a right wing conservative today would have been considered a left wing liberal 75 years ago.?

Question

like it or not, the march of history is to the left.

thanks for the thought, G-man

Answer 1

Yes and no.

The same things that a conservative would be wanting today are the things a liberal 75 years would be wanting -- but for different reasons.

Take the right of women to vote. 80 years ago, that was a cutting edge, liberal shift that many people opposed. Today, it's the way things have been done for over 80 years.

So, the liberal would support it 80 years ago because it was a new way to expand freedom for people. A conservative would support it today because it is traditional today.

That doesn't mean the march of history is to the left.

It just means that it will always be the liberals advocating change and a faster pace, and always bee the conservatives advocating tradition and a slower pace.

Answer 2

If todays right wing conservatives in Britain were around 75 years ago they would indeed be considered left wing and liberal.

If todays right wing conservatives in the U.S were around 75 years ago they would probably be saying " This German guy with the funny Charlie Chaplin moustache sounds like he's got some interesting ideas..."

Answer 3

A right wing conservative and a left wing liberal are pretty much the same things they were when the ideas of "Liberalism" and "Conservatism" were first thought up during the French revolution.

The only difference between then and now? They beheaded their politicians.

Ahh, for the good old days.

Answer 4

...the march of history isnt to the left, lol. but you're right partly right about the first part. It mainly is in reference to foreign policy, because bothsides have held relatively true to their domestic beliefs since the revolution.
On foreign policy issues, kennedy was probably the last Conservative Democrat. Maybe even Johnson. But after that and with the advent of the counter culture in the 60s and 70s and the unfortunate coming of Jimmy "greenpeace" Carter, the "left" started to move to where they are today. Wars suddenly became "evil" as did people who work hard and have money to show for it. The movement has mainly been exclusive to the left however as Aggressive foreign policy and stressing the Neccessity of wars stretched all the way back to Abe Lincoln, the first republican.

Answer 5

Actually, I see the other side of that coin. The platform of the Republican party today is very different from the party of my own parent's generation. In their time, the party was still the hallmark of the Gold(water) Standard of conservatism (sm. gov't). On the other hand, if Goldwater was alive today, I wonder if he wouldn't walk away from the current party in disgust and declare himself a Libertarian! This link on Goldwater illustrates that point:
http://www.liberalslikechrist.org/about/goldwater.html

Also, the following links illustrate where the current presidential candidates fall on the spectrum of political positions. You might be surprised to see that, regardless of party affiliation, almost all are very close:
http://www.politicalcompass.org/analysis2
http://www.politicalcompass.org/usprimaries2007

Answer 6

Not necessarily 75 years ago, was the depression. Southern Democrats were the Conservatives. The Republicans were isolationist, like me. But the mainstream were liberal, almost socialist Democrats. The New Deal.
Don't confuse the Republican Prty with Conservatives, they purged them a few years ago. The Republicans meet the textbook definition of Facist, so do the Democrats.

Answer 7

Exactly. That's why democracy, abortion, gay rights, religious freedom, social acceptance, inter-racial improvements, and more socialist concepts (e.g. Social Security, pension, Medicare, Medicaid, etc.) are commonplace now. Cons may win the battle in the short-term, but liberalism wins out in the end.

Heck, bikinis would be unthinkable to the conservatives of 50 years ago. Now, they are the ones that also wear them. TV is more liberal than it ever was, and that's how its history has been.

Answer 8

I would love for modern Republican women to live under social norms of yesteryear and have them embrace conservatism. Can you say do the wash, stay in the kitchen, be barefoot, and, pregnant!

Answer 9

Not really true. Liberal FDR was proposing and implementing socialism while opposed by conservatives even in the '30s.
JFK would byotch-slap his baby brother if he were alive today, though!
At least many liberals of old loved their country, unlike today's liberal.

Answer 10

And society has been going downhill that past 50 years or so. Coincidence?