...National Health Care: Conservative vs. Liberal Views Health Care in the United States has been a hot topic of debate between conservatives and liberals over the years of President Obama’s presidency because in 2010 Obama implemented the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The ACA consists of two pieces of legislation with the goal of expanding health care to all Americans while providing equal care to all regardless of age, social status, and preexisting conditions. These goals are aligned with a liberal viewpoint, which most Democrats are in favor of. The ACA was met with heavy opposition from the Republican side which skews toward a conservative view for health care. Conservatives believe in a more privatized health care system with less government intervention to lower costs and increase the overall quality of health care thru competition. Obama Care has had its issues with implementation and administration rather than its liberal ideology and its goals, but I believe the solution to a successful healthcare policy lies with the conservative viewpoint leading to a more efficient system. Liberals main concern with health care in a conservative system is that it unfairly gives advantages to the middle and upper class. “Elements of the liberal health care perspective include a belief that health care is an equal right of all people, the implementation of that right through a social insurance system that provides universal health coverage, equitable financing of health care, and a...
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...Conservative or Liberal: My Choice Angela J Flemister Liberty University Conservative or Liberal: My Choice A political ideology is a closely linked set of beliefs about politics. Political ideologies offer their adherents well organized theories that propose goals for the society and the means by which those goals can be achieved. (Americian Government pg.18) The two most common ideologies that come to my mind are the conservatism and liberalism, to in nonprofessional terms Republican and Democrat. The two parties differ in what they believe. The beliefs of one are totally opposite to the next. George Lakoff (Moral Politics) penned this book which simply asks “How Liberals and Conservatives think. In my reading of some of the book I was able to easily identify my personal political ideology immediately. Professor Whitham instructed class to research the elected officials in my district. Phil Gingrey and David Scott. The two could not be anymore different than they actually are as Congressman Gingrey is white and Congressman Scott is black. The color of the skin really should not matter but honestly we all know that at some point in time when an issue is presented and needs to be addressed by a vote there is some wrangling be it truth or not, race intervenes. The voting records of my elected officials provided an insight to their ideologies. By viewing the many interest groups it became evident that there is not a non-partisan accumulation of the facts. Many...
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...Same-sex Marriage: Liberals vs. Conservatives The political issue of same-sex marriage has become one of the most popular issues that our society has ever dealt with. Last year in 2012, it was considered one of the top political issues of the year. Same-sex marriage is the marriage of two people of the same biological gender and/or gender identity. Supporters of same-sex marriage will also use the term marriage equality when discussing same-sex marriage. Currently, there are countless amounts of people who are working to legalize same-sex marriage in the U.S. There are also countless amounts of people who are against legalizing same-sex marriage. Should two people of the same sex be allowed to get married? Liberals and conservatives have two very different answers to that question. When discussing an ideology’s view on a certain topic, it is important to refer back to the core themes of that ideology. The core themes of liberalism are: the individual, freedom, reason, justice, and toleration. The core themes of conservatism are: tradition, human imperfection, organic society, hierarchy and authority, and property. When asking a liberal if same-sex marriage should be legalized, their answer would most likely be yes. Liberals believe that marriage is a union between two people that love each other. It should not matter if that marriage is between two people of the same sex as long as they love one another. To ensure equality for everybody, they believe that marriage...
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...Explain why the Liberal Party won a landslide victory in the 1906 general election There were many factors that enabled the victory of the Liberal Party in the 1906 election, most importantly, due to the neglect of social reforms when the Conservatives were in power between 1885 and 1906. Also, the Liberals used the disregard from the Conservatives for the tariff reform campaign in 1903 to encourage many citizens to vote Liberal, this links to the fact the Liberals mostly gained a lot of support by portraying the conservatives to be untrustworthy and only having concern to the aristocrats, rather than discussing new reforms to help citizens, of which, mostly were in poverty. This is supported by the fact the Liberals had 244 more seats than the Conservative Party commencing the election in 1906. The most significant reason for the Conservatives defeat in 1906, was due to their neglect of social reform, and with 35% of people in London in poverty and 10% of people below the poverty line, discovered by Charles Booth and Rowntree’s, through their research, social reform was needed, but was ignored by the conservatives, encouraging those of lower class to vote against the Conservatives as they would not be affected positively by them being in power once again. This is further emphasised during the Boer War between 1899 and 1902 where it was found two thirds of soldiers were unfit to fight, causing outrage in Britain as there were no social reforms raised to help this. However...
