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Difference between liberalism and conservatism
Similarities between liberalism and conservatism ideologies
Difference between liberalism and conservatism
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Liberalism is trust of the people tempered by prudence. Conservatism is distrust of the people tempered by fear. William E. Gladstone
In this essay I will be arguing about 2 political ideologies; this essay will be highlighting the comparison and contrast between the 2 ideologies and their elements. The 2 ideologies that will be discussed are liberalism and conservatism, the essay will explain what ideology is, a brief explanation of their elements and the comparison between them. In my opinion the best between both ideologies is liberalism, the reason I think that is because liberalism places an ontological supremacy upon the individual and has no value more important than freedom because man’s natural state is when he is free unlike conservatism that has a very pessimistic view of humans and claims that individuals are morally corrupt.
A political ideology is a coherent system of political ideas and beliefs that provide us with visions of what the good society should look like and a road map regarding how to bring it about.
The word ‘ideology’ was first invented in 1796 by a French philosopher De Tracy, he used that term to refer to the new ‘science of ideas’ (idea-ology) which was spread out to uncover the origins of conscious thoughts and ideas (Basihgstoke, Palgrave McMillan 2003). De Tracy was hoping for the ideology to be considered as any other science, such as biology, zoology or geology. However in the nineteenth century, Karl Marx considered ideology to be equivalent to only the ruling class (Basihgstoke, Palgrave McMillan 2003).
Liberalism-derived from the Latin word ‘liber’ which means “free and not enslaved”- is seen as the dominant ideology of the western civilisation. During the European history before the modern...
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...heir conflicts and differences through debates and arguments rather that was are bloodshed.
Conservative ideas and principles first emerged in the late eighteenth century and the nineteenth century; they emerged as a result of their rebel against the growing pace of political and economic change, which was mostly influenced by the French revolution. Due to that they came to an agreement that they should go back to the ancient regime which means the old orders or tradition.
In nearly every society throughout human history, there have been people who have tried to constitute themselves as an elite or noble. From the pharaohs of ancient Egypt to the thugs of ancient Rome to the glorified warlords of medieval and sovereign Europe, these people are the modern conservatives (Agre, P 2004).
The main elements of conservatism are tradition, human imperfection and hiearchy
Today, the definition of the term “liberal” is relatively uncontested, and its content is relatively well defined. A liberal today is someone who advocates for governmental solutions to various problems, not for unaided individual freedom. Liberals today trust and call for governmental action, not for the type of self-determination supported by Hoover. Contemporary liberals believe in individual freedom, but they typically advocate f...
Let us begin by noting that any basic social structure faithful to liberal principles of political justice will inevitably prove nonneutral in its effects on many comprehensive doctrines and ways of life. This will be true for politically unreasonable doctrines and ways of life (militantly theocratic doctrines, or ways of life centered on violating the basic rights of others). But it may also prove true for comprehensive doctrines and ways of life more or less unopposed to most liberal political values (perhaps the doctrines or ways of life of certain traditional or anti-modern religious sects).
- Liberalism is a form of political structure where the powers of the government are limited against the people and their property
After the government-destroying Revolution that the people believed to be suppressing their liberty, there was a realization that government was still irrefutably necessary for liberty. This resulted in some resurrection of what was initially fought against, in which we see glimpses of republican ideas from the classical world in American political culture, for the founders believed that republican virtue and liberal individualism were compatible and interdependent elements that would create a distinctive America (Vetterli and Bryner,
middle of paper ... ... This comment suggests that the current idea, liberalism, may just be a phase in human ideology that has spread worldwide. Though he made a compelling argument and posed thought provoking questions that supported his argument, the flaws in his argument, after stringent analysis, contradict his main points. Works Cited Ferguson, C. (Director).
Typically Liberalism can be categorized into two different strands, Classical and Modern (yet some thinkers advocate a third strand that is referred to as Neo-Liberalism), each characterized by their differing and to some extent unavoidably overlapping attitudes regarding the theory behind the ideology and how it should be put into practice. Prior to examining how these relate to one another and before making any comparisons, it is important to give a definition, as best as possible, of Liberalism as a concept.
On the other hand, liberalism’s main principles emphasise, human rights, individuality, equality before the law...
Cantor, Paul A. "The Simpsons." Political Theory 27.6 (December 1999): 734. MasterFile FullText 1500. Palni SiteSearch. Goshen College Good Library. 19 March 2000.
