politics

it is my understanding that liberals believe reforming the current rules in capitalistic society is the best way forward.  

A leftist does not accept capitalism and believes only revolutionary change (i.e. change government, switch to communism) is the way forward.

It's crazy how blurred/distorted these words have become, I doubt any American would give you a clear answer on what these really "mean".  Colloquially its left = democrat and liberal = choosing things the conservative majority find distasteful.  They are usually lumped together. Communism is a bad word here.