If You Had To Class yourself a Liberal or a conservative, which would it be, why?

Question

If at all possible, a mix of usa AND UK would be nice :) lol

thanks for the all the answers so far - its been the biggest response i have had to any question on here.
Thanks

Answer 1

I am basically up the middle but if I have to choose between the two extremes here is what it would be.
LIBERALS
Liberals share a belief in individual rights, free enterprise, representative democracy, and the rule of law. In this sense, almost all Americans accept liberal ideas. So much so that it is easy to forget how revolutionary these ideas were when the American Constitution was written. Thomas Jefferson said, “Peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations, entangling alliances with more.” All of our founding fathers considered liberalism a foundation of “the great experiment”. America since Reagan, liberalism has been colored to appear weak and elitest and our military force is used to intervene in other nations affairs.
Think liberal, think BIG.

But that is not absolute because I do agree with the conservatives on some issues. Anyway that's it if I absolutely had to pick one or the other.

Answer 2

I would refer to myself as a classical liberal. I am not a conservative. I am not a left-liberal either.

I advocate an economy built upon pure Capitalism and a society where civil liberties are respected. I advocate non-intervention in foreign policy. I want to see the inalienable rights to life, liberty, and property protected, rather than destroyed by government.

This is what the word liberal originally meant. The enemies of freedom, the statists (they were originally called conservatives or serviles), have been trying to take over every word they can so that freedom cannot exist. Freedom has itself been redefined these days to apparently refer to imperialism or socialism. Capitalism is the most progressive economic system ever invented, but has been branded "regressive." Socialism is anti-social, but still calls itself Socialism. There was even something called "Scientific" Socialism which claimed that logic was a bourgeois creation and that people should not use reason.

Statism always finds a way to rewrite the meaning of words and the memory of history. Things really are just like 1984.

Answer 3

If I had to choose one, I would choose liberal. While I am conservative about some issues (constitutional rights, less taxes, reduced governmet spending) I tend to be liberal on many issues. (Civil rights, womens rights, gay rights, individual liberty, no government interference in my personal life, etc).

Basically, I would rather have a little more taxes taken out of my check and have some lazies get by on government assistence so I can be free to live my life as I choose without government interference. I do not define my freedom or liberty by the amount of money I have to spend.

Answer 4

Out of these 2 I would classify myself as a liberal. Mainly because the liberal stand point is more focused on individual rights, freedom of thought, and expression, and limitation on power. With the Bush regieme right now, I get very worried about the powers that have been afforded to the Executive Branch.

Answer 5

Funny how few people can answer a direct question...I would of course classify myself as moderate but IF I HAD TO, which was the question...I would say I am more socially liberal and fiscally conservative(real fiscal conservative, not like Bush's borrow and spend garbage)

Answer 6

Conservative, the smaller our government is and the less regulation we have, the more freedom we have. We should always have a balanced federal budget (no deficit spending) and should stay out of people's personal lives as much as possible (note that this would likely make me pro-choice, anti-gun control, and pro-gay marriage). Smaller, more efficient governments are much better than larger governments. I also believe in personal responsibility rather than personal entitlement.

Answer 7

A conservative believes the individual must serve the system.
A liberal believes the system must serve the individual.

Obviously, each one is appropraite in different circumstances. I wouldn't want to have a world with out either. But, if one must dominate, it must be the Liberal as Jesus said

'The law (system) was made for man, not man for the law'.

So I follow Jesus's example in being a liberal.

Answer 8

I'd say independent more towards the liberal side only because..

I'm pro choice
Against Death Penalty
Pro Gay marriage

and I tend to like the decisons the democrats make more, but I'm still young so the more i learn things could always change :)

Answer 9

Politically Incorrect Capiltalist Liberal.

I see the way conservatives dodge facts at this time given Iraq and Bush, and the way they get viscious in a way that's really not necessary, and I prefer "liberal" as to denote a basic undersatnding of humanity.

Libs fight and insult too, but Conservatives get too ugly with it.

Besides, nearly everything conservatives stand for tends to be rooted in this country's history of white supremacy.
Especially the right wingers. Fugly. TOO fugly.

Answer 10

Liberal!

I am not for screwing the majority of America so I can hoard wealth. And it is clear the rich are getting richer and the poor, poorer. Almost 50% of people who are homeless have a full-time job!

I also have an issue with conservatives who constantly blame the victim to justify their stealing from the poor as if they pay their share of taxes. The largest welfare recepients are business, and if you are paid by one, you are on welfare as well!

Just now it was noted employers are withdrawing medical benefits even though their profit margin for most are increasing!. I suspect they think the government will pick up the tab, or put people into poverty! And then they complain about a health care system for US citizens. It is great our tax money can pay theirs, but why can't it help pay ours as well as business doesn't want to!

A new report shows an increasing number of employees in America are declining their employer's offer of health insurance, as the cost of individual premiums increased dramatically across the nation over a five-year period. Approximately 3 million fewer workers who are eligible for employer-sponsored health insurance enrolled in it in 2003, compared to 1998. With employer-sponsored health insurance providing most Americans residents with their health care coverage, the report provides the most comprehensive analysis to date of how this traditional job benefit is changing.

"Shifting Ground: Changes in Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance" was released today by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) as part of Cover the Uninsured Week, a nonpartisan, nationwide effort to urge U.S. leaders to make health coverage for Americans their top priority.