What does it mean to be a liberal (politically)?

[Dystopia]

Sure, we call that 'Classic Liberalism' these days. A lot of people who describe themselves as 'small-l' libertarian-leaning are this.

I'd describe myself as probably a classic liberal, even though I have independent thinking. I don't classify myself as a libertarian because I see some use in state intervention and public allocation of some key resources and economic sectors. But generally, individual rights are more important - What matters is not the common good but the individual itself, the individual is not a mean, it is an end - Liberalism means freedom is always an end in itself, it is the climax of human satisfaction and happiness, not a mean to reach some other goal

I think the term 'socialist' is usually misused. Social programs are not socialism or socialistic. The state owning the means of production is socialistic.

Yes, and to be socialist you'd need to abolish capitalism and implement a different system - Granted that socialists are not like communists (noticeably they are less anti-religion and still favour some meritocracy) they are still anti-capitalist and pro working class. Such programs are social democracy.

I can agree with that, broadly. I'd say the GOP has become the party of borrow and spend, which is worse than tax and spend IMHO, and goes against their supposed core principles. I'd say that most rank-and-file conservatives don't want to 'make the rich, richer and the poor, poorer'. They mostly honestly believe that their economic policies will benefit the poor more in the long run, and if they're failing to do so, it's because they're not being implemented properly. For the most part (with notable exceptions), they're not evil, just wrong.

From what I've seen they're not that much in favour of personal rights, specially when they are ready to give up freedom in the name of security (NSA controversies, military interventions and militarism, less social freedom and less freedom from religion) - In many ways they seem to support less individual rights if we exclude economics

A fair cop, except the silent majority of libertarians are more moderate in how much they would decrease government. Technically, anarcho-capitalists are more 'fellow travellers' than actual libertarians since libertarianism by defintion does not have eliminating government entirely as a goal, but they tend to appropriate the libertarian label and rant a lot on the internet. A lot of actual libertarian literature is more about decreasing government waste, reducing military spending, and protecting privacy and autonomy. The Libertarian Party's last presidential candidate, Gary Johnson, is a good example of 'mainstream libertarianism'.

Yeah I know that.