I once read a short article that posed this question and I thought it might be fun to discuss here.

In US politics, we generally label Democrats as “liberal” and Republicans as “conservative.”

If liberalism means favoring change and conservatives favor the preservation of the status quo, do these labels really fit either party all the time?

Or does the party “in power” represent conservative belief/status quo for that day? Would that mean the party promoting change from any current administration are the rabble-rousers of the day and by default, the change agents/liberals?

I know this is all a matter of semantics and probably doesn’t matter one way or the other, but it was an interesting twist of interpretation that I thought was worth exploring.

I’d like to think I’m neither liberal or conservative, but some happy blend of both depending on the circumstances, the issue, what I view as the best possible (long term) outcome for the most people.

How do you identify yourself and why?

I'm slightly right middle of the road

like most people, a little bit liberal on some stuff and a little bit conservative on other stuff

liberal and conservative are subjective

Texas Democrats are more conservative than Massachusets Republicans

How do you identify yourself and why?



Awesome!!!

Why?

Why not!

I fit closest to the blue dog dems. I am liberal on social change and more conservative on economic issues. But I am not as hard nosed.

also

liberalism and conservatism have evolved from their classical definition and have become knee jerk connotative labels that bear little resemblance to their original definitions

according to the classical definition I would be a liberal. But liberals (and conservatives) don't have a lot in common with the classical definition

A few months ago someone posted a questionaire you could do to see where you fall in those catagories.
I can't find it.

I don't like to label myself as anything. Though, I'm with Tanya, I tend to be more liberal socially and more conservative financially. I think most people are far more "middle" than anything else, but it's our society which essentially forces them to label themselves as one thing or another. Then, we're all stuck with the negative connotations the label brings with it.

Plus, the older I get, the less I realize I "know." My point of view is ever evolving on many things because the more I learn, the more information I have and the more I realize that nothing in this world is as black and white as we would like it to be.

yep search would be nice

i am

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I don't even remember what they called the test.

me neither

i printed the result and scanned it lol

classical liberalism (in America) has been replaced with "leftist" philosophy

classical Liberalism would be defined as,

Liberalism (from the Latin liberalis, suitable for a free man) is the belief in the importance of individual freedom. This belief is widely accepted today throughout the world, and was recognized as an important value by many philosophers throughout history. The Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius wrote praising "the idea of a polity administered with regard to equal rights and equal freedom of speech, and the idea of a kingly government which respects most of all the freedom of the governed"

Liberalism comes in many forms. According to James L. Richardson, in Contending Liberalisms in World Politics: Ideology and Power, there are three main divisions within liberalism. The first is elitism versus democracy. The second is over economic questions. The third is the question of extending liberal principles to the disadvantaged.

The rule of law and equality before the law are fundamental to liberalism. Government authority may only be legitimately exercised in accordance with laws that are adopted through an established procedure. Another aspect of the rule of law is an insistence upon the guarantee of an independent judiciary, whose political independence is intended to act as a safeguard against arbitrary rulings in individual cases. The rule of law includes concepts such as the presumption of innocence, no double jeopardy, and Habeas Corpus. Rule of law is seen by liberals as a guard against despotism and as enforcing limitations on the power of government. In the penal system, liberals in general reject punishments they see as inhumane, including capital punishment

Economic liberals today stress the importance of a free market and free trade, and seek to limit government intervention in both the domestic economy and foreign trade. Social liberal movements often agree in principle with the idea of free trade, but maintain some skepticism, seeing unrestricted trade as leading to the growth of multi-national corporations and the concentration of wealth and power in the hands of the few. In the post-war consensus on the welfare state in Europe, liberals supported government responsibility for health, education, and alleviating poverty while still calling for a market based on independent exchange. Liberals agree that a high quality of health care and education should be available for all citizens, but differ in their views on the degree to which governments should supply these benefits. Liberal movements seek a balance between individual responsibility and community responsibility. In particular, liberals favor special protection for the handicapped, the sick, the disabled, and the aged

that would seem all well and good but the modern liberals have pushed beyond all that and have become more radical leftists


In politics, left-wing, political left, leftist and the Left are terms used to describe a number of positions and ideologies. They are most commonly used to refer to support for changing traditional social orders or for creating a more egalitarian distribution of wealth and privilege. Nevertheless the terms have been used for different things in different countries.

-wiki (sorry Il eft that out)

I took that one too... IIRC, I was one up and one left of the bottom right corner. Translation: uber-libertarian/borderline anarchist.

I would have said the same thing but you beat me to it. I am liberal socially and mostly conservative in my own life financially.

Quite I think is right as well in the sense that I can't tell a conservative from the religious right. When I started paying attention to politics they were one and the same to me. I am still confused on that...

Took that one too. Was only slightly surprised to find myself on slightly right, but close to the center.

I find it amusing, though, that no matter the position, people usually think of themselves as 'middle of the road'..... even if they are pretty far left or right.

yeah the classical deinition of conservative bears little resemblance to what we term conservative nowadays

I wanted to post the differences but I'm late for dialysis and dont have time. Maybe someone else can do it (without partisan spin and propaganda). hmmm prolly not

I'll try later

I think the angrier the moderate liberals or moderate conservative become the more radical and extemist their ideals become.

Example: Both left and right have refered to our recent and present leaders as fascist dictators with the ultimate design to destroy this country. And the similarities between the two goes on further yet but the point is that both parties have done the same thing that the other one did and for the same reason.

I do not label myself and do not trust others to label me either. I am unaffiliated on my voter registration. It is not because I do not want to commit to any party it is that I am just not that simple to define.

I think you're pretty on-point here. While I think most people truly are somewhere in the middle of extremes, there's usually one issue that pushes their "hot button." And when that happens, they tend to identify more with one extreme or the other, at least temporarily, and sometimes, permanently, depending on the issue/person.

That's one thing that confuses me, who are those that are calling this administration fascists? Is that the extreme right or the extreme left? Damn I hate politics.

It's just name calling. Sticks and stones and all that stuff. When someone is close to making a change and the oppositing group doesn't like it, there is always name calling!

Both, it just depends on which party is in office in the majority at any given time