The pieces on liberalism and conservatism has shown how different the two ideologies mean compared to the labels we see in American politics. The media has made it seems as though conservatives (which in the U.S. is becoming synonymous with Republican) is all against change, while liberals (Democrats) lie in the exact opposite of the spectrum: promoting changes. However, the essays by Locke, Berlin, and Oakeshott showed us how the two ideologies are much deeper than that. It is not just a manual of how to govern a nation, but rather ideals and philosophies. Furthermore, while contemporary politics have created an illusion that there is a clear and definite distinction between liberalism and conservatism, these essays show that they actually do overlap in many ways. In "Two Concepts of Liberty", Berlin categorizes liberty as "positive" and "negative". Positive liberty defines freedom as an individual being able to control his life and decisions in his own interests. On the other hand, in negative liberty, freedom exist when an individual is free from external interference. The major difference between the two concepts of liberty is that positive liberty focuses on the capability of an...
...ould harm it, while conservatives tend to oppose things such as the Clean Air Act for monetary reasons. Conservatives tend to support smaller government while liberals tend to want a larger government. Even though there are many differences between the two ideologies they both derived from classical liberalism. Some individuals refer to classical liberalism as the “best of both worlds” ideology. Both ideologies believe in hierarchies as an organization principle of society and both believe in the “middle class.” They both believe in the constitution and share many moral values. The two ideologies are very different, yet they are not complete opposites in every situation or argument. Many individuals have a hard time labeling themselves a ‘liberal’ or a ‘conservative’ because they may have liberal beliefs in one-area of politics and conservative beliefs in another.
To begin with, anarchy refers to the world as a whole having no government. Individual states have varying degrees of supreme power or authority in their own land, but no single state may create laws for the whole world. However, while the theories discussed in this essay accept that the world is in a state of anarchy, what separates these two theories is how the government should deal with this problem. This essay tries to give an overview on the main assumptions of liberalism and realism and provide explanations of how they relate to one another as well as coexist, yet are opposite in theory. (IN TEXT)
The Enlightenment and counter enlightenment (Conservatism). the French thinkers are called the counter enlightenment. Because they saw the revolution, knowing that the sacrifices are given as result of a revolution. Heavy assaults can be bear in the return of Revolution. In this way they are called the followers of conservatism. The philosophers who disagree the era of liberalism are called the followers of Enlightenment. British and German thinkers are followers of enlightenment. They said that enlightenment is the source of liberalism. Because of enlightenment the meritocracy and innovation came into the world. Division of labor and specialization are also the product of enlightenment and liberalism. Dueto enlightenment the conservative world changed into the modern world (Ritzer
These two political ideologies offer to government leaders, policy makers, and thoughtful citizens a set of guides permitting some semblance of coherent conclusions regarding compelling social, economic and political issues. Their common features include rejection of radicalism and its attending violent uprooting of established instructions and practices, acceptance of the need for restraints on the powers of government, advocacy of balance in society regarding individual rights and social powers, and ultimately some root concerns for individual dignity. Most certainly disagreement abounds between the two woe within the same government framework. This agreement to disagree in a civil manner surely constitutes one of mankind’s most noble achievements.
The word ideology was created by Destutt de Tracy to define the main purposes of science that aims to understand the ideas, its characteristics and laws and its relation to the signs that represent it as well. After that the same acquires another meanings to other philosophers as Auguste Comte and Émile Durkeim.
To start, Liberalism traces its roots back to the Enlightenment period (Mingst, 2008) where many philosophers and thinkers of the time began to question the established status quo. Such as the prevailing belief in religious superstition and began to replace it with a more rational mode of thinking and a belief in the intrinsic goodness of mankind. The Enlightenment period influenced Liberalism’s belief that human beings are thinkers who are able to naturally understand the laws governing human social conduct and by understanding these laws, humans can better their condition and live in harmony with others (Mingst, 2008). Two of the most prominent Liberal Internationalists of the Enlightenment period were Immanuel Kant and Jeremy Bentham who both thought that international relations were conducted in a brutal fashion. It was Kant who compared international relations as “the lawless state of savagery” (Baylis and Smith, 2001, pp 165). It was also Kant who believed nations could form themselves into a sort of united states and overcome international anarchy through this (Mingst, 2008). This was probably the beginning of a coherent belief in a sort of union of sovereign states. Toward the end of the seventeenth century William Penn believed a ‘diet’ (parliament) could be set up in Europe, like the European Union of today (Baylis and Smith, 2001). We can see much of this liberal thinking today in organizations such as the United Nations.