m not an alumnus, but I had a friend who is, and I’d visit him there a lot when he was a student. In fact, Santa Fe is in the running for Most Liberal City, if Taos doesn’t knock it out. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2016, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-liberal-place-on-earth-country-city-location/754145/6 "2016-05-07T13:42:33Z")
Ironically, “Liberal, KS” is not even close. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2016, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-liberal-place-on-earth-country-city-location/754145/7 "2016-05-07T14:40:16Z")
Berkeley isn’t the most liberal college in the U.S. It’s perhaps the most liberal large state university. Large state universities have to be diverse places. The most liberal colleges tend to be small ones where there are more unified social/political/philosophical views. Here’s some lists of liberal colleges (several of which include my undergraduate school, New College in Sarasota, Florida): > **[You Need to Check Out These 70 Most Liberal Colleges in America](https://blog.prepscholar.com/most-liberal-colleges)** > > Looking for a liberal, left-leaning environment for college? We've compiled the most liberal colleges in the country so you can find your political fit. > **[The 10 Most Progressive Campuses ⋆ College Magazine](https://www.collegemagazine.com/top-10-open-minded-colleges/)** > > Imagine a college where protests occur as often as electricity is produced by an on-campus wind turbine. > **[The 13 Most Rabidly Leftist, Politically Correct Colleges For Dirty,...](https://dailycaller.com/2014/08/07/the-13-most-rabidly-leftist-politically-correct-colleges-for-dirty-tree-hugging-hippies/)** > > The Daily Caller presents the 2014 rankings for the most annoying, rabidly politically correct, dirty-hippie, tree-hugging colleges and universities > **[The Most Liberal Colleges](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/most-liberal-colleges-201_n_1761782)** > > The Most Liberal Colleges > **[The 10 Most Liberal College Campuses in America](https://www.uloop.com/news/view.php/102399/most-liberal-colleges)** > > Last week we took a look at the most conservative college campuses in America. Well, College Prowler also has a ranking of the most liberal schools in America, ranging from most to least. What mak... > **[Colleges for the Socially Liberal](https://www.collegexpress.com/lists/list/colleges-for-the-socially-liberal/432/)** > > Some may call you a left-wing nut, but you prefer to think of yourself as progressive and passionate. These are colleges where liberal students are happy. Search Thousands Of Colleges And Scholarships. Join Our Growing Community Of College Bound... ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2016, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-liberal-place-on-earth-country-city-location/754145/8 "2016-05-07T15:50:42Z")
There are some cities in France, notably a few suburbs of Paris, that have elected Communist Party mayors for decades. In the USA, it would probably be The People’s Republic of Boulder, in Colorado. Key West FL would be the most liberal in the south. “Liberal” is a pretty vague word. There are towns or localities in the western USA that are very strongly Libertarian, and one can argue whether that meets your definition of Liberal, or not. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2016, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-liberal-place-on-earth-country-city-location/754145/9 "2016-05-07T16:01:47Z")
Here’s one list of the most liberal and conservative cities in the U.S.: > **[Crowdpac – Medium](https://medium.com/crowdpac)** > > Get the latest news and updates from Crowdpac — the fastest way for new leaders to raise their first political dollars. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2016, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-liberal-place-on-earth-country-city-location/754145/10 "2016-05-07T16:23:01Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > Here’s one list of the most liberal and conservative cities in the U.S.: > > [Crowdpac - Medium](https://www.crowdpac.com/blog/the-most-liberal-and-conservative-cities-in-america) Those are all towns with a high enough level of wealth that political contributions are generous, and then it lists them according to liberal or conservative candidates, who may or may not be local politicians of particular venom or capacity to elicit donations. In other words, a very suspect metric that counts only one contributing factor. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2016, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-liberal-place-on-earth-country-city-location/754145/11 "2016-05-07T16:32:35Z")
