Running head: LIBERALISM VS.

CONSERVATISM POLITICAL IDEOLOGIES 1

Liberalism Vs. Conservatism Political Ideologies

Student’s Name

Institutional Affiliation
LIBERALISM VS. CONSERVATISM POLITICAL IDEOLOGIES 2

Compare and Contrast Liberalism and Conservatism Political Ideologies

Liberalism and conservatism have existed since the advent of democracy as the two

major political and social doctrines. Both possess views and solutions to problems regarding

human nature and the organization of the economy. These political ideologies have points and

opinions of any government's function in a democratic country. The basic principles are the same

as the onset of the doctrines, although the views shift over the years. There are differences and

similarities to both political thoughts as they provide suggestions and explanations for solutions

to most societal problems. There are numerous distinct degrees of conservatism and liberalism

since most individuals get labeled. Some people are extreme and radical, while others have fair

territory in opinions and views as the epithet liberal or conservative is majorly used in politics to

describe the economic and political affiliations and beliefs.

Political philosophies structure policy choices and debates; for instance, the two main

political parties in the US, the republican and Democratic, are parallel with conservative and

liberal ideologies, respectively. The principles affect policy debates that frequently cover the

proper level of government involvement and intervention in social or economic behavior. Even

though there exists a robust relationship between an individual's principle and their choice of a

political party as numerous Canadians, for example, hold a variety of views on social and

economic issues that do not necessarily correspond well on to a simple continuum. In political

history, the fundamental and abiding matter is the democracy in individualism and collectivism.

The most paramount questions are the individuals' rights for the pursuit of happiness, as evident

in the Declaration of Independence or the obligation of individuals to exist and live for the state

or community as claimed throughout history.

Social aspects regarding the nature of human beings and society

LIBERALISM VS. CONSERVATISM POLITICAL IDEOLOGIES 3

Liberalism claims to ensure the provision of high priority to supremacy and freedom of

individuals. It significantly asserts that human beings are good-natured. An individual's

superiority, according to liberalism, is the most crucial aspect. Liberals respect the pluralism in

which individuals with different ethics and beliefs view as right. It is an essential liberal principle

that most individuals are rational creatures, signifying that humans do not function on instinct

but can make calculated pronouncements. The rationalist way of discernment results in the view

that people can mold their distinct personal lives (Baltes & Smelser, 2004). The thought has

support on the fact that human beings are free-thinking as though reason, they can seek self-

realization and fulfillment. Liberalism argues for equal voting rights, for instance, focusing on

the rationalism of humans; thus, the female population can use political power as much as their

male counterparts. Liberals promote the merits of the provision of freedom to humans with no

social interference.

The supreme freedom of a human person is viewed as classical liberalism and recently on

a more conventional way of liberalism established as modern liberalism. Modern liberalism

provides a clear involvement view of the state and perceives individual or personal freedom as

self-realization and self-development. Classical liberalism advocated for the idea of ‘minimal

state,’ focusing on protecting the individual and later improved significantly to a modern view of

acknowledging a particular state's assistance. The liberal principle that people are capable of

reason infers that each human being should experience maximum freedom consistent with a

similar liberty for all. However, even though humans are "born equal' in the aspect of their

equality in moral worth and should encounter equal opportunities and formal equality (Sterling,

Jost & Hardin, 2019). Liberalism generally emphasizes that people should get rewards conferring

to their different degrees of willingness and talent to perform their roles, thus, favoring the
LIBERALISM VS. CONSERVATISM POLITICAL IDEOLOGIES 4

ideology of meritocracy. Hence, a liberal state has a characteristic of pluralism and diversity,

getting the political organization of constitutionalism and consent values, which link to form

liberal democracy.

Conservatism holds the belief that societies are faulty and imperfect; thus, it can not be

considered as good. The main themes in the aspect of human nature and community in

conservatism are the ideology of human imperfection, tradition, authority, organic society, and

property. Conservatives argue that humans are emotionally and psychologically weak and are,

therefore, dependent creatures (Baltes & Smelser, 2004). They mistrust individual responsibility

regarding behavior, thus advocating for authoritarian command over people. Conservatism

favors a stable society that possesses the role of maintaining law and order. Moreover, it is

against the redistribution of resources, the wish to conserve, and resistance to change; thus,

uneasiness with pluralism. The resistance to change is recurrent, and conservatives have a unique

way to uphold their position due to the belief of tradition that gets reflected in the accumulated

wisdom of old, practices, and institutions tested and approved by time.

