Liberalism and Conservatism
Liberalism and conservatism have been political ideas and thoughts from the very birth of our democracy. Their views and points of the government's role in a democratic society have changed over the years, but the basic ideas and principles have remained the same. There are many different degrees of liberalism and conservatism as almost anyone can be labeled. Some individuals are radical and extreme while others stand on more of a neutral territory, but the debates between the understood ideas of each group have continued throughout the history of the United States. We will take liberalism's Gary Doore and conservatism's Irving Kristol as modern day examples and compare and contrast the political ways of thinking of each individual.
Conservatism is comprised of religion, nationalism, and economic growth. Among these, Irving Kristol believes religion is most important (18). Why? Obviously, religion doesn't teach people to do wrong. In fact, as most of us know, religion sternly instills good values and morals in a person at an early age. These ideas are what tell people right from wrong, good from bad. Religion motivates people to succeed in life not in materialistic aspects, but in law abiding, respectful aspects. Respect for God, life and other human beings. So how can this be bad for a society? It can't and that's why conservatives think it is most important in the function of a government (18-19)
If America could live up to the religious standard, crime would be nonexistent. Of course, this is impossible, but it is the idea that drives conservative thinkers. Kristol points out that recent liberal attempts to slow down and decrease the crime rate h...
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... this article he mentioned that he would like to see Clinton succeed at decentralizing the government, creating a more democratic society, boosting the economy, and turning around the general aura and perspectives the people have for this country. Seven years later, I think he, along with many conservatives, would be pleased by the recent positive changes this nation has accomplished.
Bibliography:
Doore, Gary. "Liberalism Is Ideal for America." Orig. "Democratizing the United States." The Humanist May/June 1993. American Values. Ed. David Bender.
San Diego: Greenhaven P, 1995. 23-28.
Kristol, Irving. "Conservatism Is Ideal for America." Orig. "The Coming 'Conservative
Century.'" The Wall Street Journal 1 Feb. 1993. American Values. Ed. David
Bender. San Diego: Greenhaven P, 1995. 17-22.
Throughout the essay the authors analyzed and interpreted data collected on the many possible factors that may have contributed to the crime drop. However, all the factors were dismissed as being a reasonable factor apart from abortion. Although Levitt and Dubner’s argument is extremely factual and convincing, many readers will disagree, because they cannot get past the emotion and their personal beliefs. The authors believe that the decline in crime was a result of Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion in the United States. “Between 1988 and 1994, violent crime in the early-legalizing
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.
He called for restoration with action, and promised solutions to the economic crisis, unemployment, world policy. He however, does remind the people, “We do not distrust the future of essential democracy. The people of the United States have not failed.” He promises swift action to the problems the he and the nation face.
From the description of both classical liberalism and socialism provided above, it is clear that the two are conflicting ideologies where one supports individualism, the other supports collectivism that believes in the wellbeing of all citizens in a community. 2. What is the difference between a.. Franklin D. Roosevelt, president of the United States from 1933 to 1945 (and the distant cousin of Theodore Roosevelt), was the first to convert to Keynes’s theories. He implemented massive public works programs to put people to work. Called the “New Deal”, an echo of Theodore Roosevelt’s square deal, it consisted of a series of programs from 1933 to 1938.
In the late1960’s American politics were shifting at a National level with liberalism being less supported as its politics were perceived as flawed, both by people on the left who thought that liberalism was not as effective as more radical political enterprises and by conservatives who believed that liberal politics were ostensibly crippling the American economy.
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.
Religion has always been an important part of America and America’s history, from the time the pilgrims travelled from their homelands, to now. Religion, especially Christianity, is a prominent force guiding nearly all aspects of American life. Religion is involved in societal issues, economics, and politics. Often times, it is a dominant factor in politics and can eliminate someone from any chance of a political career or it could have the opposite effect and boost someone to the top in politics. People often vote for candidates who will best represent them and if constituents want someone who is similar to them and feel will protect their religious liberties, they will likely vote for them as opposed to other candidates. This has caused a rift in America as of late because it appears as though there is a growing difference in opinions and mindsets of people across party lines. Due to this rift, democrats relate more to a liberal ideology whereas republicans are more conservative. Republicans have generally been more focused on candidates’ religion as opposed to democrats. Conservative republican focus on religion has hurt Obama in his support from church goers because they want a president in Washington who lives their life like many think a Christian should. Support for Obama among Christians has been mixed.