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...Explain why the liberal party achieved a landslide victory in the 1906 election (12 marks) One of the main reasons for the liberal landslide victory in the 1906 election was their exploitation of conservative mistakes. Joseph Chamberlains’ idea of Tariff reform split the conservative party in half. His scheme of placing higher tariffs on non-empire goods was strongly opposed because free trade had served Britain so well since 1846. A split conservative party was much weaker and it was tariff reform that was largely to blame for Balfours resignation as he failed to bring unity to his party. When the conservative party introduced Free Education in 1891 they lost the non-conformist vote to the liberals. As non-conformists were a sizeable proportion of conservative support, this was a significant loss. As the liberals were campaigning to shut down the religious schools to be funded by the scheme most non-conformist votes went to them. This was Balfours scheme, and he didn’t see it through sufficiently. It was conservatives in power at the time of the boer war, although this war ended in victory the conservative underestimation of the boers cost them. The war occurred because Britain wanted to extract gold from an area of land in South Africa. They did not expect the boers to fight back so well, this made the military look weak, they resorted to burning down houses and killing many people. The conservatives were highly criticised for their treatment of the boers. Due to a shortage...
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...2012.00000.x Reluctant Coalitionists: The Conservative Party and the Establishment of the Coalition Government in May 2010 STEPHEN EVANS Introduction According to Michael Laver and Norman Schofield, the study of coalition governments revolved around two central questions: ‘who got in?’ and ‘who got what?’1 The literature on the establishment of the Conservative–Liberal Democrat coalition government, in the United Kingdom on 11 May 2010, has also sought to answer these two questions. First, who got in: in other words, options and outcomes. There have been detailed accounts of the chain of events which led to the establishment of the coalition government in the aftermath of the inconclusive general election held on 6 May 2010 which, at the extremes of argument, have emphasised either the logic of numbers or personal chemistry.2 This has been accompanied by well-informed accounts of the five days of intense and sometimes difficult negotiations which followed, between all three main parties, and the twists and turns which took place during that period of time, as both Labour and the Conservatives courted the Liberal Democrats.3 Second, who got what: in other words, policy and personnel. In terms of policy, as Thomas Quinn, Judith Bara and John Bartle have argued, both the Conservative party and the Liberal Democrats made important gains in their respective priority areas: fairer taxes, a pupil premium, a green economy and political reform (Liberal Democrats); deficit reduction, immigration...
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...The Difference between Conservatives and Liberals America is divided. There are two main types of political views in America, conservative and liberal. These views are very different. The conservatives usually believe in a small federal government, giving the power to the localized state. On the other hand, liberals base their opinions on the idea of equality for all, and the importance of individual rights. They desire a large government for the purpose of creating an equal environment for everyone to succeed. In American politics, there has always been a constant struggle for federal power; and because of our democratic voting system this power is always changing hands. This is a healthy balance of power, but it can increase the divide between the two political parties. There are very evident differences between liberalism and conservatism, but almost all...
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...What is a Libertarian? Every time I see Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson answer this question, he states something on the lines of ‘a Libertarian is fiscally conservative and socially liberal’. I can’t help but cringe, every time I hear him answer the question. This answer is suitable for a new libertarian or how I like to call them ‘Wikipedia Libertarians’, but not for an individual who has gone past their initial google search and has tried to gather as much information on what being a Libertarian truly is. By saying we are fiscally conservative and socially liberal, we place ourselves on the straight line of the political spectrum, between the Right and Left, when we are not on it. A Libertarian is not fiscally conservative....
