The Conservative / Liberal thought process
Originally posted on Facebook in October 2012, when I was taking a "Government" class for my Bachelors Degree, the source of which was my textbook at the time.
Observing the current political climate the way it is, it is worth re-posting.
The differences between the "thoughts" are also based on ones own definition of ethics and morals. Ethics and politics go hand in hand. What is a ethically correct to one person may not be the same for someone else.
The differences between the "thoughts" are also based on ones own definition of ethics and morals. Ethics and politics go hand in hand. What is a ethically correct to one person may not be the same for someone else.
From 2012:
"Conservative/Liberal thought. From my government class. No author noted. Written as matter of fact/not biased."
“Any
man who is under 30, and is not a liberal, has not heart; and any man
who is over 30, and is not a conservative, has no brains.” ~ Winston
Churchill
2.1. The Spectrum of Opinion: Liberal, Conservative, Populist and Libertarian. The United States has four political cultures: Conservative, Liberal, Populist and Libertarian, but the first two are the most dominant. Conservatives, who today tend toward the Republican Party, also tend to prefer order; and liberals, who tend toward the Democratic Party, tend to prefer liberty, but there are much more profound differences to be explored below. Again, the United States is primarily characterized by a spectrum of opinion ranging from liberal on the left to conservative on the right. Traditionally, most people were in the middle, but in recent decades there has been a polarization of opinion. Today, liberals are very liberal and conservatives are very conservative, with fewer people occupying the middle ground.
2.1.1. Conservative Thought.
Conservatives (right-wing) prefer that the government stay out of the economy as much as possible. They see government regulation as interference. Also, conservatives believe that the overall economy performs best when industry and management is given wide latitude. Specifically, these views pertain to “economic conservatism.”
In this same line of thinking, economic conservatives place little faith in affirmative action programs to lift up the lives of the poor and of minorities; they prefer to contribute to a culture of hard work and sacrifice. For this reason, conservatives tend to support standardized testing in schools and performance-based pay for teachers with programs such as “No Child Left Behind.”
Most conservatives also believe in a strong moral order, which means that the government must frame culture, regulating individual behavior: drug addiction, homosexuality and other forms of behavior that oppose traditional morality. One reason for this is that most conservatives (but not all) also self-identify themselves as Christians or with related terms: evangelicals, born-again Christians, fundamentalists or Dominionists. Most Christians would point out that the Bible is clear regarding matters of personal and sexual morality.
A few generalizations can be made about economic and cultural conservatives. When national security collides with individual liberty, conservatives prefer to side with national security. This is why conservatives tend to support the USA Patriot Act, which allows the government to eavesdrop on telephone conversations and email traffic in order to fight the war on terror; “security” becomes a higher value than individual “liberty.” Conservatives are strongest in the South.
“Conservative” justices of the Supreme Court who practice “judicial restraint” believe that the US Constitution should be considered 1) as literally as possible and 2) with the “original intent” of the signers. This tends to advance the concept of “states’ rights.”
The criticism often made against conservatives is that they have a reflexive tendency towards authoritarianism and protecting the powerful against the powerless; that the states’ rights argument is a thinly-disguised excuse to perpetuate race and class imbalances; that conservative judges are in fact “activist” when it comes to imposing conservative morality (like prohibiting states from legalizing medical marijuana); and that the Founding Fathers never intended the Constitution to be fossilized in the 18th century.
2.1.2. Liberal Thought
Liberals (left-wing) want the government to intervene in the economy in order to produce a leveling of social differences and to help the disadvantaged – not just the poor or minority groups but also the disabled, the uninsured, illegal immigrants and other classes of people. Liberals have also been in favor of heavy government regulation of industry in order to protect the environment and the “global warming” issue is high on the agenda. Liberals are strongest in New England, New York and California.
Liberals tend to not want the government to interfere in private and sexual matters. They approve of government in the corporate boardroom, but not in the private bedroom. Many if not most liberals wish to see the legalization of same-sex marriage, and they do not want the government to censor “obscene” material in the media.
