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I've been reading through threads hearing the same stuff repeated over and over again about liberalism is bad, and less goverment is the solution! So I started thinking about all the prosporous countries in the world! I couldn't think of one that was conservative! I started thinking about all the conservative countries and they all seem to be poor and oppressed! Why is that? Whats your view?
That's by assuming that all "developed" countries are European. True, the developed countries of Europe are liberal. But they are also not the only developed countries in the world.
China is pretty developed, and is rather conservative outside of the economic system. Israel is developed, and conservative. Russia is developed, and conservative. Turkey is developed and somewhat conservative.
Essentially, countries with a strong European influence (Europe itself, The Americas, Australia..) are going to have a more liberal slant than countries from other regions of the world (Asia, Africa, Pacific Islands..)
I apologze for that! Liberal as in lets say more social programs for it's people, like health care! Conservative as in not much government involvement or a country with laws based more on religion!
There are many who would argue that the U.S. As a whole leans slightly conservative in it's value system and there is plenty of evidence to back it up ie: Gay marriage defeated everywhere it's been on a ballot.
I think it's just that developed countries are in a position to be much more "liberal" with social programs. Could you imagine a politician in Haiti proposing an unemployment or health care benefit system like they have in France? It's just not feasible. Also, the developed Western World is rooted in the Judeo-Christian tradition and it's most fundamental moral underpinning (arguably) - the Golden Rule. I would argue (and truly believe) many "liberal" social programs spring from and are the natural evolution of the Golden Rule in civil society.
The only 'Liberal' developed countries are European. Keep in mind that Europe suffered two World Wars right on its doorstep, and took a hit from the Great Depression without bouncing back as easily as the US. Those things are enough to get anyone to increase the size of government. Also, keep in mind that most 'Liberal' developed countries are very small and if the government didn't regulate every unit of currency and every resource, things would get ugly fast.
Not to mention the fact that 'Liberal' and 'Conservative' countries always have different sets of issues. Europe for example suffered from a large impoverished and a large homeless population following World War II. The US on the other hand exploded in growth, population, etc. Typically when things go from bad to worse, the country as a whole is more 'Liberal' while countries that are well off are more 'Conservative' (status quo).
Either way, I don't think you can really call a whole nation 'Liberal' or 'Conservative'.
I think the OP was referring more to social conservatism.
Well, that's easy. The more educated you are, the less religious you tend to be. Or, at the very least, the less likely you are to focus all your political energies on trivial non-issues like gays, god, and guns.
Let's cut the BS and face the truth: in America, "conservatism" has little or nothing to do with fiscal or economic policies. How else do you explain that the poorest, least educated states like Alabama and Mississippi are the most solidly conservative states? And the most liberal states tend to be the most wealthy? The answer is the same as to why poor countries also tend to be very religious and very conservative, and the wealthy countries of the West--especially places like Sweden, Canada, etc--tend to be more liberal on social policies.
You mean like Singapore? Highly developed and VERY conservative.
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