what does it mean to be Liberal or Conservative?

Question

I took a survey and it says I'm slightly more conservative, but I don't know what that means.

Answer 1

below is what Liberals believe in.... From what I have seen on here Conservatives are always the opposite of Liberals...

Freedom...
...of conscience

You have the right to think as you wish.

...of religion

You have the right to worship as you please. The government has no business either supporting or opposing religion in general or any specific religion.

...of speech

You have the right to express your views, whatever they may be. Only in the free marketplace of ideas can truth emerge.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Civil rights
All people are equal under the law. Any type of discrimination based on race, ethnicity, religion, disability, sexual orientation, or gender is not only inconsistent with a free and civil society, but is immoral as well.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Universal public education
Equality of opportunity requires all Americans to have access to a basic education consistent with maintaining informed citizenship and the ability to participate fully in society.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tolerance of Differences
Because we are all unique beings, with different skills, needs, and wants, we must respect the life choices of others as long as their life choices do not infringe on the rights enjoyed by other citizens.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A Social Safety Net
Recognizing that circumstances beyond mortal control play a part in all our lives, a basic social safety net shall be avaliable to all who need it, not as a permanent lifestyle, but rather as a helping hand to get back on one's feet.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Employees' Rights
We spend most of our lives working. Work is the foundation of our economy and a major part of the glue holding together communities. The employee is an equal business partner with the employer, and as such, has the right to collectively bargain for terms of employment.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Environmental Protection
Contrary to some people's opinions, it is possible to both protect the environment and sustain economic growth. We support taking all reasonable and responsible steps to protect the environment and the species contained therein.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Strong Families
The family is the primary social unit in America. It must be respected, and encouraged in all its forms. Government should make policy with this in mind.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Responsibility
With rights come responsibilities. Exercising our rights means taking responsibility for our actions, and their effects on others.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Free Enterprise
The capitalist economic system is the most efficient solution to providing for peoples' wants and needs. Government's role is that of a regulator, not a controller of industry, and any regulation must only be for the good of society as a whole, and not for the benefit of any one entity.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rule of Law
Law is the framework in which society operates. There can be no society without justice. Justice means that those who commit crimes must be made to answer for them, and that the criminal code is fair and wisely constructed. When criminal actions go unpunished, respect for the law weakens. The law applies to all, including all agents of the government.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
...most importantly, Progress

Answer 2

You have two good brief answers but there is more !

Generally a Conservative government prefers "status quo" which is Latin for "things remaining the same".
They are not against progress but think it should occur gradually and with necessity, whereas a Liberal government will "seek" changes in society, education, health care and law and boldy push for change.

A Conservative government is not in favor of "welfare" but suggests that people should work for their keep. A Liberal government thinks that people out of work should receive payments and be able to send their children to "daycare" and receive FREE health care. Their belief is based on the fact that NOT everyone is skilled or can find work and when they are unemplyed they are still citizens and should be looked after by those who do work and have money.

Liberal government is often called a "Reform Party" since they favor change.

Of course both parties have moved toward the "center" in order to appeal to all voters.

Both Libs and Cons have good points and voters have historically voted for each of them over the years.

Unfortunately the Conservatives have a number of their members who are "extremists". These are called the RIGHT WINGERS. Often they are very religious and want more religion in Education. In the U.S. Pres Bush has joined this right wing group and wants "welfare and education" to be FAITH BASED.

Liberals (called Democrats in the U.S.) want separation between religion and education.

Sadly there has been some unfair name calling between the two parties, the worst being the Conservatives (Republicans) calling anyone who is a Democrat a "Commie".

However, history books show that two Democrat Presidents )Roosevelt and JFK) were among the greatest leaders the country has ever had.

Answer 3

I don’t have to look up the definitions. Conservatism and liberalism can’t be defined by just saying I am a conservative because I am republican or liberal because I am democrat. A conservative believes in limited government. By limited, I mean non-intrusive, smaller one that lets people and business exist in the free market. Conservatives believe in empowering people by not interfering in commerce or trade. We believe in the people as a whole to be smart enough to run their own affairs. Liberals believe in big government, where the government run bureaucracies have great power to dig into personnel affairs of ordinary people and institutions. They are never satisfied with the staggering amount of taxes they collect from the people which is over 3 trillion dollars a year. The only documents that protects the common individual from the government is the constitution and the bill of rights. The constitution was enacted to limit the power of the federal government. A liberal president will appoint liberal judges to the supreme court. These judges believe that the constitution is a living document and can be changed. This is dangerous to all of us.