That’s true. There are various ways to measure this. Here are some more lists: > **[Chart of the Week: The most liberal and conservative big cities](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2014/08/08/chart-of-the-week-the-most-liberal-and-conservative-big-cities/)** > > Big cities in the U.S. tend toward the liberal side of the political spectrum, even when they’re within conservative states (residents of Austin sometimes joke that their city is “an island surrounded by Texas”). But which cities are more liberal —... [http://www.livability.com/top-10/political-cities/best-cities-for-liberals/2014](http://www.livability.com/top-10/political-cities/best-cities-for-liberals/2014) [https://alt.coxnewsweb.com/statesman/metro/081205libs.pdf](https://alt.coxnewsweb.com/statesman/metro/081205libs.pdf) ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c57346/32.png) [@Little\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Pig)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2016, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-liberal-place-on-earth-country-city-location/754145/12 "2016-05-07T16:42:04Z")
If I was pressed, my vote would be [here.](https://www.google.com/maps/place/University+of+California,+Berkeley/@37.8719034,-122.2607286,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x808f7718c522d7c1:0xda8034ea3b6b3289!8m2!3d37.8718992!4d-122.2585399) ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2016, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-liberal-place-on-earth-country-city-location/754145/13 "2016-05-07T16:45:14Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > Here’s one list of the most liberal and conservative cities in the U.S.: > > [Crowdpac - Medium](https://www.crowdpac.com/blog/the-most-liberal-and-conservative-cities-in-america) Yes, but what is most liberal in America is not most liberal in the world. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2016, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-liberal-place-on-earth-country-city-location/754145/14 "2016-05-07T17:03:19Z")
Eugene Oregon is probably more liberal than San Francisco. What am I basing that on? Nothing. But I would assume due to demographics that Eugene (with its hippies and college students) is more liberal than SF which has a lot of wealthy people and minorities. I have no idea about internationally. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2016, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-liberal-place-on-earth-country-city-location/754145/15 "2016-05-07T17:23:23Z")
Wait - is it liberal as in “left-wing”, or liberal as in “everything goes”? ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2016, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-liberal-place-on-earth-country-city-location/754145/16 "2016-05-07T17:33:09Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Wait - is it liberal as in “left-wing”, or liberal as in “everything goes”? Left-wing. A lot of liberalism isn’t “liberal.” ---
**Author:** ![Sampsiceramos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Sampsiceramos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampsiceramos)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2016, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-liberal-place-on-earth-country-city-location/754145/17 "2016-05-07T17:41:34Z")
By my reckoning, odds are your best bet is likely somewhere in Scandinavia - or more particularly, somewhere in Sweden. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2016, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-liberal-place-on-earth-country-city-location/754145/18 "2016-05-07T17:42:37Z")
Most of these lists only include the big cities, but I’m pretty sure that I’ve seen figures somewhere pointing to my town of Lakewood, OH being among the most liberal municipalities in the nation. I’m sure it doesn’t really rate worldwide, though. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2016, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-liberal-place-on-earth-country-city-location/754145/19 "2016-05-07T17:44:20Z")
Velocity writes: \> Yes, but what is most liberal in America is not most liberal in the world. That’s true, but I have no idea how to compare the political positions of Americans with those of people from the rest of the world. Wesley Clark writes: \> But I would assume due to demographics that Eugene (with its hippies and college \> students) is more liberal than SF which has a lot of wealthy people and minorities. Wealthy people tend to be more conservative than average. Minorities tend to be more liberal than average, so I don’t know what your point is. Minorities tend to be more liberal than college students on average. (Yes, obviously those two groups overlap.) ---
**Author:** ![Hector\_St\_Clare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5ac83/32.png) [@Hector\_St\_Clare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hector_St_Clare)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2016, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-liberal-place-on-earth-country-city-location/754145/20 "2016-05-07T17:49:41Z")
What’s your definition of ‘liberal’? Conservativism and liberalism in America, largely because we only have two parties, refer to hodgepodges of political policy positions which don’t necessarily have much logical connexion to each other. The most economically egalitarian country in the world, last I checked, was the Czech Republic, and they’re also the least religious. However, they’re also quite ‘conservative’ on matters like Muslim immigration. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-liberal-place-on-earth-country-city-location/754145.md?page=2)