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*Better articulated* [*here*](/static/media/Conservative-Liberal-Socialist.pdf)
I find it necessary to remind myself lately that everyone, no matter how
crazy they seem, generally arrived at their opinions through good
arguments. It's probably true that most people don't, and we really just
arrive at our opinions by random osmosis. But that is a depressing
thought, and I would like to believe otherwise...
I believe strongly in steel manning oppoising arguments. You should
never feel too strongly about something that you can't argue the other
side of, because there's a good chance you have a blindspot.
In both definitions, I will try to focus on just those qualities that
all in the American right/left spectrum agree on. So for conservatives, I tried
to make a definition that includes the far-right (plutocrats, monarchists,
theocrats, authoritarians, etc.) and vice versa for the far-left (socialists,
communists, etc.)
Full disclosure, my own sympathies tend to be with the left, although
I'm a strong believer in tradition, family, and fiscal
responisbility that tends to be associated with the right.
## American Conservatives
As the word implies, all conservatives wherever they fall are generally
trying to conserve *something*. Depending on the person you might get
different answers, some might say it's their culture or way of life they
want to perserve, others may defer to the "status quo" or the "rule of
law". But if I can sum that up in one core idea, I think most conservatives
would agree that they are trying to conserve institutions.
What does that mean in practice? It means having respect for history,
carefully considering which insitutions stood the test of time and which
didn't. It means being wary of reinventing the wheel considering the
many crude attempts that preceeded you thousands of years ago. Not
necessarily resistant to change -- most conservatives *do* want changes
to the law -- but take the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" approach.
Not a pessimisitic outlook on life (as liberals might sometimes claim),
but a humble one, that recognizes that people usually get things wrong
before things go right.
What institutions are most important to conservatives?
These arguments were inspired by points from various authors and
commentators. This is not an endorsement of their work necessarily, or
that they originated these arguments, just that I heard it best
articulated by them at some point.
- Edmund Burke
- Glenn Beck / my high school history teacher who loved him
- Jordan Peterson
- Ben Shapiro
- William F. Buckley
## American Liberals
The root of the word "liberal" comes from "liberty." It follows that
anyone who identifies as a liberal surely values liberty in some sense.
But there are many senses of the word "liberty." In the most basic
sense, it means autonomy or self-government. The ability to act in
accordance with one's will. But this naive defintion has some clear
defects. For one, it has no consideration for the liberty of others. If
I wish to steal bread from someone, I cannot do so without depriving
them of the liberty of owning it. For two, the matter of "one's will"
is rarely something we are individually free to decide. To paraphrase
Schopenhauer: "Man is free to do what he wills. But cannot will what he
wills." Our wants and needs are ultimately products of our environment.
The modern sense of liberalism is often narrowed to "social liberalism"
to refer to those particular positions that promote the ... sense of
liberty.
Most liberals would acknowledge that liberty is not an absolute good,
and the responsibilities and costs of freedom that necessarily follow.
Instead liberals see liberty, equality, and fraternity as ideals to
aspire to. Conservatives often critique liberals for being unrealistic
because of this, but a liberal can point to the long history of triumph
of these ideals, for example the abolition of slavery, women's freedom
to vote, the fall of monarchy worldwide. And they can point the failure
at attempts to supress these ideals, such as Prohibition, racial
segregation, and the War on Drugs.
Where the conservative may point out the longevity of institutions as
proof of their success, a liberal tends to be more critical. Keeping in
mind that anything man-made can be man un-made, a liberal always tries
to imagine how reality can be different in unexpected ways.
As before, these arguments were inspired by points from various authors
and commentators, including:
- George Orwell
- Christopher Hitchens
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