Additionally, conservatism perceives human nature in a pessimistic way. Conservatives

view human beings as security -seeking, dependent, and limited creatures, morally corrupt,

stained by the hunger for power, greed, and selfishness. They also see human rationality with an

inability to survive with the world's immeasurable complexity thus, the conservative doctrine in

pragmatism and the preference for the description of conservatism principles as the 'mind's

attitude' and not an ideology (Sassoon, 2000). The reliance that the state should be perceived as

an organic signifies that values and institutions arise by natural necessity and should get

conserved to protect the fragile society. Conservatism understands authority as the source of
LIBERALISM VS. CONSERVATISM POLITICAL IDEOLOGIES 5

social cohesion that gives individuals a sense of their identity and what is required of them,

reflecting the hierarchical nature of the societal institutions. According to conservatives, the

property provides individuals the security and degree of independence from the state while

encouraging respect for the law and others’ property.

Key political values

Liberalism is the most influential conceptual force structuring the Western dogmatic

tradition. Indeed, several individuals depict it as the thought of the industrialized West and give

its identity with the general Western civilization. Early liberalism showed the objectives of the

upcoming working middle class, and capitalism and liberalism got intrinsically linked.

Moreover, old liberalism served as a political doctrine as it focused on supporting

constitutionalism, lately the representative government, by fighting against feudal privilege and

absolutism (Sterling, Jost & Hardin, 2019). Classical liberalism adorned laissez-faire capitalism

virtues and attacked all kinds of government intervention. However, social liberalism sprouted, a

constituent of modern liberalism, and focused more on economic intervention and welfare

reform. Modern liberalism increasingly collapsed all viable market capitalism substitutes,

resulting in a commercial organization, thus liberal democracy, which is the foundation of

political organization.

Political liberals have a common belief that parties with motivation from self-interest

have a willingness to conduct themselves in ways that are lethal to the social order unless the

government is empowered and prepared to constrain the involved parties. Liberalism has the

perception that regulation gets demanded when humans, industries, and corporations depict a

willingness to chase fiscal gain at an unacceptable and intolerable cost to society, and vastly
LIBERALISM VS. CONSERVATISM POLITICAL IDEOLOGIES 6

grow to a point where other social institutions cannot restrain them (Baltes & Smelser, 2004).

Liberals trust in systematic shields from environmental pollution, harmful consumer products,

and dangerous workplaces. Liberalism remains cautious of historical abuses and corruption,

especially the subjugation of political minorities that take place due to the lack of oversight for

local authorities and the state in general. It further believes in the promotion of public welfare

through the cultivation of a massively permissive and tolerant society.

Subsequently, conservatism ideology shows significant divisions. Paternalistic

conservatism attracts the blend of the forethought and idea in the argument that revolution from

'down' is not as desirable as reform from 'top.' That rich should take care of the less well-off; the

price of privilege is the responsibility. Such concepts got mostly expressed by Benjamin Disraeli,

a tradition that sufficiently advanced to One Nation conservatism (Sassoon, 2000). The ideas

further advocated for a ‘middle way’ tactic to state-market correlation, giving capable support to

welfarism and economic management. Authoritarian conservatism is mainly reactionary and

autocratic, emphasizing that the government from the top is the distinctive way of the

establishment of order. Thus, the ideology contrast with the more pragmatic and modern Anglo-

American conservatism. Libertarian conservatism promotes the most significant economic

liberty and least government rule of social life, resonating the laissez-faire liberalism, although

harnessing the thought in a more conservative, traditional social philosophy that has an emphasis

on the significance of duty and authority. The tradition provides the foundation for political

values and New Right theories.

Political conservatives have the belief that commercial control renders more danger than

benefits, unnecessarily commandeering political freedoms, possibly stifling transformative

LIBERALISM VS. CONSERVATISM POLITICAL IDEOLOGIES 7

advancements and naturally resulting in more regulatory interference. Conservatism endorses the

retrenchment pf political participation in non-commercial societal facets as well as encouraging

the private sector to undertake their activities (Alexander, 2014). Conservatives advocate for the

decentralization of power to the states and the certainty in locally-customized solutions as more

suitable to local problems. They further promulgate personal obligation and trust a healthy

society created by citizens that can stand on their own. Conservatism values the military and

armed forces and stresses faith as they firmly believe in the benefits of stability in the promotion

of law and order for the protection of the status quo.

