Why do most people who start out in life as liberals become conservatives?

Question

Yet, the opposite rarely happens??

Answer 1

Are you talking about me again? LOL!

You just described what happened to me. Socially and economically I was VERY liberal. The only conservative thoughts I had was about national security. By the time I was old enough to vote, we were at the waning years of the Cold War, but never the less it was still there. I had two choices. Reagan or Mondale. It was election 1984.
I felt Reagan was the better of the two, him understanding the Soviet threat more than Mondale did. So I chose for American security. Mondale had no chance anyway. Reagan won 49 of the 50 states. LOL!
Once I got out on my own, began working and supporting myself at age 20, I began to take a sharp "right" turn economically.
The more I heard about welfare and it's recipients abusing the system, the more conservative I got. Especially when I saw how much was taken out of my check every two weeks.

Then the social turn began to happen. I saw many of my friends having "casual"sex, ending up many times in pregnancy and abortion. Abortion being used as a form of birth control. I saw many young women have abortions, then going right back to having unprotected sex.

The older I got, the more conservative I got. being Conservative does not mean you are strictly a Republican. My dad is a Democrat, but he's a very Conservative Democrat.

Most older people do gain wisdom as they age, and wisdom begets conservatism.
I'll put it this way.
I've never met a conservative that was always a conservative. But I've met many that were once liberal.

Answer 2

I once read an article that suggested that the difference between Conservatives and Liberals is that Conservatives support the community over the individual, while Liberals support the individual over the community.

I wish I knew who wrote that article so I could cite it, and make sure I had it right. I know it flies in the face of many neo-con media figures, but I still think it holds up.

Anyways, if we can use that as a definition, then people are more likely to be Liberals when they are young, when they are preparing for independence from their parents (or enjoying that newly acquired independence.)

Using the same definition, the older people get, the less powerful they are as individuals, but the more powerful they are within a community. Think about the stereotypical "Village Elder" who does little physical work, but guides others with his experience and wisdom.

So the older a person is, the more they might be interested in the Conservative ideals, which give them more power.

On the other hand, I know a lot of very old, very smart Liberals.

Answer 3

Grew up with a foot in 2 different generations. As a young adult in the 60s was against the "war" in Vietnam ,but still supported the troops. Pretty much the same now. Liberal tendencies on many issues , yet have conservative views on others. Not so much a transition to conservatism, more of a balance one can be comfortable with without being a party liner one way or another. Have had the benefit of experiencing shifts in government for better or worse over many years. Nothing scarier than non thinking, kneejerk hard liners on either side.

Answer 4

I, like many others here, started out on the liberal side. The perfect world where everyone's needs were met was very appealing. Then I grew up. I learned that all people are not honorable and their word means nothing. The fact that man is sometimes just plain evil means that the "perfect" society was not a realistic possibility.

The responsibilities of life, and learning that facts and reality are sometimes going to be hard to accept and ignoring them will not change them altered my thinking. There are those that refuse to grow up and others that lack the maturity to see through the facade. Of course there are those who never change and even see themselves as smarter or somehow better than the rest. The main reason they don't change is because they can afford not to.

Answer 5

Winston Churchill had an opinion on that:
“If you're not a liberal at twenty you have no heart, if you're not a conservative at forty you have no brain.”

Personally, I've maintained my liberal views regarding social issues (very pro-individual rights) and grown more conservative regarding small government and economy (pro-free market). I've shifted from 'Liberal' to Libertarian (half-n-half). If the Republican party was still based upon the 'Gold(water) Standard' of true conservatism, I'd be a Republican. Unfortunately, now that I've "grown up", I have no truly viable party anymore!
This link perfectly illustrates what I mean:
http://www.liberalslikechrist.org/about/goldwater.html

Answer 6

The checks from mommy and daddy stop coming, they get a job and start cashing paychecks. They then see the massive theft to fund the nanny state and decide they don't like being on the other side of the entitlement equation. So what most probably do is join the republican party, in the mistaken belief that republicans are the party of small government.

Answer 7

People tend to wise up after some life experience. Liberal doctrine is pervasive in academia. From grade school to college, the youth of our nation fall victim to the lies of liberalism. The public schools are to serve the public, not to be serve the horse manure of liberal idealism that denies God's existence, and pushes every form of godlessness imaginable. Until we change the way our young people are educated in America, we will be producing generations of committed liberals. Fortunately some do come to see the truth.

Answer 8

because being a liberal is hard. part of being a liberal is being optimistic and idealistic (and trying to mesh those two things with reality). being a liberal is more about the work and less about the pay-off.
it can wear even the most optimistic, devoted person down at times.

people also get jaded.
I can't hold anything against them since I myself get tired of bad things happening and bad people coming out on top.

Answer 9

Because when you are raised that the people who have worked hard to be successful "owe" you a living, health care, unearned income (just another word for welfare) and you are depending on the government to provide you with the quality of life you are too lazy to go out an achieve,
....Why would your lazy a** change as you getter older...

...but once you have started out on minimum wage and now are paying 30% of what you earn out to support others, you feel inclined to not want the government to be spending your money on things that do not benifit everyone....
...don't mind taxes for roads, schools, etc, but not to bail out someone for not making "their" house payment.

Answer 10

Because with age comes wisdom. Young liberals grow up and realize that the simple mindedness of liberalism doesn't hold water.