McGentrix wrote:
Quote:Liberalism wants someone else to acheive those goals for you, while conservatism wants you to achieve them yourself
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I agree that conservatives and liberals disagree on the means to most ends. I'm not sure that I agree that liberals and conservatives are interested in the same ends - in fact- now that I really think about it, I believe that they often don't want the same ends at all.
In a broader context they might both profess to want liberty, health and happiness for all citizens, but very often liberals and conservatives disagree on what exactly constitutes liberty, health, and happiness, so their ends are often perceived as, and are in fact, different.
And I definitely disagree that liberals want someone else to achieve those goals for them while conservatives are any more self-reliant or self-actualizing.
I think the difference lies in the fact that people who are liberal (which also means generous, by the way) are concerned that whatever opportunity at self-actualization is available to them, is also available to all or most other citizens. They tend to recognize that not everyone starts with the same advantages, and so understand that more governmental support is sometimes necessary.
Conservatives, on the other hand, seem to believe that if they've been able to get theirs, (tax breaks, good schools, health insurance) that's where the responsibility of government should end, as if every other citizen has had the same opportunity, just by being born in America.
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