I need to know a little about political views liberal, conservative? What do all these groups mean?...?

Question

I would also like to know a little about apathetic, and libertarian views. Thanks.

Answer 1

I wrote something else on this topic recently for another question, so I'm going to repost that if you don't mind.

Historically, the "left" and "right" comes from the French national assembly, where liberals and radicals sat on the left, and the conservatives and monarchists sat on the right.
Left, center, and right are extremely broad terms for different political ideologies. The "left" runs the gamut from liberals, some populists and Green-type folks to social democrats to full out socialists, communists (Marxist-Leninists and others), and anarchists. The "right" generally spans from traditional conservatives, the "Christian Democrats" of Europe and Latin America, and pro-free market folks to religious fundamentalists (of all stripes), open racists, fascists, and others. The center is much harder to define, since it might be people who favour a mixed economy, or people who consider themselves libertarians or "classical liberals", who identify with what is considered the "left" on social issues but could be defined as "conservative" on economic issues. It's really a muddle of definitions that, when looking at individual people one a couple issues alone, could paint a picture that conflicts with what they actually consider themselves.

I'm going to use myself as an example here:

- I am generally pro-choice, though it gets very hazy after the first five months or so, and I haven't made up my mind completely.
- I am pro gay rights/marriage in the idea of separating the church and state issue; I see "marriage" as a specifically religious concept, and churches can handle it however they want. As far as state sanctioned unions go (ie, what actually counts for benefits and such), I feel everything should be considered a "civil union", gay, straight, and otherwise.
- I understand the arguments that much of the left has for gun control, and can see their points, but I still believe in the right to bear arms.
- I think the tax system needs to be revamped, lessening the burden on individuals and families, while increasing corprate taxes. I also think the living wage needs to be increased across the board, working towards a living wage indexed to cost of living and inflation.
-I am not opposed to war as a concept and am by no means a pacifist, but think the Iraq war war based on faulty intelligence and a troop pull-out is one of the best things we can do for what seems to me a lose-lose situation.

So, where does that put me? From looking at that, I'd think most people would consider me generally liberal. However, to say that would be incorrect, as I do not consider myself a liberal, and in fact am extremely annoyed my liberals and the Democratic Party, particularly folks who say (and I assume might even believe) things like "Bush is Satan", "the Republicans are fascists", etc, since it does very little to promote dialogue and insightful discussions (as we can so often see by representatives of both the left and right on these forums (God, I've been here for less than a day and already I'm cynical)). Anyway, to answer the question, I personally am a socialist of Marxist, Debsian, and Trotskyist influence. Not "liberal" by any stretch of the imagination, but definitely on the "Left."

Answer 2

theres less difference now than in past years between the different parties. on the whole, 'old' pre 1995 labour represented the poor and underprivileged better. universal health care, helping trade unions to get better working conditions for their members, building affordable housing. by taxing the rich heavily they pledged to nationalise large public industries for the public good, like railways, post office, hospitals and electricity supply. however it never worked very well and all these industries are back in private hands again. new labour does not intend to re nationalise industry these days or build cheap affordable housing but has pledged to keep unemployment benefits and free health care. Conservatives believe that industry need not be restricted too much regulation or taxation. conservative 'family values' thinking is influenced by industry and the church. this affects the way conservatives view minority groups. conservatives believe in less government intrusion into peoples personal lives too and taxes will be reduced. the lib dems basically mix and match the most popular policies from the other two parties in the hope of getting re elected , the last time was 1916! still confused?

Answer 3

To give a real basic overview (the issues are much more complicated than this):

Conservatives believe that lower taxes and less government is good. Liberals believe that more government programs like medicare and therefore higher taxes is good. Libertarians take a very strict interpretation of the Constitution and wants to keep government out of almost every aspect of our lives, they are similar to conservatives but differ on a number of social issues like abortion and drug policy. Apathetic means you don't care either way.

Answer 4

liberal means bigger government is better. government should be involved more in people's lives. regardless of the economic cost of this. conservative on the other hand is the opposite, they believe in less government , less government spending, or what is called fiscal responsibility. they also hold traditional believe that abortion is not good, people have the right to own a gun, and that people should be held responsible for what they say and do. apathetic views is where they say a whole lot of nothing and get nothing done. libertarian views are that individual views and rights are Paramount.

Answer 5

Quickest answer: Conservatives want smaller government and lower taxes. Liberals want larger governments with higher taxes to support social programs like healthcare for all. Libertarians want only what is absolutely necessary in terms of government interfering in peoples lives. I can not answer what apathetic is off the top of my head.

Answer 6

Libertarian is the only one that makes any sense to me. They follow very Jeffersonian ideals, believe in a small centralized government that should exist to insure it's citizens freedoms and opportunity for happiness.

Answer 7

how about not worrying about the half-wit generalizations, and make your own mind up about each individual issue?