Can anyone give me a concise definition of “Liberal” and “Conservative” without resorting to insults or namecalling?
I would define Liberal as: An attitude not limited to or by established, traditional, orthodox, or authoritarian attitudes, views or dogmas while at the same time favoring proposals for reform, open to new ideas for progress, and tolerant of the ideas and behavior of others and being broad-minded. . I would define conservative as: An attitude favoring traditional views and values; tending to oppose change while being traditional or restrained, moderate and cautious in style. . These are strictly language definitions and have nothing to do with politics.
A concise, very brief but still accurate and comprehensive definition of both is not possible. It takes pages upon pages to fully define and explain both. To give a very very simple general defintion: Liberal – A person who holds the belief that it is the aim of politics to preserve individual rights and to maximise freedom of choice. Conservative – A person who conscribes to the political philosophy which aspires to the preservation of what is thought to be the best in established society, and opposes radical change such as is found in some forms of feminism, ecologism, radical democratic theory and some human rights doctrines – yet it is also kept alive by these very doctrines and theories.
Liberal politicians/officials tend to be more liberal with everyone else’s money than conservatives are. Just a general rule, not set in stone. But, it is more than economics. There are fiscal conservatives who are social liberals, and vise-versa. There are liberal and conservative interpreters of the Constitution. There are liberal Republicans and conservative Democrats. The whole thing is really pretty blurry. That is one reason I am an independant voter. I may vote for a candidate of one party in my home district for state senator, and one from another party for the US Congress. I look at the individual’s record and what I think of them as a person.
