In your view, what is the difference between conservatives and liberals?
542329
I have heard two things that are laughable\n1. liberals only care about "I"\n2. liberals are out for money\n\nBut yet conservatives complain about tax and spend liberals? If we only cared our ourselves and money... wouldn't we cut taxes and keep more money for ourselves... the VAST majority of liberals are not on social programs... so we get nothing out of many of the programs we support?\n\nAnyway... to me the difference is:\n\nLiberals think the government can make a difference and help people. Give people a hand if they need it... maybe taxes will be a little higher, but if it helps someone, then it's worth it... liberals tend to dislike legislating morality...\n\nConservatives (traditionally, not so sure about Bush and Co.) think that less government is better and if you can't take care of yourself.. oh well... it's your own fault... the only thing government should do is protect the people... and you can't spend too much on weapons... conservatives lean toward legislating the morality of traditional Christian values...
1169852
I always remember that "left" originally meant "sinister" - so it is the Religious Right and the Liberal Leftist.  Traditionally Right is conservative and Left is Liberal.\n\nConservatives (right) are traditionally thought of as cautious, uncomfortable with too much government and are financially and/or religiously motivated.\n\nversus\n\nLiberals (left - I wonder who decided on these names...) are traditionally thought of as folks who think the government should take care of all it's people and will pass tax bills to pay for it.  They are more religiously tolerant (as long as you keep your religion to yourself) and more likely to try new things.  \n\nLiberals are thought to vote with their heart and Conservatives with their wallets.  Republicans are often considered Conservatives, while Liberals are usually the Democrats.\n\nI am more what you would call a Centerist (I can see some things are correct on both sides of the debate) and a Libertarian (I really think government should get out of our lives - if I had my way, the only law would be "If you damage someone else (physically, financially) you will be punished.  Otherwise, do what you want.")  I usually vote Democrat / Liberal.
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....
57518
Conservatives are Liberals who have been mugged;\nModerates are what Liberals claim they are;\nLibertarians are against any governmental restrictions;\n\nApathetic is just a state of mind -- they don't care
384
Sorry, here in Europe, liberal is not conservative...Is not left (actually, is center-right), but here in Europe, in the Center right has three families: Conservatives, Christian-Democrats and Liberals; and they are pretty differents.
1180644
Liberalism is based upon what makes you FEEL GOOD and it's the easiest type of political thought.\n\nConservatism is based upon doing what is right even if you don't feel good about having to do it. It requires the use of logic rather than emotion when making important decisions.
98575
You're going to get some real heat over this question. Conservatives will say you are not entitled to your opinions. Whenever a liberal administration takes over, you will see the world will step back from the brink.  I just pray we don't get past the 'tipping point' (see link). \nConservatives care about conservatives, but liberals care about everyone.
470461
Liberals (Democrats) as they're called in the States are actually not followers of traditional liberalism. Classical liberalism is more closely followed by Libertarians and some factions of the Republican party. Extreme liberalism can be seen in some forms of anarcho-capitalism or anarchy. Just so you know.\n\nAnyway, conservatives are for the protection of a traditional way of life, of the status quo, of stability. Conservatives are therefore against any social upheaval or change. Conservatives feel that too much change is dangerous, destabilizing, and ultimately the death of a society, and that a strong government is needed to protect the people, even if it means restricting freedom somewhat.\n\nModerates see the value in both. They agree that change is necessary and that freedom is important and that both can be beneficial, but that full-blown anarchy is not desirable and that the government can actually help the protection of freedom.
977040
Both refer to philosophical positions, but are usually applied to political movements that embody those philosophies.\n\nLiberals favor growth, change, flexibility. They tend to be more dynamic and driven, but often less organized. In the political arena, liberals favor progressive reform and the protection of civil liberties.\n\nConservatives favor tradition, conformity, and slow (if any) change. They tend to be more organized, but occasionally stagnant. In politics, this can be split between those who seek minimal government interference with minimal government social programs, and those who want heavy government regulation to ensure national conformity.
