What is the difference between a "liberal" & "conservative" ?
440579
Well, let's see.\n\nA liberal wants to preserve the limited powers of the government, and conservatives want to have a strong central goverment that can protect the country against foreign aggression.\n\nNo wait, that's backwards ...\n\nLiberals want to stop Congress from deficit spending, and conservatives want to continue to fund military-related projects and spend far more than is in the Treasury.\n\nNo wait, that's backwards too ...\n\nLiberals want to protect a citizen's right to worship as he pleases without government interference, and conservatives want to set the Ten Commandments into Federal law.\n\nGee, now I'm really confused.  Seems liberals and conservatives are all mixed up these days ...\n\nI think you should go back to the sixties and seventies, when liberals were the party of affirmative action, school desegregation, and welfare, and conservatives were the party of fiscal responsibility and anti-Communism -- and the world made sense.\n\n(Sorry, I know I'm being a little sarcastic and you're probably just a kid who doesn't understand any of this stuff.  But government is a weird place these days)
1066265
Broadminded and conservative are mutually exclusive terms.  Conservatives have a set of beliefs that narrow their outlook, and their minds are by nature geared to have a narrow outlook and to want a narrow outlook.  They thrive having their minds restricted by authoritarian ideologies like religion, law-and-order, and other such prescribing dictates.  They are very uncomfortable with personal liberty management, and that is why they fight so constantly to get enforcement of prescribing rules and regulations.  It looks like they want everyone to go by what they believe, and that sure would be fine with them, but what really motivates them is their own need to escape the frightening personal liberty management issues that broadminded people handle well and enjoy.\n\nSo you can tell if you are broadminded or conservative by how well you deal with personal liberty, how threatened you are by non-standard and traditional life-styles, how much liberty you are willing to tolerate other people having.
181391
Depends on what definition of liberal u mean. Economic or Social? Social liberalism means a political philosophy of progress and reform and the protection of civil liberties whereas economic liberalism means an economic theory of laissez-faire and self-regulating markets (otherwise known as capitalism). Lookin at it from a purely economic point of view the US is a helluva lot more BLOODY liberal than we are! All i can say is thank god i live in the UK!
614886
I think it's that the opposite of liberal is conservative.  Conservatives favor the ways and institutions of the past, and would like to revert to them.  And many republicans are conservatives.  Their ideal is therefor the polar opposite of liberals.  And no, I don't think there's anything wrong with liberals, both keeping an open mind and respecting the past seem like good ideas to me.  That's why I couldn't be a member of the press.  I make too much sense and am too respectful of other peoples opinions.
743220
The differences have become less pronounced over the past several decades, but if you want the differences between real conservatives and real liberals, then they are many.\n\nReal conservatives believe that the federal government should only do what it is specifically authornized to do in the constitution.  They believe that the military is one of the few areas where federal spending is appropriate.  Anything not specifically assigned to the federal government should be handled by the states, county or local government, and preferably by individuals themselves or their neighbors or church or private charity.  Liberals seem to disagree with that heirarchy of responsibility.\n\nConservatives embrace religion and feel it should be an important part of private and public life.  Liberals seem to think religion should be a strictly private matter and not be seen in public at all.\n\nConservatives believe abortion is a horrible evil, and should be stopped, except perhaps in the unfortunate situations of rape, incest or where abortion is necessary to save the life of the mother.  Liberals feel that abortion is simply a medical procedure to remove unwanted cells from a womans body, akin to removing a mole or having a tooth pulled.\n\nConservatives believe that this country is founded on freedom and equality only in opportunity.  Liberals seem to value equality more and feel that where equality doesn't exist, it should be forced into being by a progressive tax code, which takes money from the "rich" and gives it to the poor.\n\nThe biggest difference is empowering people and private enterprise vs. empowering government.
1110600
Though I am not a liberal, I have found that wacko conservatives are more stubborn know it alls than are liberals. Personally, I think both are retarded, but that's just the opinion of a hard line moderate.
823395
The two major political parties are the Democratic and the Republican Parties. Words like Liberal, Conservative, and Moderate refer to what a person wants his government to do, whether he wants a huge government or a smaller one. \n\nDemocrats can be Liberal, Moderate, or Conservative.  So can Republicans. During the past 25 years or so, most Democrats have been Liberals, and most Republicans have been Conservatives. \n\nLiberals generally want a government that does practically everything for the individual and the family. They are perfectly willing to enact higher taxes, and have an extremely large government, with lots of rules, lots of departments, and lots of employees, if that's what it takes.  \n\nConservatives believe individuals and families are strong, independent, and can fend for themselves without a lot of help from the government.  So they believe in a smaller government with limited powers and functions. They believe the government should do only those things that the individual and the family cannot do for itself.  Examples are national defense and building roads. \n\nYou have asked a great question.  I suggest you surf the internet to find more information.
1030259
Conservatives are typically protection-minded, as in typically protective of the country and our way of life. Liberals tend to do a lot of america-bashing, they hate this, they hate that, they have a 'favorite minority of the month' kind of thing, they care more about starving kids somewhere else than starving kids in america, that kind of thing...their focus is more on 'the poor' and some other country than on fixing america....
527964
.... liberal means you want a change... which means you want someone else in office and don't agree with him.. \n\nliberal = you want change...
