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I am a Christian who votes according to issues, not party affiliations, and I was wondering if you guys could please define "Liberal" and "Conservative" for me. Thanks in advance.
If your analogy is correct. Then don't you think it deserves an answer. I hear the terms tossed around like a football. So... please educate me.
You'll have varying opinions on this. If you're looking for an objective answer, I suggest you research these terms in other places. Also, a fiscal liberal and social liberal are difined differently, so you need to be a bit more specific.
Also, liberal and conservative are merely two labels placed on ideologies. There are more...
Liberals favor individual freedom while they don't favor economic freedom.
Conservatives favor economic freedom, not so much for personal freedom.
Totalatarianists favor neither personal nor economic freedoms.
Libertarians favor both personal and economic freedom.
But even that is greatly simplifying things. No one is a purist... everyone falls somewhere in between.
Liberal and Conservative are both fluid terms, and change with the times. They would have meant very different things a century ago, and mean very different things in different countries. For example, the leaders of Iran, that our government hates so much, are very strongly conservative.
The origin of the words: Conservative means desiring to maintain the status quo, and keep doing things the way they were done in order to develop to where we are now. Liberal means free to change, without needing to stick to the traditional methods and plhilsophies.
Then, the whole thing is split into social and economic arenas. A person who is a social liberal is not necessarily an economic liberal.
Social liberals are in favor of allowing individuals to stray from the conformity of the stereotyped American. Social conservatives believe in maintaining narrower limits in what kinds of behavior is acceptable, with a pevious generation being recognized as the orthodoxy.
Economic liberals are in favor of public funding made available for the benefit of individuals with specific needs, such as education, medical needs, or relief from poverty. Individual is the key word here, becaue they are opposed to the same public funding being used for the benefit of furthering the market economics and corporate development. Economic conservatives are in favor of limiting the funds available for individuals, who it is hoped will fend for themselves, while at the same time, assisting corporations and industry to strengthen their capacity to produce.
No reasonable person obliges himself to endorese the liberal line or the conservative line on any specific issue. A person considers the ramifications of an issue, and decides for himself if it is good for the country or the world, and favors it accordingly. There are exceptions, who feel straitjacketed by one philosophy or another, and they almost all post here on these boards.
Ummm, not exactly. Liberals believe in ADVANCING INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS. Conservatives believe in never advancing anything.
golfgod
That's quite an arrogant and ignorant statement. So when liberals tell a business owner that they are not permitted to allow smoking in their restaurant, that is advancing freedom in what way?
Face it... liberals want to tell individuals how they may spend their money just as much as conservatives want to tell individuals what they may do with their bodies. Playing one as the lesser of two evils is hilarious to us libertarians who favor freedom in both circumstances. Go off and beat each other up... hopefully all that is left are the sane individuals.
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Thanks in advance.
