Conservatives vs. liberals... how we think...

[LuckyTheDog]

I have been thinking a lot about what separates us liberals from conservatives. And, I think the most basic differences come down to our views of each person’s responsibility to society at large and our conceptions of human liberty. Here is a stab at characterizing what these ideas mean to a conservative and to a liberal. I don't intend this to be comprehensive. But to me, these descriptions consist of the "brass tacks" of what separates the ideologies. Please read them with an open mind and contribute your own thoughts:

Conservative

You have no absolute obligation to those around you. It might serve your interests to cooperate with others and to share resources. However, such choices should never be forced upon you and you should be able to opt out of any sharing arrangements that fail to serve your interests. Any involuntary sharing of resources is theft.

In all moral societies, each person should be free to live with the consequences of his or her own choices. That means that some people will win big and become very wealthy, while others will fail in an equally spectacular fashion. That is not only acceptable, but desirable. If people must live with the consequences of all their decisions – even if those consequences are destitution or death – then people will make better choices and everyone will be better off.

To preserve that level of freedom, all prices – including the price of labor – should be determined by the marketplace. Government regulation should be kept to a minimum so that the marketplace can set standards for quality and safety in the delivery of goods and services.

Liberal

Civilized human society requires cooperation and some sharing of resources. To pretend otherwise is folly. Because of that, everyone who wants to benefit from civilization has an obligation to contribute to the community, unless infirmity, youth, old age or other factors make that impossible. All of them also deserve at least a basic share (though not an equal share) of the common wealth they help to create.

The output of decent societies should be shared until the basic needs of every contributing member (and those genuinely unable to contribute) have been met. Why? Because true liberty exists only after the tyranny of destitution has been overcome. Hence, the goal of society should be to make sure that everyone has adequate food, shelter, medical care and other necessities so that the blessings of liberty are available to all. (See the bottom two levels of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs: (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslow's_hierarchy_of_needs).

Society’s surplus – that is, the amount above and beyond what is needed to sustain deserving citizens – ought to be retained by the best, brightest, most highly contributing members of society. Thus, the distribution of the surplus should be determined mainly by the free market and the free associations formed by individuals. Wealth and luxury are good things that should be encouraged – but not at the expense of leaving other deserving members of society in destitution.

[provis99]

1. here's the central difference:

liberals think; conservatives don't. End of story.

[LuckyTheDog]

3. Its not that they don't think

It's that they have little or no empathy.

[MissMarple]

2. We vs Me

And "Me" is very scared and often very selfish. The Me's, too often, turn on each other. How tragic. "We" stand together in community... and win... in the long term. Now is no time to bail. Trust me. :)

[Caliman73]

4. I agree with your assessment.

I also agree about the lack of empathy rather than the lack of thinking. Focusing on "individual responsibilities" allows conservatives not to have to think about others when making decisions unless it directly impacts them, which can appear as "not thinking" when it is just, not thinking of "you" just about "me".

[hansberrym]

5. I think you made a good start

I think you made a good start, but there are many gradations that could be added. It might be more interesting to examine the divisions among Liberals starting from the definition you offered, so I have expanded some on your initial categories.

The distinctions thus far are based only on domestic policy, and would get further blurred when international affairs are taken into account.

I would also add that the labels ought to be applied to policies than people. People often hold views on a particular topic that would fit one label, while holding views on other topics that might be further left or right.


Liberal light or perhaps middle of the road libertarian
While one has obligations to others, obligations above supporting the basic needs of society should not be forced upon individuals and one should be able to opt out of any sharing arrangements that go beyond meeting basic needs. Any involuntary sharing of resources above what is needed to secure basic needs of society is theft.

In all moral societies, each person should be free to live with the consequences of his or her own choices. That means that some people will win big and become very wealthy, while others will fail in an equally spectacular fashion. That is not only acceptable, but desirable. If people must live with the consequences of all their decisions – even if those consequences mean having one's station reduced to mere sustenance living – then people will make better choices and everyone will be better off.

To preserve that level of individual freedom, in general, prices – including the price of labor – should be determined by the marketplace. Government regulation should be kept to a minimum so that the marketplace can set standards for quality and safety in the delivery of goods and services. Moreover, government must be able to carry out its role as enforcer of the law and unbiased arbiter of disputes, and to prevent conflicts of interest government should only act as provider of services when truly necessary




Left Liberal
Stated same way as your definition for Liberal, but more often than not actually entails going well beyond meeting "basic needs". The result of such policies is not so much simply meeting basic needs but in reality comes closer to equalizing resources.