Answer 4

Conservatism use to stand for Fiscal Responsibility and a less Government Interventionalist's approach to various issue's! It basically implied that Less Government is Better Government,and based itself on a more "Populist Grassroot's" reasoning! Law's that are tried and true,would remain...but those that were unworkable would be removed. If the Machine Ain't Broke...don't "Fix It" approach! They generally believed that a balance of workable laws-and to some extent...a good business environment,would be all that's needed to resolve most of Societie's social ill's and problem's! They are traditionalist's that believe in a strong Law and Order platform,and generally feel that Laws should punish the Criminal,not the Victim or Society! Liberalism on the other hand...takes the approach that Government should do for the People...what they cannot do for themselves! They generally tend to believe that alot of Social Ill's are a result of Systematic Injustice in the form of Laws and Social Policy! They prefer an "On Hands" approach to the issue's of Law and Social Justice. They generally think that Laws have to be changed to suit the "times" and/or need to be changed and tuned more frequently! They would do this through "constitutional ammendment's" and large scale Social Policy. In the Law and Order field,thay prefer to deal with not just the Crime...but the social factors surrounding Criminal's behaviour-to determine Sentencing and Punishment! Conservative's generally believe that a Constitution is a "Written in Stone" doctrine...that is correct and consistant. Liberal's generally feel that this is untrue,and that a Constitution should reflect the "Thinking of the Day" and thus...must be open to continuous ammendment's or change! Most Liberals generally want more Goverment intervention to issue's. More Government is "Better" approach! Most Conservative's prefer a more Domestic "Homegrown" approach to various issue's...Liberals however,are more open to "Outside" concepts and ideal's when it comes to passing Law's and Social Policie's! I generally find that Conservative's are more "Outwardly Patriotic" about their Country. Liberals are generally "Somewhat Patriotic" but feel that it has its limitation's however! But to be quite frank with you? I have been finding that there is a "Huge Rift" between both Conservative's and the Liberal's...on what their Partie's are really suppose to encompass and/or support! Alot of Liberal's and Conservative's feel that their respective Partie's are not sticking to their original guideline's and stances. As a result,there is alot of "Voter Apathy" out there! Most people would now...rather cynically suggest that it does not matter what Party is in power,they all act and do the same! Good Bill's are often struck down because of "Partisanship" and not necessarily with the "best interests" of the People in mind. Bad Bill's get passed because of it,usually in the form of a "Compromise Solution" between the two warring partie's! One good example is the U.S.'s most recent Immigration and Amnesty Bill. To alot of Liberal's...it is not Liberal enough,and to alot of Conservative's...it is not enough on the right side of the spectrum-or it goes Too Far! It has been a very divisive issue,to say the least! For many Voter's...there is the possibility of a "Third Party" approach,such as the Libertarian's etc. But many Conservative's and Liberal's feel that this is unnecessary,and that in order to enact change...you must do it from within the "Party's" structure. Not by forming or engaging a third party concept,as this will only serve to split the Vote. Some feel this will only aid in putting a "unpopular party" in power with only a minimum amount of Vote's,and further hinder the Democratic Process! The third party in essence...could draw enough "Vote's" from both Liberal and Conservative supporter's-who are disillusioned with their respective partie's,and Bill's or Law's would have to go through a timely or costly Coalition or "Take Side's" measure! Some would call this the "Flip-Flop" factor,but I don't really feel this is the case...because there are plenty of Conservative's and Liberal's-who do not always support whatever their Party is proposing or expousing! In some political circles...they would be regarded as "Independents or Moderates". They generally tend to "identify" more with one party or another...but do not completely support everything that the Party is "promoting" on various issue's! I hoped this helped to answer some of your Question? You should be fully aware of your position's on "Life's" many issues,before you embrace any Political Party's positions...on Anything! Thx.theerrander.

Answer 5

liberals want to tell you what's good for you and conservatives believe you are smart enough to figure it out for yourself. I don't know about you but I believe the liberals in Hollywood should stick to acting and forget about what they think is good for the country. After all they don't live in the same world as the rest of us.They just think they are smarter than the rest of us. Same with alot of the politicians, they jet around all day at the taxpayers expense and then tell us we should carpool! Ha, Ha. Should we really take them serious about global warming and all that rot when they don't practice what they preach? Kind of hard for me. If an actor in Hollywood is conservative it's like a death sentence. What's so liberal about that?

Answer 6

conservatives believe in personal responsibility
they believe in benefiting personally from their hard work
they believe parents should have the choice of where their children are educated
they believe governments role is and should be extremely limited
they believe that our rights as delineated under the Constitution are God given, not granted to us by men
and this could go on and on but I think you get the drift.

and do not let the little socialists tell you that they are pro-choice, they lie, asking them if you have the choice of where your money and children go to school. You have no choice under socialism.