Most desirable institutional arrangements

Institutional Liberalism does not provide the potential of continuous growth but a basis of

hope for progression linked with institutional controls against regression. Power remains vital,

although institutions aid to tame it, and states whose leaders pursue both to use and maintain

power should pay attention to matters regarding legitimacy (Alexander, 2014). In liberalism,

moralism and legalism flourish, even though the coherence and inclusiveness of multilateral

institutions suffer. Individuals need to preach and profess both concepts than to figure out the

formation of coalitions that create and uphold comprehensible multilateral institutions to provide

solutions to the main challenges of today. The fact that the institutions are not infallible is a

warning than a motivation to build them on as stable foundations as possible.

The liberal school of political thought has the preference of viewing society as an

assemblage of nonconformists with the ability to undertake intentional decisions. The primary

source of the theories is the classical liberals who set about assuring individuals of the ultimate

freedom possible. Despite the necessity for the state to implement the order, the human person
LIBERALISM VS. CONSERVATISM POLITICAL IDEOLOGIES 8

should carry the ability to move their lives (Sterling, Jost & Hardin, 2019). Liberalism advocates

that the state should stand with the protection of people's natural rights and more significantly

respect them though the least interference. It further stresses the importance of freedom of

practicing any religion of one's choice and freedom of speech.

Conservatism's social institutions are a type of capital. Institutions are sprawling masses

of thought patterns, and social arrangements passed down from generation to another as part and

parcel of the culture. Conservatives have the belief that society's establishment has a basis on a

variety of institutions such as the family and the church. Conservatism ideology is fragile and

should get conserved as a society that lacks it will fall into tyranny and anarchy (Sassoon, 2000).

Even though the institutions can accommodate incremental improvements around the

boundaries, systematic interrogative is a risk to social order. Mainly, the rational idea is evil. A

sensible thought is dangerous for a conservative as individuals that reason might decide to

attempt the replacement of inherited and traditional institutions with new ones, a view that is

regarded as impossible by conservatives (Baltes & Smelser, 2004). Thus, the term "conservative"

originates from the supposed significance of the conservation of established institutions as

individuals cannot reengineer the entire human society overnight.

Even so, the dispute regarding institutions’ conservation is mostly untrue. Numerous

institutions are less delicate and more energetic than conservatism claims. Most of the

institutional innovation happens in every single generation. If humans lack rational scrutiny of

institutions, that is generally an invention of conservatism. Although conservatives

archeologically argue to preserve institutions, history makes it explicit that conservatism only

focuses on saving specific types of institutions, particularly those that strengthen conservative
LIBERALISM VS. CONSERVATISM POLITICAL IDEOLOGIES 9

power (Sterling, Jost & Hardin, 2019). Conservatism hardly attempts to save institutions such as

welfare and Social Security that reduce the people's reliance on the gentry and any social

authorities it serves. Divergently, they epitomize those institutions in several perverse ways as

harmful to their beneficiaries or the social order.

Conclusion

There exist similarities in some Liberals and Conservatives concerning problems in the

West. Both political concepts incline to accept that adversities in human nature may have a

responsibility; liberals suggest humans are selfish and susceptible to exploit others, and

conservatives believe that human beings are immoral. The thoughts are generalizations of

humanity, an inappropriate consideration due to the complexity of each human. Through the

comparison of both ideologies on their perceptions and philosophies on the current issues, it is

fundamental that they have contrasting opinions on human nature but provides similar views.

Both ideologies depict diminutive commitment to social responsibility mirrored in the agreement

of their central area of the preeminence to apply the market system in the allocation of resources.

The most considerable part of the argument is the opinion of society, conservatives believing it

as an organic whole and liberals as a collection of free-thinking humans, a complete contrast.

Neither of the ideologies offers better elucidations for the problems. Liberalism may be more

credible in the human nature analogy as it seems to possess more merit. The claim that human

beings are immoral is a bit implausible, although the description as selfish is understandable.
LIBERALISM VS. CONSERVATISM POLITICAL IDEOLOGIES 10

References

Alexander, J. (2014). The Major Ideologies of Liberalism, Socialism and Conservatism. Political

Studies, 63(5), 980-994. DOI: 10.1111/1467-9248.12136

Baltes, P., & Smelser, N. (2004). International encyclopedia of the social & behavioral sciences.

[Amsterdam]: Elsevier.

Sassoon, D. (2000). Socialism is dead. Long live socialism! A Historical reflection on socialism

in the twentieth century. Brood & Rozen, 5(1). DOI: 10.21825/br. v5i1.2836

Sterling, J., Jost, J., & Hardin, C. (2019). Liberal and Conservative Representations of the Good

Society: A (Social) Structural Topic Modeling Approach. SAGE Open, 9(2),

215824401984621. DOI: 10.1177/2158244019846211