Liberals vs. Conservatives

1119 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Difference between liberalism and conservatism

The ideals and the composition of liberals and conservatives are radically different at times, and yet these same beliefs work together to make up the basic framework of American political thought. They both have the same goals for prosperity and yet they have polar opposite ways of achieving them. Ideologically, they are at odds with the size of government and the role that it plays. Some want big government that provides for people, while others elect for a small government that does not interfere with the lives of people. As is expected liberals tend to vote for certain issues that conservatives will disagree with and vice versa. Of course the issues are not random, each side will vote for and against particular kinds of issues. Demographically it is possible to predict, to a certain degree, what school of thought someone belongs to by their social status, ethnicity, or even their level of schooling; however, it is more difficult to do so accurately using these factors. Each faction, with its own varying viewpoints, constitutes a large portion of modern political thought in America.

The main ideological argument that separates liberals and conservatives is the role that the government plays in the lives of people. Typically, liberals believe that the purpose of the government's existence is to serve the people by ensuring their needs, “Dworkin for example, claims justice is the essential motif of liberalism and that the state's duty is to ensure a just and fair opportunity for all to flourish in a civil society” (Wiggins 2). Naturally, government must be enormous to provide for the needs of the masses. Conservatives on the other hand stray from extensive governments partially due to the scorned centralized governments of Brit...

... middle of paper ...

...er government that does more for the people, while conservatives want a smaller one that keeps to its own affairs. On the issues, liberals will vote to gain more freedoms and extend existing ones, while liberals will mostly vote to cut taxes and decrease government spending. Also, demographics have a lasting impact on which side they identify themselves with. Though differing in how to accomplish tasks, the steps to accomplish the duty can be drastically different.

Works Cited

Saad, Lydia. "Political Affiliation Demo Graphics in the United States", Gallop Polling Today. March 15, 2011 p. 27 - 31

Wiggins, Nelson. Liberals and Conservatives in Contemporary United States: A study in Refractive political Dynamics. Boston: Harvard Press, 2011

Wilson, James Q., and John J. DiIulio. American Government. Boston: Houghton Mifflin College Division, 2005. Print.

Show More
Related

  • Poloni-Staudinger And Wolf Essay

    559 Words  | 2 Pages

    Characterized by constitutionally-limited government, an emphasis on (and a wide-spread popular ideological enshrinement of) individual civil rights and liberties, and economic policy exhibiting strong laissez-faire overtones, the American political system certainly warrants the designation liberal democracy. This designation distinguishes the United States from similar advanced industrial democracies whose political systems lend themselves to preserving the public welfare rather than individual rights. With their government bound to precepts established in a constitution drafted and revised by a group of tyranny-fearing individuals, the American populace enjoys one of the most liberal, unrestrictive governments

    Read More

  • Liberal Franklin D. Roosevelt vs. Conservative Herbert C. Hoover

    1529 Words  | 4 Pages

    President Franklin D. Roosevelt is commonly identified as a liberal and President Herbert C. Hoover as a conservative. The validity of these characterizations, however, is conditional upon the definition of these labels. If one adopts the most conventional contemporary definitions of the terms “liberal” and “conversative,” then the characterizations of Roosevelt as a liberal and Hoover as a conservative are valid, but the definitions of liberal and conservative vary and change over time and place.

    Read More

  • Conservative and Liberal Ideologies in Regard to Health Care

    715 Words  | 2 Pages

    Liberalism is an ideology which advocates equality of opportunity for all within the framework of a system of laws. It includes a belief in government as an institution whose primary function is to define and enforce the laws. Furthermore, a Constitution, must be developed not solely by one ruler but by representatives of the elite groups. Therefore, liberalism invariably involves a belief in the need for legislative bodies which represent the influential groups. The Constitution then defines ...

    Read More

  • Liberal's Opinion on American Government

    847 Words  | 2 Pages

    The typical philosophical ideals of the liberals seem to focus on the government helping the little guy and leveling the playing field. They oppose tax-cuts for the rich, they are distrustful of big-business and those who are wealthy. They like government programs that help minorities and those with lower incomes. They want to raise the minimum wage, provide better national healthcare and provide better unemployment and welfare coverage’s. They nearly always side with unions over management, the guy who sues the big business. They are sick and tired of conservatives telling them that the poor are poor because they don't work hard enough. They are sick and tired of being criticized for caring about the little guy.

    Read More

  • The Democrats and The Republicans: On The Issues

    1685 Words  | 4 Pages

    In the United States we are divided by the left and right side on the political spectrum; even further divided into political parties such as Republicans, on the right, and Democrats, on the left side. These two political parties show philosophical differences through their viewpoints on major topics such as the economy, separation of church and state, abortion, and gun control.

    Read More

  • The United States: The Reluctant Welfare State

    2138 Words  | 5 Pages

    Conservatives, on the contrary believe that public social welfare services should be funded and controlled by the public. They believe in personal responsibility, limited government; in fact the lowest decentralized level of government that is possible. Conservatives deem that decision-making at the level of the individual states is preferable to federal supervision. “Conservatives are less inclined to support widespread entitlement programs which provide for the welfa...