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...Smith-Stanley 28 June 1866 – 27 February 1868 Conservatives Edward Smith-Stanley 28 June 1866 – 27 February 1868 Conservatives Ramsey MacDonald 22 January 1924 – 4 November 1924 5 June 1929-7 June 1935 Labour Ramsey MacDonald 22 January 1924 – 4 November 1924 5 June 1929-7 June 1935 Labour Stanley Baldwin 23 may 1923 – 16 January 1924 4 November 1924 – 5 June 1929 7 June 1935 – 28 may 1937 Conservatives Stanley Baldwin 23 may 1923 – 16 January 1924 4 November 1924 – 5 June 1929 7 June 1935 – 28 may 1937 Conservatives David Lloyd George 7 December 1916 – 22 October 1922 Liberals David Lloyd George 7 December 1916 – 22 October 1922 Liberals Robert gasocoyne-cecil 23 June 1885 – 28 January 1886 25 July 1886 – 11 august 1892 25 June 1895 – 11 July 1902 Conservatives Robert gasocoyne-cecil 23 June 1885 – 28 January 1886 25 July 1886 – 11 august 1892 25 June 1895 – 11 July 1902 Conservatives William Gladstone 3 December 1868 – 17 February 1874 23 April 1880 – 9 June 1885 1 February – 20 July 1886 1 February – 20 July 1886 15 august 1892 – 2 march 1894 Conservatives, peelites, liberals William Gladstone 3 December 1868 – 17 February 1874 23 April 1880 – 9 June 1885 1 February – 20 July 1886 1 February – 20 July 1886 15 august 1892 – 2 march 1894 Conservatives, peelites, liberals Viscount Palmerstone 12 June 1859 – 18 October 1865 Whigs then founded Liberal party Viscount Palmerstone 12 June 1859 – 18...
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...Nation conservatives have a different philosophy on human imperfection than New Right conservatives do. One Nation conservatives hold the belief that we as humans are: greedy and have a limited capacity for altruism, a complex mix of emotions and contradictory motivations making us irrational, not totally consistent and are at balance the majority of the time with corruption. They believe that our inherent imperfect human nature stems from original sin, the Christian Belief. This shows a wholesome negative outlook on human nature. The New Right on the other hand is more positive as a result of the neo-liberal ideological view that we are in fact rational, shown by the classical liberal belief in self-regulating society and a ‘realm of coercion’. However, as the New Right is a marriage of neo-liberal and neo-conservative views there is also the negative view of human nature present, as held by traditional conservatives. At the heart of the debate, obviously is whether or not conservatism is a philosophy of imperfection, it is my view that it is a philosophy of imperfection to a large extent, as I will explain now. To begin, it is important to quote O’Sullivan who in 1976 said that conservatism is a ‘philosophy of imperfection. He said this, as unlike many ideologies which believe that humans are naturally good or at least can be made good through the improvement of their social circumstances (like liberals and socialists who believe in personal development), conservatives have...
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... “If by a “liberal” they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without ridged 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 Liberalism “is a political philosophy or worldview founded on ideas of liberty and equality.” (Girvetz). Liberals stand for the protection of individuals from being harmed by others and who better to protect these individuals then the government. However, they have their cons about government. Liberals notice it’s possible that the government can be a threat to liberty. They believe in the system that makes sure the government protect the citizens of America, but prevents those who governs the people not to abuse their power. The different schools of political thought that fall under the banner of liberalism are that liberals have many ideas that they support such as free and fair elections, private property, civil rights, religion, freedom of the press, sex education, paying taxes, social programs (like food stamps, social security and health care…etc.), and free trade. Liberalism and conservatism make the two major political parties in American government today. Conservatives believe in setting...
