The basic difference between conservative and liberal ideology?

[Dissipate]

Originally posted by: Witling
I assume this is a serious question and you're asking in the abstract.

In theory, conservatives are more satisfied with how things are and are slower to change. They are more fiscally conservative and believe less in government intervention. They tend to be more "I'll tell you what's good for you" and everything else will be illegal.

In theory, liberals focus on what they're dissatisfied with and try to perfect humanity through legislation. They are quicker to embrace new ideas and willint to tax to try and acheive their goals. They tend to be more live and let live with respect to social issues.

In practice, it's not quite so clear cut. The Republicans, for example, have had the biggest deficit spending we've ever seen.

Biggest load of bull ever sold to the American public. Conservatives are not slower to change any more than the liberals are. This fallacy arises from the fact that a lot of conservatives I guess you could say are "old fashioned" whereas a lot of liberals are in the young, "punky" age group. Bottom line though is BOTH parties are mostly run by old, white males with college degrees. Anyone who watches CSPAN for more than 5 minutes realizes this.

Young "punky" liberals still vote for old white college educated men, just as the old fashioned conservatives do.

My old political science textbook explains the differences between liberals and conservatives best, in my opinion. It has a two dimensional ideology graph. The three main elements of a political ideology are, freedom, equality and order. Freedom and order are tradeoffs, as freedom and equality also.

For instance if you believe in freedom over order, you believe that government should pretty much stay out of people's personal lives. This relates mostly to social issues. If you believe in equality over freedom then you believe in things like affirmative action, income transfers and other economic regulations to insure that everyone has some equality in the standard of living etc.

Thus, the fundamental difference between liberals and conservatives is conservatives believe in order over freedom and freedom over equality. Liberals believe in freedom over order and equality over freedom. Libertarians believe in freedom over order and freedom over equality(far right). Communitarians believe in order over freedom and equality over freedom (far left). There are many more ideologies that cover the political spectrum but these are the fundamentals.

 

[Dissipate]

Originally posted by: HeroOfPellinor

Originally posted by: Orsorum
Regarding peoples' positions in life:

Conservatives believe people are where they are because of their choices, liberals because of their life circumstances. Too simplified?

Work with me here.

I think, honestly, that you're on to something. I love serious arguments about what leads to one being liberal or conservative.

Truthfully, and I've given this a lot of thought...I think the liberal side of things is much easier to argue and to understand. Young people and the poorly educated, which included a large percentage of minorities, who lack experience and wisdom and knowledge, are able to grasp the concepts and arguments because they are the least complex. They fit the most conveniently under the literal translation of our 200 year old constitution. My evidence for this is that so many young people and African Americans vote democrat.

But, as you grow more well educated and more experienced and smarter, you have the opportunity to seize on a deeper layer of logical reasoning. For the intellectually insecure, it's too frightening to take the less easily argued point of view. Others simply don't ponder deeply enough on it and fail to see it and to them, the argument coming from this side are frightening and misunderstood which is why they see deep dark conspiracies behind conservative ideology. Others never reach a place to even have the chance to grasp the logic and are merely doomed because of the circumstances into which they were born.

But the struggle between simplistic logic and complex logic and a populous proportionally equal in their abilities and willingness to choose and grasp either is sufficient to maintain balance and prevent covert malice from either side.

The liberal viewpoint is not easier to understand but for a lot of people it is easier to become emotionally involved with. Studies have shown that young people start off with liberal viewpoints and then when they get older they start becoming more conservative. In my opinion this is because young people are less attached to the real world. A lot of them being students get financial help from their parents and they get to sit around and theorize about how to help all these groups in "need". In essence they are thinking with their heart, not their mind. Also, a lot of them work low paying jobs that don't have the best conditions and they feel sorry for themselves or their co-workers, this causes them to think about political action towards worker conditions etc.

Once they get out of college, they start a career and they start paying income taxes. Suddenly they are brought back down to reality in a sense. I'm not saying this happens with everyone (not by a longshot). Many people retain their liberal viewpoints regardless of their income level or how much they pay in taxes. However, it is a trend in the political world and one that is indicitive of what makes someone change their political ideology.

Edit: Here is an interesting case. This is the story of a college grad working at a low paying job who turned into a Libertarian (the far right of the political spectrum) from his observations on the job.

 

[Genesys]

Originally posted by: gsaldivar

Originally posted by: Orsorum
Conservatives believe people are where they are because of their
choices, liberals because of their life circumstances. Too simplified?

I'd also add...

Liberals:
- Believe in success though entitlement, condition and seniority; rather than through merit and ability.
- Believe that success should be representatitve, inclusive and in proportion, of all segments of the population.
- Believe that wages above that which is necessary to compensate for a task, are unethical and unfair.
- Believe that world leadership can be maintained through fair, equal and egalitarian treatment of other states.
- Believe that having job is a right, rather than a privilege.
- Believe that industrial development should be limited to a rate that the environment can sustain.
- Believe that government knows how to better invest the individuals wages, to insure future financial security.
- Believe that government is the most efficient form of a large organization.

Conservatives:
- Believe that merit and ability should be the sole factors in success, even if that means some groups are excluded.
- Believe that success need not be a proportional, inclusive representation of all segments of the population.
- Believe that there are some ethical and justifiable reasons for compensating a person excessively.
- Believe that world leadership is an ongoing struggle, at times requiring unequal treatment of other states.
- Believe that having a job is a privilege that is earned, rather than conferred.
- Believe that industrial development need not be limited to a rate at which the environment can sustain.
- Believe that individuals best know how to invest their wages, to insure future financial stability.
- Believe that government is the least efficient form of a large organization.

i can agree with those.