Am I a liberal or a conservative?

Question

I don't believe in tax and spend politics and I don't think the federal government should make most or many of our own personal decisions. However I do believe the federal government should step in when people try to abuse and take advantage of the common worker or hurt someone else for their own gain.

I know we still live in a racist culture (I lived in the south long enough to learn that) but I don't think people should be given advantages based on their race. I'm against abortion, but I think a woman has a right to choose what she does with her own body. Are you confused??? GOOD!

Answer 1

The whole distinction between liberal and conservative is sometimes not a very useful model.
I've found that thoughtful people tend to have opinions like yours that don't fall neatly into one of those two categories.
Some self-proclaimed liberals/conservatives are like the clueless society girl who only wears Gucci or Prada. It's like a brand to them.
Keep thinking out of the box!
Not sure if the links below will help, but I find them really interesting. The first one is a quiz where you give your opinions about a range of issues and it claims to tell you which 2008 presidential candidate most closely matches your views.
The second is a list of US political parties. There are some really wacky ones out there, but the point is that there are more than two.
The last one is a quiz that plots your political views on both liberal/conservative and libertarian/authoritarian axes.

Answer 2

Perky_gurl is right. You are a Libertarian/NeoCon. You are NOT a moderate, and you are NOT socially liberal. If you want to get UN-CONFUSED read the rest.

The political spectrum is simple. All societies are a balance between what the individual gets from the society, and what the society gets from the individual.

From Right to Left:
Anarchist, Libertarian, Conservative, Moderate, Liberal, Socialist, Communist.

Now the Libertarian/Conservative/Moderates joined society to increase their personal profits, so they really don’t want to give up any more personal wealth that necessary. (Libertarians want to give up the least)
The Liberals/Socialists/Communists feel social interests are more important than individual interests, so they must convince the LCMs to give up most (or all) of their personal wealth for the greater (aka social) good.

Now, the LSCs can’t just say “Give us your wallets” or “Big Government is good” because the LCMs won’t buy it, so the trick is to demagogue. Any LCM argument for personal freedom or small government must be portrayed as antisocial or non-progressive.

The demagoguery is profoundly aided by the fact that the political word ‘Conservative’ meaning ‘favoring small government’ is the same as ‘conservative’ meaning ‘favoring traditional values’. So a conservative’s reluctance to change can be demagogued into “Conservatives are against progress.”

The political word ‘Liberal’ meaning ‘favoring big government’ is the same as the world ‘liberal’ meaning ‘generous and open minded’. So if you are anti-Liberal, you aren’t against big government, you hate generosity. Got it?

Abortion is NOT a women’s rights issue. It is a fetal rights issue. Abortion becomes murder when a fetus becomes legally human. If a fetus is not yet human, a woman can do anything she likes with it. If it is human, a woman has no right to commit murder based on inconvenience.

This question has NOTHING to do with the size of government. Conservatives generally feel that people are entitled to vote on the issue, rather that have it ‘legislated from the bench’ (Roe vs. Wade)
But saying ‘Life begins in the second trimester’ doesn’t mean you favor racial quotas or huge wealth transfer programs. Favoring legal abortion does not make one a Liberal.

JFTR. Barry Goldwater, founder of modern Conservatism, thought the regulation of abortion was none of the Governments business.

Answer 3

How did we let it happen that 'liberal' and 'conservative' have to be mutually exclusive down the line on every issue on the agenda, or that the candidate with the best sound bites wins?

Besides, now that the Republicans have turned 'liberal' into a vulgar expression not fit for polite society, there is this to consider: What the GOP (mostly conservative) and the Dems (mostly liberal) stood for until the late 50s/early 60s has flip-flopped. Each party has become what the other was about 40 years ago.

A poly-sci professor I had once observed that if the entire range of human political experience could be measured at 10 feet across, the most conservative to most liberal Americans would be only a quarter inch apart, both of them about three feet left of center. Like it or not, all Americans are liberal.

Answer 4

Well there's nothing wrong with calling yourself a liberal on some issues and a conservative on others. That you have to be strictly one or the other is a false dichotomy.

While I don't know if I'd call you a libertarian, you seem to have some libertarian leanings, more so than strictly liberal or conservative. Libertarians tend to be liberal on social issues and conservative (classic conservative, not neocon) on fiscal and tax issues. There's a good self-test you can take to find out where you stand on the political spectrum; see the link below. Good luck with your exploration of politics! Which reminds me....

Politics (n): from the Greek "poly," meaning many, and "tics," meaning blood-sucking insects.

Answer 5

Dig a Pony gives a good answer but I must deal with this question from a European perspective. In many European countries taxation is seen as being a Good Thing, i.e. one contributes to society by paying for overall healthcare, education etc. via one's taxes. Furthermore, this financial inclusivity does not extend to the curtailment of one's personal freedom but does protect the rights of anyone at risk of exploitation. A civilized approach is taken on the issue of abortion. These are liberal opinions, but then, Conservative values in Europe are far, far to the left of what is considered Conservative in America.

Answer 6

You are not alone. I don't understand why everything in life has to be so Black and White with no Gray areas.

There is nothing wrong with supporting views by both groups. The sooner everyone realizes this, the sooner we will all get along.

Answer 7

You are a so-called "classical" conservative. You believe in a smaller government, but liberal social policies.

Answer 8

You are, what is termed, a moderate, like myself.
Which has its good and bad points.
Being such, makes you dig around a bit to find the best candidate who fits your criteria.(You probably already do this anyway.)
But, the down side is, we are "splinters" from of the conservatives and liberals, and we seldom get the stronger candidates.(This is due to the pandering to bigger voting blocks.)
Hope this helps..

Live well....
illuminostic

Answer 9

I personlly think you are a commupublauthomonardict-
anarchosociatyrranocatribalist

But I think that's a good thing....

~jaz~

Answer 10

You are a Libertarian - don't worry, it will pass.