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...at all age levels. The meaning of partisanship is unclear in most families because there are liberal and conservative Democrats as well as liberal and conservative Republicans. Clear political ideologies are communicated to small proportions of children raised in families where politics is a dominant topic of conversation and political views are strongly held. Religious traditions affect families. Catholic families are somewhat liberal on economic issues than white protestant ones. Jewish families are much more liberal all around then Catholics and Protestants. There are two theories why this is. The first has to do with the social status of religious groups in America. For example Catholics and Jews were often poor and discriminated against, so they affiliated themselves with parties that felt bad for them or would help them. The second theory emphasize the content of the religious tradition. For example Jews emphasize social justice while protestants emphasize personal salvation. This leads to Jews being more liberal and protestants being more conservative on social issues. Religious differences...
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...such as healthcare, conservatism believe in traditional American values. for healthcare conservatives believe in a free market, where healthcare is not controlled by the government. Where as liberals believe in equality in which everyone received the same healthcare controlled by the government. As for Medicare, conservatives believe in a reformed plan in which this receiving it have options rather than all receiving the same treatment. Liberals oppose privatizing Medicare and support obamas views to preserve it. When it comes to drug abuse, conservatives tend to be against the loosening up on the penalties and legalization. On the other end, liberals view legalization as a way to improve our economy and loosening up on punishment for any type of drug abuse. Neo-conservatives are Conservatives with less strong views and tend to fall on the more moderate side of the spectrum. Sometimes these neo-conservatives even have a few liberal views on certain issues, especially when it comes to domestic policy. Looking at the issues addressed earlier, they tend to have the same views except less strong feelings on the need to change them. Neo-liberals are liberals who share a few conservative views. Hardcore Liberals tend to be modern and progressive where as neo-liberals show these characteristics but also some conservatism views such as free markets. 3. I believe that Democratic Conservatives seemed to be the closest to a moderate view. Though the views of a democratic conservatism...
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...! Movie Analysis: Pleasantville Gary Ross uses a variety of cinematic techniques in the film Pleasantville to show that neither conservatives nor liberals are able to establish a perfect society by showing the positive and negative consequences of the two ideologies. However, the ending of the film seems to favour liberals over conservatives. This film is a miniature of the rivalry between the people holding conservative values and those holding liberal values in the US. The film was first released in 1998 and gained a lot of critical acclaim, becoming a classic of the 1990s. The film Pleasantville is about two teenagers in the 1990s who find themselves in a 1950s sitcom. Through their actions the people of Pleasantville begin to experience strong emotions and consequently events in the town begin to deviate from the equilibrium. ! Gary Ross uses color to promote liberalism. The majority of the film is set in black and white and only certains people and objects that have colors. During the courtroom scene towards the end of the film, the audience in the courtroom starts with people having colors being the minority. As the movie progress, black and white characters get colors one by one until the mayor is the only one who still remains black and white. David, the protagonist of the film, in the end however forces the Mayor to turn into color as well. The color represents the idea of liberalism because the characters change into color once they find what is missing in their...
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...Margaret Thatcher and the Conservatives In 1975, Margaret Thatcher became leader of the Conservative Party and began to steer it towards what many have dubbed ÔThatcherismÕ. Margaret Thatcher believed in radical change, individuality, and a strong Government that enforces the law, rather than interfering in the economy. She was also opposed to the welfare state. In many ways, her ideology was broadly similar to classical liberalism, and many theorists see her ideology as neo-liberalism. Under her rule, the Conservatives were no longer truly conservative, as conservatives are usually opposed to too much individualism and liberty, and definitely do not want radical change. However, in terms of morality they remained staunchly conservative, believing strongly in the family and in law and order. It can be said then that the Conservative Party had become economically liberal but morally conservative. The Modern Conservative Party This Classical liberal ideology is still prevalent in todayÕs Conservative Party. Consecutive leaders after Thatcher have all stayed relatively true to her reforms of the party and its ideology, believing in economic classical liberalism. However, in recent times they have struggled to get their message across as supposedly they are liberals, and yet are often against homosexuality, drugs and immigration-ideas which are much more right wing and against the very principles of Liberalism. This has led to a decline in their support, as people do not know...
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