Liberals also tend to favor the Roe v. Wade decision that allows abortion, and civil unions or marriages for same-sex couples. Perhaps paradoxically, liberals tend to favor the legalization of drugs (in order to treat the drug problem as a medical one) but the near criminalization of tobacco. (Some “liberal” legislation in California has banned smoking in people’s own homes and cars.)
Liberals are also wary of any “excessive entanglement” between Church and State and share Thomas Jefferson’s preference for a “wall of separation.” This philosophy originally emerged from the “Enlightenment” era and its populist reaction to perceived abuses by the alliance between Church and Crown – an alliance which had been cemented by the “Divine Right of Kings.”
Some liberals wish to repeal the Second Amendment, with its right to bear arms, and others even reject the interpretation of the right to bear arms as extending to private citizens.
“Liberal” justices who advocate or practice “judicial activism” or “active liberty” believe that the Constitution should be a living document, a flexible text that needs to adapt to the times. The Constitution, they believe, needs to allow for the expansion and growth of individual liberty and minority rights.
The criticism often made against liberals in general is that they want the federal government to usurp the duties and responsibilities of state legislatures; that they seek to create a government-knows-best “nanny state;” that they are soft on crime and shift responsibility from the individual to society; and that they creatively and conveniently interpret the Constitution to fit politically-correct agendas.
2.1.3. Populist. Populists tend to come from the Upper Midwest, where small farmers needed government protection against the abuses of railroad monopolies, and where industrial workers’ unions depended upon government to take their side in negotiations with industry. Populists prefer government intervention in the economy in order to prevent abuses of power and monopoly capitalism. While both right-wing and left-wing populists tend to be “economic populists,” “conservative populists” are moralistic in social and sexual matters while “progressive populists” are more libertarian. Populists of both stripes are strongest in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan.
2.1.4. Libertarians. Libertarians tend to favor a reduced role of the government in both the economy and in the culture. They agree with conservatives in economic and financial matters; they agree with liberals in cultural matters, even to the point of allowing for gambling and prostitution (in Nevada). Libertarians are strongest in Nevada and Montana. Simply put, and as a generalization, conservatives want small government in the economy and big government in the culture. Liberals want small government in the culture and big government in the economy. Libertarians want small government in both spheres; populists want large government in both spheres.
2.1. The Spectrum of Opinion: Liberal, Conservative, Populist and Libertarian. The United States has four political cultures: Conservative, Liberal, Populist and Libertarian, but the first two are the most dominant. Conservatives, who today tend toward the Republican Party, also tend to prefer order; and liberals, who tend toward the Democratic Party, tend to prefer liberty, but there are much more profound differences to be explored below. Again, the United States is primarily characterized by a spectrum of opinion ranging from liberal on the left to conservative on the right. Traditionally, most people were in the middle, but in recent decades there has been a polarization of opinion. Today, liberals are very liberal and conservatives are very conservative, with fewer people occupying the middle ground.
2.1.1. Conservative Thought.
Conservatives (right-wing) prefer that the government stay out of the economy as much as possible. They see government regulation as interference. Also, conservatives believe that the overall economy performs best when industry and management is given wide latitude. Specifically, these views pertain to “economic conservatism.”
In this same line of thinking, economic conservatives place little faith in affirmative action programs to lift up the lives of the poor and of minorities; they prefer to contribute to a culture of hard work and sacrifice. For this reason, conservatives tend to support standardized testing in schools and performance-based pay for teachers with programs such as “No Child Left Behind.”
Most conservatives also believe in a strong moral order, which means that the government must frame culture, regulating individual behavior: drug addiction, homosexuality and other forms of behavior that oppose traditional morality. One reason for this is that most conservatives (but not all) also self-identify themselves as Christians or with related terms: evangelicals, born-again Christians, fundamentalists or Dominionists. Most Christians would point out that the Bible is clear regarding matters of personal and sexual morality.