Answer 7

You know what? The general population doesn't truly know. They will call themselves one or the other and they will make up derogatory commentary about the other.

Here is one explaination of liberalism:

"Liberalism can be understood as (1) a political tradition (2) a political philosophy and (3) a general philosophical theory, encompassing a theory of value, a conception of the person and a moral theory as well as a political philosophy. As a political tradition liberalism has varied in different countries. In England — in many ways the birthplace of liberalism — the liberal tradition in politics has centred on religious toleration, government by consent, personal and, especially, economic freedom. In France liberalism has been more closely associated with secularism and democracy. In the United States liberals often combine a devotion to personal liberty with an antipathy to capitalism, while the liberalism of Australia tends to be much more sympathetic to capitalism but often less enthusiastic about civil liberties..." The link I have given below delves into this ideology much more.
‘a liberal is a man who believes in liberty’ --Maurice Cranston.

For a definition of Conservatism, I will refer to a text by William R. Burger and Merril Youkeles "Human Services in Contemporary America." I realize that the context of their political explaination of the two groups is focused around social programs, but I think you will get the picture.

"Conservatives wish to preserve traditional American values, including a strict adherence to the Constitution and respect for the rights of property of others. They profess a deep respect for the values of the American pioneer with a strong emphasis on hard work, perseverance, and self-reliance. Jealous of their personal liberty, conservatives tend to distrust big government and wish to limit its role to the barest essentials. This resentment against interference extends into the economic sphere. Generally, conservatives favor a free market and maintain that free enterprise and the pursuit of private profit have made the US the richest nation on Earth.

Conservatives perceive liberals as sentimentialists who spend billions of dollars of taxpayers' money on ill-devised and ineffective social programs.(there are examples)...Conservatives place great value on the concept of Americans as rugged individuals who believe in pulling themselves up by their bootstraps.

Conservatives no longer oppose social programs in an automatic, reflesive fashion. They recognize that there are some circumstances when people, through no fault of their own, require help from the government......Conservatives are likely to oppose programs that go beyond meeting basic survival needs. They express concern that help from the government tends to weaken the initiative of the recipient, creating an attitude of passive dependence...they believe that the federal government has assumed excessive control over our lives through its massive programs and that power and control should be returned to the individual states."

The authors go on about the Liberal perspective:

"Liberals see themselves as champions of the disadvantaged. They are convinced that conservative rhetoric about liberty and self-reliance doesn't mean very much to a person who is hungry, broke, and unemployed." Liberals (like Arthur Schlesinger, 1962) believe that it is the control of government by big business that drove the country to the brink of revolution (the Great Depression is given as an example)."

I hope this helps somewhat. They are both very important groups that hold very important points of view. Our government needs both views. Yin/Yang.

Answer 8

Conservatism:
1) The disposition to preserve tradition and resist change.
2) A political philosophy calling for reduced government and greater individual freedom in the private sector.

Liberalism:
1) Openness to progress or change.
2) Generosity and willingness to give.
3) In the 18th century, a political philosophy that advocated smaller government and greater individualism, much as modern conservatives do today. Also known as "classical liberalism."
4) In modern times, a political philosophy that advocates greater public support, defense, regulation and promotion of the private sector.

Answer 9

conservative, like to stick with tradition, usually religious, believe in small government, don't normally like to use government benefits and believe in being very stable without much change.
liberal or progressive, like to push for constant change for what they believe is for the betterment of society, believe that government is the best way to tackle social and economic problems, believe that the rich and the government should take care of the poor and unprivileged, generally religion does not play a big part in their lives and they are usually very active protesters when they disagree with government.
hope I got that pretty well explained and right for you

Answer 10

Liberals tend to break down the barriers that conservatives tend to build.

Conservatives usually think they are right and that everyone should act and think like them. Liberals think that everyone is different but should be treated equally.

Conservatives think lower taxes and borrowing money, and fleecing coastal economies to pay for porgrams is a good idea. Liberals believe that everyone should pay their fare share to ensure the freedoms we so enjoy.

Conservatives shoot first and ask questions later. Liberals exhaust their options before resorting to violence. When a conservative resorts to violence he/she does it on the cheap without a plan. A liberal would have a deffinate plan to win the conflict and secure the peace.

A conservative is anti-choice on issues. A liberal is pro-choice on issues.

Answer 11

What does your survey say about Moderates, you know, the ones in the middle? Too few, I know.