One Difference between Liberals and Conservatives [View All]

[bryant69]

This is a generality of course--it always is. But Conservatives believe in a mechanistic universe and Liberals believe in an Organic one.

The most obvious point of contention is how each side answers the question of why some people turn to crime.

Liberals point to environment; many if not most criminals become criminals because they are put in an environment where crime makes sense. For example a poor kid who is hungry turns to drugs as a way to allieviate his pain. Or a stock broker who realizes that everybody is ripping of their customers a little bit figures him doing it won't be too bad.

Note, though, this is not determinism. Lots of kids in bad environments don't turn to drugs. A few stock brokers don't rip off their customers. It's tendancy not prediction.

On the other hand, Conservatives believe that the tendancy to do evil is something ingrained. In other words those who are going to break the law do so because it's part of who they are, not because of their environment. (in this way, they write off the idea that if we wanted less crime we should make life less miserable for the poor and unemployed).

Both tendancies have their negative side; Liberals tend to be a bit too understanding of criminals, placing too much emphasis on environment (For the most part, people choose to committ crimes, even if they are in a bad situation). Conservatives tend to be wildly inconsistant in their policy towards crime (Seeing other criminals go to jail makes crime less likely, while having enough to eat has no effect).

Anyway what do you think?

Bryant
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