Is there a simple definition for liberal ideology or conservative ...

[aero]

I'm doing some homework and this stuff seems so spread out and mixed up I have no clue what to do.  Anybody at least maybe got some good references.  Please no hate sites, or propaganda.

[penguins]

Liberal ideology, bigger government, bigger spending, but it comes at a cost of higher taxes.  Let the government work   out of all problems.  Conservative ideology, smaller government, free enterprise, less taxes.  They want people to work things out on their own, they believe people can solve their own problems best.  The conservative program leaves more money in peoples pockets.  This actually started with JFK  (democrat), who lowered taxes during an economic recession.  He also lowered taxes. The result was it put more money into peoples pockets.  People bought goods, there was more demand, manufacturing had to hire more people, these people now were working had to pay taxes, had more money to buy, all goods and services are taxed, giving the government more revenues.  Ronald Reagan did the same thing.  called Reaganomics.  The Liberals, call it trickle down economics.  Ronald Reagan cut the tax rates, from over 75% down to 35%.  It created great wealth as people started to spend more of its money and the cycle started over again.  He also cut Capital gains taxes from 35% down to 15%.  Reagans tax cuts led to this countries longest time of growth in history.  Our GDP growth is still positive, but barely.   Geo. Bush 43 also lowered taxes.  Tax revenues increase 20% with his cut in taxes.  

[Garrulous]

Here is a synopsis I pieced together from a pretty good book by John Dean (of Nixon administration/Watergate fame) called "Conservatives Without Conscience"--though it should be noted that this is not a blanket statement, as Dean is himself a self-described conservative.

Conservatives tend to believe that the past was better than the present is; that traditional values are superior to modern ones; that change is to be undertaken only gradually and with utmost caution; that people are not innately equal; that government interference in public life should be kept to a minimum; that the Constitution is finite and absolute; and that representative democracy is superior to direct democracy.

Liberals tend to believe that they live for the future; that values change with the times and circumstances; that dramatic change is inevitable and necessary for social and practical reasons; liberals tend to believe in fundamental equality of all people; that government intrusion in the interest of equality is acceptable and advisable; that the Constitution is a "living document" subject to modern interpretation; and that direct democracy is preferable to representative democracy.

[Millan]

In "The Federal Courts, Politics, and the Rule of Law," by John C. Hughes (published 1995), it says:"In the contemporary political context, those who fear conformity have tended to describe themselves as liberal and have tended to applaud judicial 'protection' of human rights. Those who fear diversity have tended to call themselves conservatives and have been appalled by judicial 'usurpation' of the majority's discretion to form the kind of community it finds most conducive to its own happiness. The former tends to approve of the expansive theories of constitutional interpretation, while the latter tends to prefer the restrained theories of judicial review. These alignments are neither perfect nor inevitable, but the debate has surely been shrill."

[geoffrey]

Basically, if my radar is on, conservatives prefer less government, and less laws.  And you pretty much make your own way..."I have mine, now you go try to get yours.  Pull yourself up by your bootstraps...I did."

And too bad it doesn't work well for everyone,---our middle class is about gone... We now have the working poor...... because if you own a business, and run it anyway you want, with no laws,  you can become very wealthy, very quickly doing things that are absolutely wrong.

Ought I be able to own a Lexus dealership and sell you a 80K car as new?  Can I have two of them that were damaged in a crash, one had no front end left, and one no back end left, chop and weld the two together and sell it to you as a new car?  (it can be done, btw).  Should there be laws?   A conservative would suggest, no, no laws.... caveat emptor  (Let the buyer beware), and that this guy would get found out sooner or later.  but what if it is after I has your  nickel?



Example: You can hire hoards of people, pay them nothing, and if the work is dangerous, and they are hurt, maimed or killed, there were no laws to prevent you from doing this... occurs all the time in Bangladesh .
Still occurs in this country in the mining industry...

See what happened to this country in the 30's.  

As well, look what happened in the 1880's... a time of the robber barons.

A liberal is probably best described in the quote by John Kennedy

"But if by a 'Liberal' they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people -- their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights, and their civil liberties -- someone who believes we can break through the stalemate and suspicions that grip us in our policies abroad, if that is what they mean by a 'Liberal,' then I'm proud to say I'm a 'Liberal.'

~ John F Kennedy


Truthfully?  I think we have government to make life better for as many people as we can... and that government be "of, by and for the people."  That would mean that we try to educate everyone, and help everyone, and everyone has a job... and the freeloaders?  I'd personally hang them all, along with the white collar thieves who steal your money in illegal huge financial scams and walk away on a golden parachute.

edit:

Regan spent us into bankruptcy.  Google Clinton + financial surplus or Regan + financial debt.  Somewhere in there is a chart showing you just how far into debt this country went with Regan.  And no, the wealthy got even wealthier under Regan.  Scraps were tossed to the middle class...Try a few websites like Factcheck.com or democracynow.org.  Listen to NPR radio.  I'm rather middle of the road but lying became truly popular under Regan..  And truthfully?  Bush just lies and lies, ceaselessly.  

We need government... we just need guys with a little more than keeping their buddies out of jail, and bailing out other buddies who made a mess of our banking system getting rich on your money doing it.

[j_sun]

Conservative ideology can be identified as they always feature the following:
The Individual - Government has a very minute role in lives
The Economy
Private Education
Private Healthcare
Home Ownership
The Family as the foundation of society followed by education
Society is fundamentally bad and individuals are good; with education and family the individual develops to be good as long as they are not affected by inappropriate material broadcast into homes via the television, the internet and DVDs/Videos and video games.
Deeply religious
Strong family values
Taxes are to be lowered in order to relieve strain on middle income families and small businesses

Liberal ideology features:

State-owned industries
State provided healthcare
Social Security
Collective responsibility for government and people
Humanitarian (Poverty, welfare, war & terror etc.) Upholding of life except abortions, most liberals are pro-choice
Taxes are increased for wealthy individuals
Favours 'positive discrimination' (giving ethnic minorities and women better opportunities for employment over men even if the men are better qualified)