A few generalizations can be made about economic and cultural conservatives. When national security collides with individual liberty, conservatives prefer to side with national security. This is why conservatives tend to support the USA Patriot Act, which allows the government to eavesdrop on telephone conversations and email traffic in order to fight the war on terror; “security” becomes a higher value than individual “liberty.” Conservatives are strongest in the South.
“Conservative” justices of the Supreme Court who practice “judicial restraint” believe that the US Constitution should be considered 1) as literally as possible and 2) with the “original intent” of the signers. This tends to advance the concept of “states’ rights.”
The criticism often made against conservatives is that they have a reflexive tendency towards authoritarianism and protecting the powerful against the powerless; that the states’ rights argument is a thinly-disguised excuse to perpetuate race and class imbalances; that conservative judges are in fact “activist” when it comes to imposing conservative morality (like prohibiting states from legalizing medical marijuana); and that the Founding Fathers never intended the Constitution to be fossilized in the 18th century.
2.1.2. Liberal Thought
Liberals (left-wing) want the government to intervene in the economy in order to produce a leveling of social differences and to help the disadvantaged – not just the poor or minority groups but also the disabled, the uninsured, illegal immigrants and other classes of people. Liberals have also been in favor of heavy government regulation of industry in order to protect the environment and the “global warming” issue is high on the agenda. Liberals are strongest in New England, New York and California.
Liberals tend to not want the government to interfere in private and sexual matters. They approve of government in the corporate boardroom, but not in the private bedroom. Many if not most liberals wish to see the legalization of same-sex marriage, and they do not want the government to censor “obscene” material in the media.
Liberals also tend to favor the Roe v. Wade decision that allows abortion, and civil unions or marriages for same-sex couples. Perhaps paradoxically, liberals tend to favor the legalization of drugs (in order to treat the drug problem as a medical one) but the near criminalization of tobacco. (Some “liberal” legislation in California has banned smoking in people’s own homes and cars.)
Liberals are also wary of any “excessive entanglement” between Church and State and share Thomas Jefferson’s preference for a “wall of separation.” This philosophy originally emerged from the “Enlightenment” era and its populist reaction to perceived abuses by the alliance between Church and Crown – an alliance which had been cemented by the “Divine Right of Kings.”
Some liberals wish to repeal the Second Amendment, with its right to bear arms, and others even reject the interpretation of the right to bear arms as extending to private citizens.
“Liberal” justices who advocate or practice “judicial activism” or “active liberty” believe that the Constitution should be a living document, a flexible text that needs to adapt to the times. The Constitution, they believe, needs to allow for the expansion and growth of individual liberty and minority rights.
The criticism often made against liberals in general is that they want the federal government to usurp the duties and responsibilities of state legislatures; that they seek to create a government-knows-best “nanny state;” that they are soft on crime and shift responsibility from the individual to society; and that they creatively and conveniently interpret the Constitution to fit politically-correct agendas.
2.1.3. Populist. Populists tend to come from the Upper Midwest, where small farmers needed government protection against the abuses of railroad monopolies, and where industrial workers’ unions depended upon government to take their side in negotiations with industry. Populists prefer government intervention in the economy in order to prevent abuses of power and monopoly capitalism. While both right-wing and left-wing populists tend to be “economic populists,” “conservative populists” are moralistic in social and sexual matters while “progressive populists” are more libertarian. Populists of both stripes are strongest in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan.
2.1.4. Libertarians. Libertarians tend to favor a reduced role of the government in both the economy and in the culture. They agree with conservatives in economic and financial matters; they agree with liberals in cultural matters, even to the point of allowing for gambling and prostitution (in Nevada). Libertarians are strongest in Nevada and Montana. Simply put, and as a generalization, conservatives want small government in the economy and big government in the culture. Liberals want small government in the culture and big government in the economy. Libertarians want small government in both spheres; populists want large government in both spheres.
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