No no... "occt" asks a fair question I suppose, for the politically uninitiated.
I'm not going to get mired in writing you a term paper on what I think liberals and conservatives are, but this article by David Gelernter has always been one of my favorites:
http://www.benadorassociates.com/article/2282
It addresses not only what a liberal and a conservative is, but a Republican and a Democrat, from my perspective.
'ppreciate your openness, Headless....willingness to engage without fear. Admirable quality. Try this: liberals are moral relativists; that is we believe that moral values can - and should - change with changing times. Furthermore that morality is ultimately a matter of personal responsibility, personal choices. Conservatives believe that morality is a fixed ethos that needs to be written down, enforced and preserved; that the values of right and wrong are bigger and more enduring than any one generation and our responsibility is not one of choosing, but of obeying.
How that translates into contemporary political philosophy is this: Liberals and Conservatives alike agree that democratic government is an extension of the person, in large numbers, but an extension of the person nonetheless and therefore a reflection of those differing concepts of morality. Liberals believe that government is OK on its own, because we believe that the individual is OK on his or her own. Conservatives are fearful of government - even hateful toward it because they suspect that it is not bound by the bigger moral strictures that y'all feel is needed to contain the individual.
Now, as to Democrats and Republicans...that's easy. Democrats tax and spend, Republicans borrow and spend.
7 comments:
I'm curious, Headless, rhetoric aside, how do you define "liberal" and "conservative". It matters if you are going to use the words.
And after you answer that baited question, Headless (rhetoric aside)... let us know how do you define peanut butter and jelly?
Get out of this blog you America hating liberal! You define it you jerk! We have to do all the work for you losers!
wow!...feeling vulnerable?
y'all?
No no... "occt" asks a fair question I suppose, for the politically uninitiated.
I'm not going to get mired in writing you a term paper on what I think liberals and conservatives are, but this article by David Gelernter has always been one of my favorites:
http://www.benadorassociates.com/article/2282
It addresses not only what a liberal and a conservative is, but a Republican and a Democrat, from my perspective.
It essentially breaks down to this:
Conservatives are American and proud.
Liberals are American and ashamed.
'ppreciate your openness, Headless....willingness to engage without fear. Admirable quality. Try this: liberals are moral relativists; that is we believe that moral values can - and should - change with changing times. Furthermore that morality is ultimately a matter of personal responsibility, personal choices. Conservatives believe that morality is a fixed ethos that needs to be written down, enforced and preserved; that the values of right and wrong are bigger and more enduring than any one generation and our responsibility is not one of choosing, but of obeying.
How that translates into contemporary political philosophy is this: Liberals and Conservatives alike agree that democratic government is an extension of the person, in large numbers, but an extension of the person nonetheless and therefore a reflection of those differing concepts of morality. Liberals believe that government is OK on its own, because we believe that the individual is OK on his or her own. Conservatives are fearful of government - even hateful toward it because they suspect that it is not bound by the bigger moral strictures that y'all feel is needed to contain the individual.
Now, as to Democrats and Republicans...that's easy. Democrats tax and spend, Republicans borrow and spend.
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