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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,
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.
Liberal is defined as "one who is open-minded or not strict in the observance of orthodox, traditional, or established forms or ways." (Webster's dictionary) A conservative is defined as "one who adheres to traditional methods or views." (Webster's dictionary) The definition of these words have changed throughout history. A liberal in older days was not what one would be today; they were considered a person whom sought to use change, while a conservative is one who opposed change. The differences between a liberal and a conservative is a wide gap that focuses upon the fundamental beliefs of those within each group.
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.
He then further explains the growth pattern between those eras which has led to the current ideology of liberal democracy. He believes that liberal democracy is the best ideology and that it is the final stage in human ideological development. He further suggested that human history should be viewed as a progression or battle of ideologies. With the current trend of universalization of liberal democracy and individualism, both characteristics of Western culture, he argues that Western liberal democracy has become the grand victor. He also asserts that despite the liberal democratic ideology has not completely been realized in the material world, the idea has been accepted and has triumphed over all alternate ideologies.
As both "conservatism" and "liberalism" have had various meanings sooner or later and transversely, the word liberal conservatism has been used in relatively different sanity. In political science, the word is used to pass on to ideologies that merge the support of capitalism, for instance value for contracts, protection of private property and free market require reference to validate with the principle of natural discrimination, the significance of religion, and the worth of traditional integrity need reference to validate in the course of a construction of inadequate, legitimate, representative government (Abdou & Zaazou 2013). It contrasts with traditional liberalism and particularly aristocratic conservatism, rejecting the belief of correspondence as a little in discordance with human nature, instead emphasizing the thought of natural inequality (Crozier. 2012).As the conservative thought in democratic countries holds typical liberal institutions such as the rule of law, private property, market economy, and constitutional representative government, the liberal factor of liberal conservatism became consensual outside the socialist camp.
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)
Classical liberal ideas often form the basis for opposition to the use of government to attain social objectives. They stress instead reliance on private initiatives or the free market to determine the best outcomes. Liberals believe in the government action the allows equal opportunities and equality for all. Liberals have a more fact-based, rather than faith-based, ideology. They are not so motivated by self-serving but actually negative emotions, such as prejudice, greed and fear, and thus can see the great advantages to a society of justice for all The basic duty of the government is to protect the common good and private rights of individuals. They consider the governments duty to help protect the individual and human rights. They emphasize the need for the government to solve their problems. Liberals are usually called the "extreme left"; social wealth, oriented toward change and more government. Liberals credit in socialism, meaning they value social equality in jobs, race, wages, education. Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security are all apart of Liberal beliefs. Liberals also reflect that more people should be working and participating in government projects like voting. Each person should get what they need: wealth, food, shelter, education. They also trust that
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.