Introduction
Conservatives and liberals are very different. Conservatives choose beliefs that are based on sayings others and stick to those beliefs; while liberals investigate several sources of information and develop a belief based on the most reliable evidence. Conservatives are confident in rightness of their belief, while liberals seek examination of the evidence and are more flexible. Conservatives tend to trust their own beliefs, while liberals are more focused on objective reasoning and factual information. Conservatives are pessimistic about the future, while liberals believe that today is better than yesterday.
Main text
In terms of civil rights, conservatives believe that there in no racism or discrimination or sexism in the United States. Liberals, on the contrary, admit the fact that there are numerous incidents of discrimination and sexism which are reflected through glass ceiling, prison sentences, and racial profiling. Conservatives mark homosexuality as immoral behavior; conservatives do not support “special rights” to homosexuals. Homosexuality for liberals is not a matter of choice; liberals support protection of such rights as gay marriage and adoption. Notably, conservatives place economic rights above the other rights, while liberals admit the importance of economic rights but stress the greater importance of civil rights.
Conservatives follow a moral school of thoughts. For example, William Bennett, the most prominent conservative politician, promoted moral education, ethical values, and morality of behavior. Family values and fatherhood in particular are core principles of conservative politics. For example, conservatives oppose abortion because they believe in saving lives of unborn fetuses. Liberals, on the contrary, follow the modernity school of thoughts.
They believe that politics should be a reflection of societal changes. LIberals support welfare and education proposals to meet needs of special children; they support federal funding for AIDS research and treatment; they support environmental restrictions to preserve the natural resources; they promote the expansion of economy and emphasize the quality of opportunity.
In terms of economics, conservatives believe in firmly right-of center economic and social policy. Conservatives promote the belief that rich people deserve the money they have, while liberals accept the idea that they are many hardworking people who are not rich. For example, conservatives support cuts in capital gains taxes because they believe that these cuts help American society; liberals, on the contrary, assume that cuts in capital gains are beneficial for rich people only because they are empowered to avoid paying fair share of tax burden. From conservative standpoint, minimum wage law contributes to the unemployment growth. From liberal standpoint, reject this assumption.
Conclusion
Conservatives assume that welfare goes to the poorest people, while liberals know that only small portion is given to poor people. Conservatives believe in a free market, liberals do not believe in it and create tariffs and price supports.
Conservative support corporate monopolies and oppose antitrust laws; liberals believe that monopolies harm economic market in general. Liberals believe in importance of labor unions, conservatives oppose the right of union to go on strike. In addition, conservatives oppose the consumer rights protection, while for liberals consumers should be protected against corporations. Finally, conservatives think that privatization is the best solution to all problems of the American government. Liberals, on the contrary, propose that government is responsible to provide numerous social services.
Works Cited
Earling, Eric. “The Difference Between Liberals and Conservatives.” Online posting. 2006. Web.
Lakoff, George. Moral Politics: How Liberals and Conservatives Think. The University of Chicago Press, 2002.
Rex, T. “The Difference Between Conservatives and Liberals.” T. Rex’s Guide to Life: Politics. 2005. Web.