Can someone please explain to me the whole liberal/conservative thing?

Question

I have never been politically inclined, so I don't understand it. I don't watch commentary shows, only the news. From time to time, I hear people use those words: Conservative - Liberal. And apparently they both hate each other. What's the deal?

Answer 1

Using the textbook definitions:
Any time you want to maintain the status quo, you are being conservative.
Any time you want to change something, you are being liberal.

Changing the Constitution to ban gay marriage, seeking to overturn Roe v. Wade, cutting taxes on the wealthy, invading sovereign nations - these all seek change and are therefore liberal, although many "conservatives" hold these things dear.

No one is actually entirely either.

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Answer 2

I really liked riven3187's answer. I think that was a very intelligent and fair answer!!! Hit the complaining part on the head!! I was a Democrat and switched to Republican awhile back. John Kerry and Hilary Clinton, need I say more. I've been so sick of our military being tried in the media. I don't want to hear about our soldiers killing innocent Iraqi's etc. Give them their due process and if they are convicted or found innocent.Then let us know. The media is pretty messed up! I've driven by this tiny house on my way to work where the family has a sign in the yard that says prosecute illegal's not Marines. I thought that was amusing. I don't mean that anyone that does wrong shouldn't be prosecuted but I would just rather HEAR about the illegal immigrants being prosecuted. Anywho. Liberals, or conservatives, neither are tackling that issue for now.

Answer 3

(Keep in mind that I am speaking for the now. A couple of centuries ago, the conservatives would have been monarchists and the liberals anarchists)

A true conservative beleives in a small government. He beleives in the enlightenment ideas that government is at the will of the people. He beleives in capitalism. He thinks that governemnts main job is for defense, and anything else can be done better in the provate sector. He follows a strict interpretation of the constitution. He favors states rights over the the federal government. Fewer laws are better. He believes in personal responsibiltiy and independece, such that you rely on the government for next to nothing. He favors lower taxes.


The true liberal belives that it is the governemnts job to take care of the people. THey favor lots of laws and regulations and taxes. They think the Constitution should be interpreted however you feel like it.

Republicans today are conservative with more than a dash of christianity thrown in. Conservatives wouldnt be against abortion, but the christians are.


Democrats are liberal. THey also beleive it is their job to step in and make everything "fair" They dont particularly like the second amendment, or the first, when it comes to religion (think, ACLU vs. Christianity) or free speech (Political Correctness, anyone?). THey currently lack any kind of ideas. The only thing they have done in the past few years is complain.

Answer 4

Liberals like myself do not hate,, fiscal conservatives are for hate, they spread hate, talk hate, teach hate, very bad for American society. Democrats have better policies, education, health care, oil prices, corruption in the Republican party, fixing the mess George W. has made in Iraq, foreign policy diplomacy, lots of work, but the USA is ready for a change.

Answer 5

If I have been to base my answer completely on the Y!A politics area, my answer could be a sturdy sure! in spite of the incontrovertible fact that I even have many liberal acquaintances in actual existence who could under no circumstances act like, nor tolerate the habit of the self proclaimed liberals in this internet site. So in certainty, mutually as their could be a area of certainty to the assessment, it does no longer carry real in all circumstances.

Answer 6

It is confusing. Forget the traditional definitions of "liberal" & "conservative."

The conservatives are supposed to be for a smaller, more limited government. Few taxes, few programs few interventions into the economy. Liberals are for a bigger goverment & higher taxes to pay for it. I sometimes think their motto is "If something must be done, the government must be the one who does it." I disagree.

Currently, the liberals are for less government intervention in our personal life such as sex & drugs. Many liberals are in favor of legalizing drugs & prostitution. The conservatives are quicker to pass morality laws. Their motto sometimes seems to be "If it's wrong to do, it must be illegal." I disagree.

I'm a bit of a libertarian. I want the government out of my pockets, out of my bedroom, & to at least some degree, out of our economy.

Answer 7

would you like to live in the united states better or in canada or norway maybe even sweden better?

if you chose united states, you are conservative
conservatives tend to bash homosexuals, believe that military is the way to go, that as long as they flourish, who cares about others, don't equally view women as humans and are strongly religous
if you chose the latter option, you are liberal
liberals tend to respect individualism, believe that health care and education is most important, believe that women are as equally capable as men and are usually aethists or dont have religion play a huge role in their life. they also believe in the cradle-grave system.

conservatives are right winged folks and everytime you vote for a conservate, you are pushing our society back 10 years.

Answer 8

well conservatives and liberals are both the same.
A conservative 30 years ago wanted to conserve your money and save it. A liberal 30 years ago wanted to take your money and use it for other people's lazyness.
Now after 30 years... a conservative wants to take your money
and use it for other people's lazyness.
A liberal wants to use your money for other nation's lazyness!

Answer 9

riven was right (more or less) on the conservatives, but wrong on liberals.

liberal is a confusing term in politics, so first let's make the assumption that we're talking about the current definition of liberal (as opposed to the former definition of liberal, which was closer to capitalist and fiscal conservative). liberal now refers to someone who favors using taxes for public services, such as education, health care and welfare, and other silly things like infrastructure. the idea is that everyone chips in a little bit and then those services are available for whoever in the society needs them. (since you never know when you will benefit from publicly funded education, health services, a highway or even public assistance, it's a good bet to just chip in your little bit and not complain). because of this, liberals tend to be the more compassionate of the two. liberals generally don't want their tax money spent on defense because it is wasteful (think halliburton) and uses our money for killing and hatred rather than on providing necessary services for our own citizens.

liberals strongly value freedom of speech and are opposed to a media that hides the truth about what the government is doing. liberals want a transparent government.

liberals value the rights of all people to their personhood and to make decisions for themselves. liberals usually believe that women should have the right to choose what to do with an unexpected pregnancy. when women can have fewer children (through abortion and other forms of family planning), they are better able to raise their financial status, be productive in society and have careers. these are things that liberals value. they often believe that there should be fewer prisons and more rehabilitation and education for certain types of offenders. they usually see illegal immigrants as human beings and treat them as such. liberals are the ones who have historically pushed for women's rights, civil rights and the equality of all people.

liberals don't want private corporations controlling the government. they want their government officials to represent all of their constituents fairly and without the influence of big money.

liberals believe that a healthy environment is important to human survival and that its health should be maintained regardless of the impact on human survival. they believe that the environment needs protection from human error.

liberals are more open minded and tolerant of people who are different from themselves. when a conservative tells you otherwise, they are just playing politics and using liberals' own words against them. conservatives like to say that liberals are close minded because they don't agree with conservatives. being liberal means being willing to see things from different perspectives, being critical of dogmatism and being open to new ideas. they understand that everyone is different and is entitled to their opinions. they are generally less racist than conservatives.

most liberals are skeptical of religions that lure people to blind faith. they generally side with reason and base their moral decisions on experience and rationale rather than just doing what the church tells them to do. they tend to be better educated because they believe that more learning will expand your mind, improve your critical thinking and help you do bigger and better things in the world.

Answer 10

Read these.

L = Grasshopper and Goose.

C = Ant and Little Red Hen