Conservatism and Liberalism
In the United States, as in many other countries, the political and social entity is divided along many lines. In most cases this can very roughly be described as a division between liberal and conservative views of life and politics. The liberal and conservative attitudes represent often very different and contradictory views of political and social policies. However, it also be stated at the outset that there are many different degrees and types of liberalism and conservatism. For example" Some individuals are radical and extreme while others stand on more of a neutral territory..." (Liberalism And Conservatism) This paper will take a general approach to the meaning of the terms liberal and conservative and will not deal with the numerous gradations and variations related to these terms. Liberalism is often defined as a "...openness to progress and change." (Kangas S.) In other words, the liberal approach is associated with positive aspects such as advancement, change and aspects such as the furtherance of democratic and human rights. In more specific terms, liberalism is seen as an ideology or integrated system of philosophy or ideas which sees liberty as the central social and political value. (Liberalism)
This refers to the view that conservative perceptions and attitudes undermine the ideals of freedom from government control and legislation. In essence the historical fight of the individual for liberty and freedom from constraints is a central facet of the disagreement between liberal and conservative. Other factors important to the liberal view are the rights of minorities and the importance of the democratic process - as well as free and fair elections. This is seen as a positive aspect in that there are positive and negative elements in both perspectives. " (Conservatism) Another important aspect to note is that conservatism is strongly linked to various traditions in different societies and resultantly there is no one single or uniform idea of what conservatism is that can be applied to all areas of the world. The conflict between conservative and liberal also acts as a kind of natural balance between opposing tendencies and ideas in a culture and society and this also tends to ensure that neither one nor the other view dominates totally. In essence these two main tendencies in society, the liberal and conservative, have both positive and negative elements that are continually in conflict with one another. One of these is the importance placed on conventional religion and the moral values and ethics that are implicit in these religions. This perspective is often seen from a liberal point of view as reactionary and an outmoded idealism. ) While there is a continual conflict between these two points of view, this is not necessarily a negative factor in the development of a healthy society. lism also places great emphasis on freedom of thought and the freedom of the individual. At the same time both these points of view, including the conservation of norms, values and traditions, are aspects that may be different and often in conflict but nevertheless are elements that are needed in any healthy and developing culture. "To a conservative, the goal of change is less important than the insistence that change be effected with a respect for the rule of law and traditions of society. Liberalists critique conservatism for being 'backward looking' and not interested enough in promoting personal liberty and freedom. In general a conservative view attempts to maintain the status quo and emphasizes tradition and stability over change.
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