Running head: CONSERVATISM V.

LIBERALISM 1

Conservatism v. Liberalism

Nathan Day

Salt Lake Community College

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Conservatism v. Liberalism

Liberalism

Liberalism is considered to be the ideology of the industrialized West. Early Liberalist

intellectuals were influenced by what is termed the Enlightenment, which was an intellectual

movement that challenged traditional beliefs in religion, politics and learning in general in the

name of progress. The core of Liberalism is made up of a few central themes being:

• Individualism

• Freedom

• Reason

• Justice

• Toleration

Individualism

Today, individualism is something that most are very familiar with, but this has not

always been the case. During the feudal period, members of society were categorized by the

society in which they belonged whether it be their family, social class, or local community.

One’s identity was determined by the character of these groups. As the replacement of feudalism

came with market-oriented societies, individuals were presented with a wide range of social

possibilities, somewhat forcing them to begin to think for themselves.

Remaining on this path, a new intellectual sense appeared. Gradually, rational and

scientific explanations supplanted religious theories and society was progressively understood

from the viewpoint of the individual. Individuals were thought to occupy diverse qualities and

each were of extraordinary value, apparent in the evolution of natural right theories. Belief in this
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theme shows that liberals desire a form of society in which all are capable of developing and

flourishing to the extensiveness of their own potential.

Freedom

Freedom, the ability to think or act as one wishes, is tremendously meaningful in regards

to individualism. Without the freedom to act as one wishes, individualism would not be able to

exist due to individualism being stated as individuals pursuing their own self-interest. Although

freedom is considered to be an essential theme of Liberalism, Liberals do not deem individuals

as being absolutely entitled to freedom. If liberty is unrestricted, it can in turn impede on the

freedom of others.

John Stuart Mill argued that, “the only purpose for which power can be rightfully

exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to

others.” Mill’s position supposes that there should be marginal restrictions on individual

freedom, and the only limitations should only be in order to prevent ‘harm to others’.

Classical Liberals have believed in negative freedom, which is the deficiency of

restrictions and constraints on the individual, giving one the freedom of choice. Modern Liberals,

on the other hand, have a belief in positive freedom, being one’s own master. Liberals give

significance to freedom due to their belief in individualism, whereas Conservatives have a feeble

view of freedom as the willing acknowledgment of liabilities and responsibilities. Conservatives

also view negative freedom as a possible threat to society, although the new right approves of

negative freedom when it comes to economics.

Reason

Liberal’s belief in freedom is narrowly connected to their faith in reason, being that

human beings have the facility to take charge of their own lives and find resolutions to their own
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complications. Reason is also allied with the liberal emphasis on education, meaning that people

can progress themselves through the acquisition of knowledge and the abandonment of prejudice

and misconception. Education is vital to promoting personal self-development, leading back to

the belief in individualism.

Justice

Justice is defined as, “a moral standard of fairness and impartiality; social justice is the

notion of a fair or justifiable distribution of wealth and rewards in society.” In short, justice is

giving each person what they are owed. The philosophy of justice is based on the belief of

equality, the principle that human beings are of identical worth or are entitled to be treated in the

same way.

Liberals, having the belief of equality, therefore also believe in the equality of

opportunity. This means that every individual has the same chance to rise or fall in society.

Equality to a Liberal means that individuals have the ability to develop unequal skills and

abilities, leading to a belief in meritocracy, meaning that your social position is determined by

hard work.

Toleration

The Liberal social tenet is characterized by a willingness to acknowledge or even

celebrate diversity. This theory is imbedded in individualism, being that human beings are

separate and unique from one another. Toleration is both an ethical ideal and a social principle

where on one side it represents autonomy, the ability to control your own destiny, and on the

other side, there is a set of rules of how human beings should treat each other.
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Conservatism

Conservatism has been widely regarded as a belief that has a clear set of ideologies that

they counter rather than what they favor. Though, many people or groups can be considered as

conservatives due to the fact that they resist change. Conservatives will frequently describe their

position as ‘common sense’ due to their reason behind contesting change being that their beliefs

heavily rely on history and experience. Conservatism is founded on a specific set of political

beliefs being:

• Tradition

• Human Imperfection

• Organic Society

• Hierarchy and Authority

• Property

Tradition

Conservatives are known for arguing against change on several different instances, being

that a recurrent theme of conservatism is its defense of tradition—values or practices that have

endured through time and have been passed down from one generation to the next. For many

conservatives, the belief in tradition reflects their religious faiths, causing conservatives to

believe that society is shaped by the ‘law of our Creator’, or otherwise known as ‘natural law’. If

human beings try to change the world, they are then challenging God.

Tradition reflects the wisdom that has been acquired through history and passed through

generations. The practices that are being followed have been tested by time and should be kept

for the benefit of the following generations to come. This belief is thought to be an almost
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Darwinian principle that these traditions have been found as the winner of ‘natural selection’ and

have shown their ability to survive.

Conservatives idolize tradition because it gives one a sense of identity, almost

contributing to the liberal belief of individualism. Tradition gives one the feeling of belonging to

a larger group or having a larger meaning. Change, on the other hand, is a path to the unknown,

threatening sanctuary and contentment.

