Definitions of Liberal and Conservative

In this country, the word Liberal has been turned into such a pejorative that it's virtually political suicide for a politician to call himself one. If you doubt me, watch C-SPAN for even a few hours, and count how many times a Republican will refer favorably to Conservative values and policies, and then compare that to how often the Democrats praise Liberal values and policies. Partly this is because Limbaugh et. al. have for years used the word Liberal to describe every perceived evil under the sun, and partly this is because there is no real representation of Liberal values in the US government today. Living in a plutocracy, why would you expect anything else? I think it was jar who said a while back that what we have is a moderate Republican party, and a bat-shit crazy Republican party.In theory, Conservatives value tradition, respect for authority, rules and stability over innovation, openness, and change. In themselves, these aren't necessarily bad things, but these values can be perverted into prejudice, dogmatism, intolerance, and fear of The Other. Today's conservatives, despite how much they might claim that they're all for individualism and self-reliance, really do love big government as long as it purports to support their values. The plutocracy doesn't really give a damn about outlawing abortion, keeping same-sex couples from getting married, or putting up Christmas or 10 Commandment displays. Politicians in thrall to the ruling class know that as long as they keep saying that they're on the "right side" of these issues, they can keep promoting policies that only benefit the ruling class, even when those policies go directly against the interests of their supporters.A genuine Liberal, as far as I'm concerned, is someone who supports progressive and humanistic policies that value long term good for people and the planet over short-term profits for the few. If we had real Liberal politicians in power today, we'd be seeing more solar panels than strip mines, fewer laws that impose repressive religious values, more money going to universal health care and fewer tax cuts for the already absurdly wealthy. There are certainly a few typically Liberal policies that I think are muddleheaded and wrong, such as hate crime laws. For the most part, however, I can be pretty sure that whatever position a Conservative is going to take on an issue, I'm going to think that they're either wrong or really, really insanely wrong.There's my totally partisan point of view.

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I have no time for lies and fantasy, and neither should you. Enjoy or die.
-John Lydon

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Reality has a well-known liberal bias.
-Steven Colbert

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I never meant to say that the Conservatives are generally stupid. I meant to say that stupid people are generally Conservative. I believe that is so obviously and universally admitted a principle that I hardly think any gentleman will deny it.
- John Stuart Mill

Hi Coyote,Your libertarian flag is flying high, I see.Not a bad attempt, but I fail to see why we should consider Communism as so very rational. Any system that sounds that good in theory but is demonstrably impossible to implement in the real world seems best left on paper. I would also put Ayn Rand way down on the batshit crazy end of the spectrum, but that's just me. And was it really necessary to use the term "Welfare Liberal?"

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I have no time for lies and fantasy, and neither should you. Enjoy or die.
-John Lydon

​

Reality has a well-known liberal bias.
-Steven Colbert

​

I never meant to say that the Conservatives are generally stupid. I meant to say that stupid people are generally Conservative. I believe that is so obviously and universally admitted a principle that I hardly think any gentleman will deny it.
- John Stuart Mill