270902
From what I have seen, liberals are a lot more emotional than conservatives. They seem to get angry a lot easier. I also agree with what tony said. Especially the part about changing their ways when they get out on their own. It reminds me of a quote from Winston Churchill, "Any man who is under 30, and is not a liberal, has no heart; and any man who is over 30, and is not a conservative, has no brains."
55857
Liberals. Because they are aware of the Conservative movement sweeping the nation and there is nothing they can do about it.
699164
Conservatives are pro-business. Conservatives believe in lower taxes for the wealthiest (even if the result is government deficit spending) in the belief that the wealthy will invest that money in the stock market and businesses will hire more people with the additional investment. Conservatives do not believe in environmental regulations that can cause businesses to spend more money to keep pollutants out of the air. Conservatives believe in government regulation of peoples lives (such as abortion and laws against gay people).\n\nLiberals believe in higher taxes for the wealthiest to redistribute the wealth in the form of government services such as welfare for those living in poverty. Until welfare reform in the 1990s, the welfare system in the United States was often abused by those who were not truly needy. Liberals believe in environmental regulation and a cleaner environment, even if businesses have to install equipment to release less pollutants into the atmosphere. Liberals believe in less government interference in peoples personal lives (such as laws allowing abortion and laws protecting people from discrimination).\n\nAlthough most Americans are registered with the Conservative Republican Party or with the Liberal Democratic Party, many Americans do not always vote for the candidate of their party's choosing. These 'cross-over" voters combined with Independent voters result in federal elections that are often decided by slim margins.
411992
political viewpoints tend to get divided. i am an economic liberal which comes awfully close to communism because i believe in sharing the wealth and helping out your neighbor. However i am a moral conservative because i am against things like gay rights, immigration, and lots of other political questions that fall on the moral side.
779326
In terms of political orientation, there IS no hard and fast definition of what a "liberal" is. The definition of who is "liberal" (or conservative for that matter) and for what reasons has varied throughout history, and varries from country to country, and also from person to person. It's all very subjective.
214486
Veeery generaly speaking, the Left (liberal) and Right (conservative) of politics came out of the French Revolution.\n\nAt that time, the Left was more concerned with laws that protect people's rights, and the conservatives are more concerned with laws that protect property.  \n\nFrom this, the traditional Liberal and Conservatives have arisen.  No one politican or person exemplifies what the TRUE definition of the words are, but issue by issue, the sides of politics have been created by these factions.\n\nIf you ask me, the terms liberal and conservative are meaningless, because they can't capture the entire persons views, and a person who describes themselves as a dem, repub, liberal or conservative is doing an injustice to the political process.\n\nAll politicians agree that its not about sides, its about issues.  Not about teams, its about debate and progress.
79658
To take a definition from Ambrose Bierce, creator of the first dictionary...\n\nConservative, n. A statesman enamored of existing evils, as opposed to a Liberal, who wants to replace them with new ones\n\n------\n\nThe question is too difficult to answer because both sides are going to skew it towards their own beliefs and ideas.\n\nSocial conservatives lean more towards tradition and personal responsibility, whereas social liberals are progressive in ideals and believe more in societal involvement.\n\nEconomic conservatives favor free markets, limited government and money to the people to use as they see necessary. Economic liberals like government fiscal control and money to the government to use as it deems necessary.\n\nThe most important thing is remembering that conservatives and liberals are political philosophies, whereas Democrats and Republicans are political parties.
548138
If you used the dictionary definition of a liberal, most conservatives would want to be liberals, or would think they already are liberals:\n\n"marked by generosity and openhandedness, broad-minded, tolerant, bountiful, munificent" and so forth.  All except the part "lacking moral restraint, licentious" applies equally to conservatives.\n\nGood question, because I don't think a liberal defines himself the way a conservative defines a liberal.  And vice versa.