Human Imperfection

Many other ideologies assume that human beings are naturally ‘good’ or that they can be

made ‘good’ if their social circumstances are improved. Conservatives reject this idea as

idealistic dreams and argue that human beings are flawed and cannot be made perfect. First,

human beings are thought to be psychologically limited and are dependent. Conservatives

believe that human beings are naturally drawn to what is safe and stable, seeking security.

Other political philosophies will trace the origins of depraved behavior back to society,

whereas conservatives believe that this immorality has always been rooted in the individual due

to the fact that human beings are imperfect creatures. Ideologies such as Liberalism view human

nature as a set of innate qualities essential to the individual, placing no emphasis on social or

historical conditioning. They believe that humans are self-reliant beings that seek personal

development.

Organic Society

As stated under the theory that humans are imperfect, human beings are dependent and

security-seeking creatures. This means that they do not, and cannot, exist outside of society, but

desperately need to belong. The individual cannot be separated from society and needs to be a
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part of social groups. These groups provide meaning to the individual. Freedom to conservatives

is the willing acceptance of social obligations and involves individuals ‘doing their duty’.

This belief is based on organicism—a belief that society operates like an organism or

living entity. Within an organism, the whole is sustained by a set of relationships between its

parts, which if damaged, will result in the organism’s death. Along with this, organisms are

shaped by ‘natural’ factors, or natural necessity. Therefore, an organic society is fashioned by

natural society. In contrast the conservatives, liberals view society as a assortment of individuals,

fashioned out of voluntary agreements made by self-interested human beings.

Hierarchy and Authority

Conservatives traditionally believe that society is formed of social positions or social

status. With this belief, social equality is rejected as unattainable and unfavorable. In this stance,

conservatives agree with liberals that there are natural differences between individuals being that

some are born with capacities and skills that others do not possess. Conservative, unlike liberals

that believe in meritocracy, believe that inequality is deep-rooted and is an unavoidable feature

of an organic society, not a consequence of individual differences.

Conservatives do not accept the liberal theory that authority arises out of contracts made

by free individuals. Conservatives believe that authority is something that will develop naturally

rather than being established by individuals that are self-interested. Conservatives view authority

as a requirement as everyone needs sustenance and guidance. This has pushed Conservatives into

placing an emphasis on leadership because it has the ability to give direction and encouragement

to others. Although authority is a large belief of Conservatives, most believe that authority

should be implemented within limits.

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Property

The possession of physical goods or wealth, whether by private individuals, groups of

people or the state. Liberals view property as something that reflects merit: those who work hard

will, and should, attain wealth. Conservatives view property as something that holds

psychological and social advantages such as offering security. Property, whether owning a home

or a savings account in the bank provides individuals with a basis of protection. Another thought

of property is that those who own property are more likely to respect the property of others.

In political theories such as socialism, property should be owned in common rather than

by private individuals. Conservatives however, similar to classical liberals, believe that

individuals have an absolute right to their property.

Firearms

A major conflict in today’s society is the thought of firearm ownership, especially after

the tragic school shooting that took place in Florida this week, killing 17 students. This has

sparked a large debate between Conservatives and Liberals, Conservatives fighting for their right

to own firearms, Liberals fighting to place restrictions on certain types of firearms and even

attempting to bring down the NRA.

Conservative theories such as those of authority, property, tradition, and human

imperfection has influenced their belief in their right to owning firearms. Human imperfection,

being a large debate topic of this shooting, claiming that the shooter was mentally ill, claiming

that he could have been born with mental health issues, or that he had been suffering from mental

health issues. This supports the conservative belief that humans are not born perfect and that they

cannot achieve perfection.

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Conservative thoughts on property has also influenced this debate due to the fact that

firearms can be considered property in which Conservatives view as being a ‘God given right’,

which was also provided in the United States Constitution, and shall not be infringed. This

directs to the belief of tradition, in that since the start of the United States, citizens have been

permitted to own firearms and this should not be changed.

The largest belief that influences Liberals in this debate is that of reason, being than

Liberals have moved away from traditional beliefs and challenge previous thoughts through

science and research. It is believed that further restrictions on firearms would prevent shootings

such as this from occurring in the future.

Gay Rights/Gay Marriage

One large breakthrough in the United States has been the legalization of gay marriage,

receiving expected discontentment from Conservatives throughout the country. The Conservative

belief of tradition is what causes their disapproval of gay marriage, being that traditionally,

marriage has been between a man and a woman and it has been something that has worked

throughout history. Conservatives claim that humans are born imperfect and support the belief

that human beings will never be perfected. With this belief, many claim that Conservative beliefs

contradict, being that they consider gays as not being normal, or imperfect, yet they support

imperfection.

On the other side of politics in the United States, Liberalism largely supports gay rights

and gay marriage due to their theories regarding individualism and toleration. Individualism in

short is possessing distinct qualities that are unique to yourself. Therefore, Liberalism should

support gay rights due to the fact that they are different from the rest of society. This ties into

toleration, in which Liberals pride themselves on being diverse. Being that Liberals support
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diversity, it is expected that those who agree with Liberal principles will also support the

legalization of gay marriage and the fight for gay rights.

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Reference:

• Heywood, A. (2017). Political ideologies: an introduction. Place of publication not

identified: Palgrave macmillan.