What is a liberal or a Conservative And what is the difference between different political parties?

Answer 1

A liberal employs a liberal interpretation of the constitution, while a conservative employs a stricter interpretation. No one is 100% as to who is right, but to not be biased I will not tell you what side I am on. Also, that is why they are called liberals and conservatives. Republicans are, at this point in history, conservatives and Democrats are liberals.

By the way, I see that I am the only person who gave a completely politically unmotivated answer to such a tricky question. Plus, I am right.

Answer 2

There really is little difference between the two except who gets the credit and who gets blamed.

Our Congress is composed of people who were liberals before they got elected and became conservatives after they occupied a seat. They say they are for giving away money to those who need it but they somehow cannot define who those people are, so they keep the money for themselves.

Congress members of both parties are very skilled in determining how much of a salary they deserve, and since they hold the purse-strings they dole it out to themselves regularly

If you need advice on who to vote for, your best action is to close your eyes or flip a coin, either action will result in the same thing: a government that can't govern

Liberals don't spank their children and they end up as spoiled brats, conservatives teach their children to do what's right and they grow up to become good citizens.

Those resulting grown-ups are the people running for political office.

Answer 3

As someone mentioned, you may not want to believe what you read on this site. But, please, if you are to do anything to find the core differences between liberals and conservatives, start with history books. Don't watch the news to find out. All that will do is tell you which political persuasion has the most convincing propoganda. However, if you must watch the news, I recommend Fox. Stay away from CNN. :0)

Answer 4

Each of the major political parties focuses on different aspects of the Constitution as most important. In the Preamble to the Constitution, there are five goals (values) of the US government: "establish Justice, to ensure domestic Tranquility, to provide for the common Defense, to promote the general Welfare, and secure the blessings of Liberty"

Conservatives think the most important are "to ensure domestic Tranquility" (meaning to promote conformity with 'traditional' ways) and to "provide for the Common Defense". Most conservatives are Republicans, who (nowadays) want group rights (conformity with 'traditional' values) and a large government to ensure domestic tranquility (by enforcing those conservative majority beliefs). Moderate republicans (originally called fiscal conservatives) want a small government, just large enough to provide for the common Defense.

Conservatism is a philosophy defined by Edmund Burke as "a disposition to preserve, and an ability to improve".[1] The term derives from conserve; from Latin conservāre, to keep, guard, observe. Classical conservatism does not readily avail itself to the ideology of objectives. It is a philosophy primarily concerned with means over ends. To a conservative, the goal of change is less important than the insistence that change be effected with a respect for the rule of law and traditions of society.

Conservatism is tethered to the traditions of a given society and therefore it cannot hold any single or universal meaning across the world. Additionally, conservative 'means' are often combined with other ideological 'ends' (e.g.: Conservative or Classical Liberal versus Radical Liberal). Conservatism is older than the left-right division in politics; and conservatives may align with either the left or right depending on the time and place.

Liberals think it's more important to "promote the general Welfare, and ensure the blessings of Liberty". Most liberals are Democrats, who want individual rights and a large government to promote the general welfare. Moderate democrats don't want a lot of wasteful spending, and want to achieve their goals without causing too many problems. Democrats do have a Conservative wing, which focuses on better ethical leadership and greater protection for both groups and individuals. The main difference is that conservative democrats still don't believe in enforcing their views on the minority, even if their own personal choices would be the same as what conservative republicans would make.

The concept of promoting Justice is important to both camps, but their idea of justice differs. Most camps of the liberal parties believe ensuring Justice requires favoring defendants, preferring the guilty to go free rather than sending the innocent to prison. Republicans and conservatives believe the promoting Justice requires being harsh to those accused, even if that occasionally inflicts sentences on the innocent.

Interestingly, the spectrum is not linear, and has more than one dimension. There are other political parties who focus on different combinations of those values. For example, Libertarians want a small government (no wasteful spending) and very little Welfare (few if any entitlements), but strong on Defense. Libertarians also want lots of protection for individual civil rights, to secure the blessings of Liberty. They feel that Tranquility will take care of itself, and doesn’t need government enforcement of morality. As such, they are moderate about most issues, except for being adamant that the majority should not impose its beliefs on the minority, as part of their way to promote Justice.

So, it basically comes down to which sets of Constitutional values each group thinks are most important.

Answer 5

A Liberal looks at someone successful and says...."If I can't be as successful as he or she is, than nobody should be able to be."

A Conservative looks and the same successful person and says "Someday I want to be like he or she".

Another example: Liberals are more concerned about symbolism. Conservatives are more concerned about substance.

Answer 6

Left-Liberal (Usually democrat)
Right-Conservative (Usually republican)
But as a lot of people said, don't think that the few idiots on this site who claim to represent the lib/con majority do...

Answer 7

You definitely need to take most of these answers with a grain of salt....most are putting a spin on their answers depending on which side they are on.

I personally am a moderate, because I think that some conservative ideas make sense and some liberal ideas make sense....I can't categorically agree with either side. I agree with the person who said that you should just watch as much news as you can and decide for yourself what you think each side stands for and which you agree with the most.

Answer 8

Liberalism is an ideology, philosophical view, and political tradition which holds that liberty is the primary political value.[1] Liberalism has its roots in the Western Enlightenment, but the term now encompasses a diversity of political thought.

Broadly speaking, contemporary liberalism emphasizes individual rights. It seeks a society characterized by freedom of thought for individuals, limitations on power, especially of government and religion, the rule of law, free public education, the free exchange of ideas, a market economy that supports relatively free private enterprise, and a transparent system of government in which the rights of all citizens are protected. [2] In modern society, liberals favor a liberal democracy with open and fair elections, where all citizens have equal rights by law and an equal opportunity to succeed[3].

Many liberals advocate a greater degree of government interference in the free market, often in the form of anti-discrimination laws, civil service examinations, universal education, and progressive taxation. This philosophy frequently extends to a belief that the government should provide for a degree of general welfare, including the dole for the poor, housing for the homeless, and medical care for the sick. Such publicly-funded initiatives and interferences in the market are rejected by modern advocates of classical liberalism, which emphasizes free private enterprise, individual property rights and freedom of contract; classical liberals hold that economic inequality, as arising naturally from competition in the free market, does not justify the violation of private property rights. However, modern advocates of classical liberalism do advocate a heavier taxation on the corporation, as opposed to the current trend of the burden of income tax resting on the shoulders of the individual worker, as did the early classical liberals.

Liberalism rejected many foundational assumptions which dominated most earlier theories of government, such as the Divine Right of Kings, hereditary status, and established religion. Fundamental human rights that all liberals support include the right to life, liberty, and property. Liberalism has its roots in the Western Enlightenment, but the term now encompasses a diversity of political thought, with adherents spanning a large part of the political spectrum.

A broader use of the term liberalism is in the context of liberal democracy (see also constitutionalism). In this sense of the word, it refers to a democracy in which the powers of government are limited and the rights of citizens are legally defined; this applies to nearly all Western democracies, and therefore is not solely associated with liberal parties.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberal
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conservative

Answer 9

In the classic sense it all looks very pretty and straight forward. Today however the terms do not apply in the classical sense to liberals.

Below are some articles that make it much clearer.

Answer 10

Conservatives are for the rich, liberals are for the poor. Conservatives belive that rich people should get more tax breaks, they're anti abortion and they belive in the death penalty, they do not belive that we should have a welfare system, they do belive in forcing someone to live as a vegetable through machines even if they have a living will stating that they do not want to live on life support. Where as Liberals are po choice, they belive that public assistance is necessary, they belive that rich people should have to pay more taxes than poor people, etc.