    Read More

  • Politics and Poverty

    1251 Words  | 3 Pages

    Liberals usually have the perspective that the government should help the people much more than they do presently, with more programs such as welfare (etc.). Liberals generally agree that the government should intervene, regulate, and promote the economy and ensure fairness in society always. Government policies are indeed needed and necessary for citizens to fulfill their daily needs. Most also do agree with a "free-market" society, however, they stress the need for government policies.

    Read More

  • The Political Spectrum

    995 Words  | 2 Pages

    - Liberalism is a form of political structure where the powers of the government are limited against the people and their property

    Read More

  • Conservatism

    1015 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the Nineteenth Century the natural order of conservatism was challenged by new ideology such as Marxism and Liberalism. Conservatism was the norm and dominated Europe at the time so of course people were going to challenge monarchs because of their disagreement with the way they ruled. So I am here to show why conservatism is better for countries than liberalistic ideas. Also I will give sufficient reasoning why the conservative limits on voting should not change and why the limits are best for a country.

    Read More

  • Classical Liberalism VS Classical Conservatism

    2066 Words  | 5 Pages

    Classical liberalism and classical conservatism are closely based as seen by Edmund Burke who was admired for his political philosophies from both classical liberalism and classical conservatism. Yet, with any group of people, not everyone is going to agree, and parties form even if it over a small issue. Consider the christian faith, there are many different denominations because of the beliefs in minor doctrine, but they all believe that Jesus is the Son of God, like the classical liberals and classical conservatives believe in the Constitution. So, what party are you in?

    Read More

  • Liberalism And Republicanism Essay

    1428 Words  | 3 Pages

    After all, there is much overlap between liberal and republican ideas when we consider their origins. During the Civil War, Lincoln tried to win over the liberal democrats who opposed him, by using their language and values against them by calling himself a Democrat. As the slavery problem was abolished, the republican political party gradually became more liberal as it had to protect the interests of their big business owners, and eventually seeing a switch in orientation of the Federalists and Anti-Federalists. This makes it all the more difficult to truly distinguish between liberal and republican ideas, which have both played irreplaceable roles within American

    Read More

  • New Deal Dbq

    1545 Words  | 4 Pages

    The New Deal sought out to create a more progressive country through government growth, but resulted in a huge divide between liberals and conservatives. Prior to the New Deal, conservatives had already begun losing power within the government, allowing the Democratic Party to gain control and a favoring by the American people (Postwar 284). With the Great Depression, came social tensions, economic instability, and many other issues that had to be solved for America’s wellbeing. The New Deal created a strong central government, providing the American people aid, interfering with businesses and the economy, allowing the federal government to handle issues they were never entrusted with before. The strong, emerging central government worried conservatives, who supported a weak federal government with little interaction, and resulted in distinct party divisions (285). By allotting the federal government more political control during the early twentieth century, the government now can reign over state governments and affairs. Today many conservatives are still opponents to the strong federal government, finding issues with its involvement in local affairs, whether that be educational involvement through common core or business involvement through labor unions (Diamond 2; Weber 1). While the New Deal formed a divide between

    Read More

  • Modern Liberalism And Modern Conservatism

    2261 Words  | 5 Pages

    ...ould harm it, while conservatives tend to oppose things such as the Clean Air Act for monetary reasons. Conservatives tend to support smaller government while liberals tend to want a larger government. Even though there are many differences between the two ideologies they both derived from classical liberalism. Some individuals refer to classical liberalism as the “best of both worlds” ideology. Both ideologies believe in hierarchies as an organization principle of society and both believe in the “middle class.” They both believe in the constitution and share many moral values. The two ideologies are very different, yet they are not complete opposites in every situation or argument. Many individuals have a hard time labeling themselves a ‘liberal’ or a ‘conservative’ because they may have liberal beliefs in one-area of politics and conservative beliefs in another.

    Read More

  • Why I Am Conservative

    733 Words  | 2 Pages

    A liberal in older days was not what one would be today; they were considered a person whom sought to use change, while a conservative is one who opposed change. The differences between a liberal and a conservative is a wide gap that focuses upon the fundamental beliefs of those within each group. Pure liberals are people who show themselves as liberal on both economic policy and personal conduct. This means "that they want the government to reduce economic inequality, regulate business, tax the rich heavily, cure the (presumably) economic causes of crime, allow abortions, protect the rights of the accused, and guarantee the broadest possible freedoms of speech and press." (Wilson, 121)

    Read More

  • Essay On Liberalism

    1391 Words  | 3 Pages

    Modern day society is engrossed in a battle for protection of individual rights and freedoms from infringement by any person, be it the government or fellow citizens. Liberalism offers a solution to this by advocating for the protection of personal freedom. As a concept and ideology in political science, liberalism is a doctrine that defines the motivation and efforts made towards the protection of the aforementioned individual freedom. In the current society, the greatest feature of liberalism is the protection of individual liberty from intrusion or violation by a government. The activities of the government have, therefore, become the core point of focus. In liberalism, advocacy for personal freedom may translate to three ideal situations, based on the role that a government plays in a person’s life. These are no role, a limited role or a relatively large role. The three make up liberalism’s rule of thumb. (Van de Haar 1). Political theorists have

    Read More

More about Liberals vs. Conservatives

Open Document