Liberals
versus conservatives
There are different
philosophical theories that individuals have regarding how society should behave
and the role of the government in human behaviour. There has historically been
public discourse regarding the nature of the governments control and its limit
on human behaviour.
The government can be defined
as the “conduct of conduct”. The first
conduct in the definition means to lead or to guide with planning done in
advance. The oxford dictionary defines it as “the manner in which an
organization or activity is managed or directed”. The second conduct in the
definition refers to individual direction and how individuals conduct
themselves. The oxford dictionary defines this as “the manner in which a person
behaves, especially in a particular place or situation”. Putting these senses
of “conduct” together entails the government playing an essential role in varying
degrees to control and limit human behaviour within a set of laws that are put
in place. The deviation of individuals from these laws put by the state has repercussions
that vary from different states based on the political and philosophical
objectives of the elected government officials.
This then brings me to the
two different outlooks of government that exist which are liberal and
conservative. There are many more but for the purpose of this article I want to
focus on these two only and how each of these outlook view the role of the
state in society, laws and in which way people must be governed. Firstly I will
define the terms liberal and conservative
Liberal
Liberals have the opinion that
the government must be at the forefront of ensuring that there are equal
opportunities for all. Believe that individuals should be open to new ideas and
respect the opinions and behaviours of others even if they differ from one’s
own. Liberals also believe that traditional values should change over time. They
also favour free trade and moderate political reforms. They also believe that
the government must be able to solve problems.
Conservatives
Conservatives believe in
liberty, free markets and personal responsibility, private ownership and having
socially conservative views. They are not easily open to new ideas and respond
to most new ideas contradicting traditional values with contempt. They also
believe that individuals should be empowered to solve their own problems and
that people must be given freedom to peruse their own goals.
Below are the different arguments
that liberals and conservatives have. The arguments are just a summary of their
views and I did not go into great detail in explaining each.
Liberals
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Conservatives
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Abortion
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Each
woman should be given the freedom of choice to decide what happens to her
body. A fetus is not a human being therefore it does not have individual
rights. The government should also provide tax payer funded abortions for
women who can’t afford them to minimise their risk of being subjected to
unsafe and illegal abortions that put their lives at the risk of dying.
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Abortion
is the murder of human beings and that life begins at conception. A baby that
is unborn has separate rights that are different from those of the mother and
those rights should be respected. Opposed to government funding of abortions
and also support the laws that prohibit abortions.
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Death penalty
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The
death penalty should be abolished as it is cruel and inhumane. Due to the
inefficiencies of the justice system it places people that are innocent at
the risk of being killed. The appropriate punishment for the crime is imprisonment.
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The
death penalty is an appropriate crime for those who took the innocent lives
of others. An eye for and eye.
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Economy
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Free
market capitalism is competitive, innovative; create many opportunities and a
high living standard for all. The private sector should not be burdened with excessive
government regulations.
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A
market system where the governments regulate the economy is best. Citizens
must be protected from the greed of big businesses as the state is driven by
public interest unlike the private sector that is driven by private interest
that tends to be at the expense of the public.
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Euthanasia
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A
person should be given the choice to die with dignity therefore euthanasia
should be legalised. A person who is terminally ill should be given the right
to choose when to end his suffering and pain. It is wrong and immoral for the
government to unduly prolong pain the pain of terminally ill patients. Euthanasia
would not lead to doctor assisted suicide of non-critical ill patients as it
will only be done only on terminally ill patients. This will reduce health
costs and make services available to those who need them.
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Euthanasia
should not be legalised because it is immoral and unethical to deliberate on
when the life of a person should end or to allow a person to choose when he
wants to end his own life. The pain of suffering people should be eased by
using medicine and compassion. Euthanasia will lead to the assisted suicide
of non-critical patients. This practice devalues a human life and many religions
prohibit suicide and euthanasia.
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Climate change and global
warming
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The
increased production of carbon dioxide through burning fossil fuels is
causing global warming. Proposed laws to reduce global warming should be
introduces and there must be a sin tax for polluters.
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There
is a change in global temperature that is natural over long periods of time.
The proposed laws will not help the environment in any way and will cause a
significant price increase for all. It is also unfair and immoral to make
people pay for global warming when they did not cause it.
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Healthcare
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There
are millions of South Africans that who cannot afford healthcare therefore
there must be a free low cost healthcare. There should be equal health care
for all and the privatisation of health care will result in the poor not
being able to afford it. This would increase illnesses in poor areas and
decrease the life expectancy of the countries working population that pays
tax.
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Supports
the free market health care as it is competitive and provides better
services. All South Africans should have health care but the question is who
should pay for it. The free health care by the state runs at a higher cost
and everyone receives the same poor quality health care. The challenges of
those who are not ensured will be addressed within the free market system and
that the government should not control health care.
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Immigration
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Supports
legal immigration and believes there should be amnesty for those who enter SA
illegally. Also believes that undocumented immigrants have the right to all
educational and health benefits that citizens have and that it is unfair to
arrest illegal immigrants.
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Only
supports legal immigration and is opposed to amnesty for those who enter SA illegally.
Those who break the law by entering SA illegally do not have the same rights
as those who are in the country legally. The borders must be made to be very secure
and also vigorously enforce current immigration laws.
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Private property
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The
government has the right to grab private land with compensation to the owner
for a public purpose.
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In
most cases it is wrong for government to grab private land because ownership
rights of private property owners must be respected.
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Taxes
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There
should be high taxes for the rich and a large government to address the
economic injustices and inequality. A large government should provide for the
needs of people and reduce inequality. Taxes allow the government to create
jobs and also care for the needs of the poor.
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Lower
taxes and a smaller government that has limited power will improve the living
standards for all. Lower taxes have high incentives and enable people to
save, invest and start their own businesses. The additional money that people
saved through low taxes would be spent by them and be the income of other
individuals. Government programs make people lazy rather than encouraging independence
and work.
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Welfare
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Supports
long term welfare as it becomes a cushions the poor who are facing economic
hardship. It protects the poor.
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Opposed
to long term welfare and believes that opportunities should be provided for
people to be self-reliant. It is more moral to make people self-reliant than
to depend on the government for provisions.
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These are some key arguments
that liberals and conservatives have on the role of the government in society.
These views cannot be consolidated and create a friction of ideological
differences between the two. I consider myself as a liberal and would like to
get your input on my analysis of conservatives and liberals. Feel free to
debate this matter with me because the point of this blog is to create public
discourse as I am open to hear your views and ideas even if I may not agree with
them.