591521
The deal is: "Freedom of speech goes both ways"\n\nPeople not only have a right to say pretty much what they want, other people have a right to object, argue & even ask for an apology. \n\nA liberal says something, a conservative objects & the conservative is bashed for 'violating a person's freedom of speech.' \n\nA conservative says something, a liberal objects, and conservatives either let it drop there or defend the original statement on its merit.\n\nSo who is really against freedom of speech;\n\nThe conservative who asks a liberal for an apology for an offensive statement, or the liberal who acts like you aren't allowed to express the fact your offended by a statement?
704310
Democrats are liberals and they like gay marriages and abortion.\nRepublicans are conservatives but they like war just like the invasion of Iraq.
856238
I am having a hard time telling the difference is political correctness, welfare, social security, education, and peace the agenda of liberals or conservatives.... I think this country spends way to much time taking care of those who don't take care of themselves.  I am a christian, but if I am going to have to conform to the new world order and become modern and culturally sensitive and think that I evolved from a monkey and that only the strong survive and the week perrish and sometimes its not natural for mothers to give birth because they have other plans then, why not just convert to that dogma and do what I want where I want any way I want as long as I can get away with it because the only person I have to answer to are the authorities and there not that good at their jobs. Why should anyone do anything if there is no design or purpose. If it is all just a big accident of a natural process beyond my control and there is no hope... Why not just live it up and get it over with and take drugs and life support til we can't be kept alive any longer. That is much more natural of a state for mankind in his polluted environment of advancement and civilization.\n\nthe only true christian civilization I have seen in a community in my life time is perhaps Amish people....  try to understand that
320757
Liberal is the opposite of Conservative.  Libertarian is the opposite of Authoritarian.   Libertarianism means giving power to the people.  Meaning a small government, with few laws.  Liberal, on the economic scale, means a regulated economy, as opposed to a deregulated economy.  \n\nIt's kind of confusing, but they explain it well at http://www.politicalcompass.org
292456
Liberal is a way of thinking and not related to a specific poltical agenda or party. Democrat is an actual political party that one registers to be a part of..Yes many liberals are Democrats but many arent as well.. I consider myself liberal but am closer to a Libertarian than anything else yet I remain registered 'non-partisan' so I dont have to be stuck in the dogmatic agenda of a specific party..Plus I can vote for whoever I want and actually vote on the issues and not just the party..Hope this helped..
102926
A neo-conservative is someone who was liberal in the 1960s and 1970s but turned to conservatism when they were disillisioned with American liberalism and where it was taking America.Most neo-cons, are highly educated and were in high positions of authority in the 1960s and 1970s.\n  A conservative is someone who were supporters of the 1968 campaign of Barry Goldwater for the Republican nomination.It goes without saying that these same people supported Reagan in 1980 and 1984. Most conservative became that way during the Reagan years.
909497
I spent a lot of time on this answer, so I do hope you'll read it.\n\nDisclaimer: I come down firmly in the liberal camp.\n\nThe major differences, in my mind, are in 1) how government should give economic assistance, 2) where the focus ought to be in terms of social issues, and 3) whether ideology or reality ought to ruel.\n\n1) Economics\nConservatives believe that the government is a necessary evil, and that any enforcement of the "social contract" through taxes, "entitlement programs," and business regulation ought to be minimal. They believe a freer market is a better market.\nLiberals believe that the government is the mechanism by which the people of a country achieve their vision of a fair playing field. They believe that government should regulate business and help the less fortunate get a foothold, and they believe that taxes are necessary to allow public works to go forward. They believe a fairer market is a better market.\n\n2) Social issues\nConservatives look to the past and to tradition to determine what is moral. They balk at change and feel that the country has a duty to prevent the degeneration of morals. They want to spend time on issues such as abortion, same-sex marriage, euthanasia, and decency in the media. Many of them interpret the words of the Founding Fathers to mean the Founders were staunch Christians who believed the country should have  Christian values.\nLiberals look at the world through a prism of social justice. They feel that the relevant question is "Who is helped or hurt by this?" and bristle at "It's always been this way" as an excuse for an unsustainable argument. Many of them interpret the words of the Founding Fathers to mean the Founders were deists who believed the country should base itself on nondenominational, social-justice values. They want to spend time on issues such as equal rights, poverty, and peace.\n\n3) Ideology\nThis distinction is a tad fuzzier than others, but it's worth mentioning.\nFor the most part, conservatives lean on morality to make distinctions about policy. Certain concepts are morally right and therefore policies based on those concepts are untouchable. Thus, opposing policies must necessarily be not just wrong, but evil. (This is how you come to the conclusion that having liberals in power would lead to chaos in destruction - not because you have judged the policy proposals by liberals ineffective, but because they are not in line with the conservatives' proposals and must therefore have the opposite effect.)\nLiberals draw from the social-justice template and are interested in what has been proven to be effective or ineffective. They are interested in empirical proof rather than statements of ideology, and believe that opposing policy proposals are not necessarily evil. However, liberals do see as evil the compromising of those basic social-justice principals, and thus the rescinding of habeas corpus, the use of so-called alternative interrogation techniques, and the launching of military action without a UN resolution are highly offensive.\n\nI hope this helped you understand our side. Please feel free to correct me if  you feel I've misrepresented you.
877930
A demorcrat would be a Liberal.  In fact, in America, Republicans are often referred to as conservatives and Deamocrats are often referred to as Liberals.  I hope this helps.  Blessings to you.