With liberalism coming to light during this time of great power of monarchs I shed a small light on only a few things that show why conservatism is the better route for a nation. Conservatism has been the norm for a long time and rightfully so. I dismissed some of liberalism views and had reasoning why they should be dismissed. Also I showed why the voting limits that are in place should stay in place.
Are you Republican or Democrat? Maybe you are Conservative or Liberal? What do these terms mean and how did they begin? Classical Conservatism is defined as “a political philosophy emphasizing the need for the principles of natural law and transcendent moral order.”(Frohnen, Beer, and Nelson, 2006) Classical Liberalism is described as “a philosophy committed to the ideal of limited government and liberty of individuals including freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and free markets.” (Hudelson, 1999) These two ideas have shaped our philosophies and parties for centuries to come. These philosophies were made possible by many bright men of the time like Edmund Burke, John Adams, John Locke and Adam Smith.
Starting during the 1970s, factions of American conservatives slowly came together to form a new and more radical dissenting conservative movement, the New Right. The New Right was just as radical as its liberal opposite, with agendas to increase government involvement beyond the established conservative view of government’s role. Although New Right politicians made admirable advances to dissemble New Deal economic policies, the movement as a whole counters conservativism and the ideologies that America was founded on. Although the New Right adopts conservative economic ideologies, its social agenda weakened the conservative movement by focusing public attention to social and cultural issues that have no place within the established Old Right platform.
middle of paper ... ... This comment suggests that the current idea, liberalism, may just be a phase in human ideology that has spread worldwide. Though he made a compelling argument and posed thought provoking questions that supported his argument, the flaws in his argument, after stringent analysis, contradict his main points. Works Cited Ferguson, C. (Director).
Modern liberalism and modern conservatism are both political outlooks that involve acceptance or support of the balance of the degree of social equality and social inequality; while they tend to avoid political changes that would result in extreme deviation of society to either side. Modern liberalism and modern conservatism tend not to be as centrist or middle-of-the-road ideologies as they once could be. Ideology is a set of ideas and beliefs that guide the goals, expectations, and actions of a group (Webster’s Dictionary). Individuals who are conservative or liberal tend to have views that align within a political party, whether it be Republican or democratic, but this is not always the case. There are conservative democrats, such as, Jim Costa and Jim Cooper and there are liberal republicans, such as, Nathaniel Banks and George Washington Julian. Another name for conservative democrats would be blue dog democrats while the nickname for liberal republicans is the Rockefeller republicans. These two ideologies tend to be more of the centrist ideologies. Modern liberals tend to be members of the Democratic Party because they support a wide range of welfare programs and government support of the public sector and tighter corporate regulations (PP Modern Liberalism). U.S. Conservatism evolved from classical liberalism, which makes them similar, yet there is many differences between modern conservatism and modern liberalism. There are principles and tenets that govern each ideology. A tenant is a belief or idea that is held as being true from a group (Webster’s Dictionary). In understanding both ideologies, it is imperative to have an understanding of classical liberalism. Classical liberalism was built on ideas from the seventeenth ...
Liberal is defined as "one who is open-minded or not strict in the observance of orthodox, traditional, or established forms or ways." (Webster's dictionary) A conservative is defined as "one who adheres to traditional methods or views." (Webster's dictionary) The definition of these words have changed throughout history. 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.
Conservatism is an ideology consisted of ideas and beliefs that value social order and tradition. The question of whether or not conservatism is a coherent ideology is a highly debated topic. Conservatism can be seen as a disbelief to its critiques against other political ideologies such as liberalism. (Ruth, 2017) However, I believe the ideas of conservatism do make up a coherent ideology. Throughout this essay I will explain the reasons why I believe the ideas of conservatism make a legitimate ideology. The Oxford Dictionary defines an ideology as “a system of ideas and ideals, especially one which forms the basis of economic or political theory and policy.” Meaning that in order for a viewpoint to be deemed an ideology it must contain a
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