American
Conservatism and Liberalism
Modern American Conservatism is
a broad system of political beliefs in the
United
States that is characterized by respect for American traditions,
support for
Judeo-Christian values,
economic liberalism,
anti-communism,
advocacy of
American exceptionalism, and a
defense of
Western culture from threats
posed by "creeping
socialism",
moral
relativism,
multiculturalism and
liberal internationalism.
Liberty
is a core value, with a particular emphasis on strengthening the
free
market, limiting the size and scope of government, and opposition to
high taxes and government or labor union encroachment on the entrepreneur.
American conservatives consider
individual
liberty, within the bounds of conformity to American values, as the fundamental
trait of democracy, which contrasts with
modern American
liberals, who generally place a greater value on
equality
and
social justice.
[1][2]
American conservatism originated from
classical liberalism of 18th
and 19th centuries, which advocates
civil
liberties and
political
freedom with
representative democracy under
the
rule
of law and emphasizes
economic
freedom.
[3][4]
Historians argue that the conservative tradition has played a major role in
American politics and culture since the 1790s. However they have stressed that
an organized conservative movement has played a key role in politics only since
the 1950s.
[5][6][7]
The recent movement is based in the
Republican Party,
though some Democrats were also important figures early in the movement's
history
Conservatives generally
believe that government action is not the solution to such problems as poverty
and inequality. Many believe that government programs that seek to provide services
and opportunities for the poor actually encourage dependence and reduce
self-reliance. Most conservatives oppose affirmative
action
policies, that is, policies in employment, education, and other areas that give
special advantages to people who belong to groups that have been historically
discriminated against. Conservatives believe that the government should not
give special benefits to people on the basis of group identity and oppose it as
"reverse
discrimination".
Conservatives typically hold
that the government should play a smaller role in regulating business and managing
the economy. They typically oppose high tax rates and programs to redistribute
income to assist the poor. Such efforts, they argue, do not properly reward
people who have earned their money through hard work. However, conservatives
usually place a strong emphasis on the role of private voluntary charitable
organizations (especially faith-based charities) in helping the poor.
As conservatives value order
and security, they favor a small but strong government role in law enforcement
and national defense.
Modern American liberalism is
the dominant version of
liberalism in the United
States. It is characterized by
social
liberalism,
[1]
and combines ideas of
civil liberty and
equality
with support for
social justice and a
mixed
economy.
[1]
The term "modern liberalism" in this article refers only to the
United States. In a global context, this philosophy is usually referred to as
social
liberalism.
The American modern liberal philosophy strongly endorses public spending on
programs such as
education,
health
care, and
welfare.
Important
social issues today include
addressing
inequality,
voting
rights for minorities,
affirmative action,
reproductive and other
women's
rights, support for
LGBT rights,
and
immigration reform.
[2]
Modern liberalism took shape during the twentieth century, with roots in
Theodore Roosevelt's
New Nationalism,
Woodrow
Wilson's
New Freedom,
Franklin D. Roosevelt's
New
Deal,
Harry S. Truman's
Fair
Deal,
John F. Kennedy's
New
Frontier, and
Lyndon
B. Johnson's
Great Society. American
liberals oppose
conservatives
on most issues, but not all. Modern liberalism is historically related to
social
liberalism and
progressivism,
though the current relationship between liberal and progressive viewpoints is
debated.
The 17th-century philosopher John Locke
is often credited with founding liberalism as a distinct philosophical
tradition. Locke argued that each man has a natural right to life, liberty and
property, while adding that governments must not violate these rights based on
the social contract.
Also the philosophies of Hegel,
Rousseau. Nietzsche,
Heidegger, and the politics of Robespierre, von
Bismarck, Mussolini, Lenin and others
"which believes that, as
new conditions and problems arise beyond the power of men and women to meet as
individuals, it becomes the duty of Government itself to find new remedies with
which to meet them. The liberal party insists that the Government has the
definite duty to use all its power and resources to meet new social problems
with new social controls—to ensure to the average person the right to his own
economic and political life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."[11]
Keynesian
economic theory
has played an important role in the economic philosophy of modern American
liberals.[12] Modern American liberals
generally believe that national prosperity requires government management of
the macroeconomy, in order to keep unemployment low, inflation in check, and
growth high.[12] They also value institutions
that defend against economic inequality. In The Conscience of a Liberal Paul Krugman writes: "I believe in a
relatively equal society, supported by institutions that limit extremes of
wealth and poverty. I believe in democracy, civil liberties, and the rule of
law. That makes me a liberal, and I'm proud of it."[13] Liberals often point to the
widespread prosperity enjoyed under a mixed economy in the years since World War II.[14][15] They believe liberty exists
when access to necessities like health care and economic opportunity are
available to all,[16] and they champion the
protection of the environment.[17][18]
Herbert David Croly (January 23, 1869 – May 17,
1930) was an intellectual leader of the progressive movement as an editor, political
philosopher
and a co-founder of the magazine The New Republic in early twentieth-century
America. His political philosophy influenced many leading progressives.
Croly
was one of the founders of
modern liberalism in the United
States, especially through his books, essays, and a highly influential
magazine founded in 1914,
The New Republic. In his 1914 book
Progressive
Democracy, Croly rejected the thesis that the
liberal
tradition in the United States was inhospitable to
anti-capitalist
alternatives. He drew from the American past a history of resistance to
capitalist
wage relations that was fundamentally liberal, and he reclaimed an idea that
Progressives had allowed to lapse - that working for wages was a lesser form of
liberty. Increasingly skeptical of the capacity of
social
welfare legislation to remedy social ills, Croly argued that America's
liberal promise could be redeemed only by
syndicalist
reforms involving
workplace democracy.
Liberalism
and Radicalism both reject the wisdom of the past, as enshrined in the
institutions of the past, or in the morality of the past. They deny the
legitimacy to laws, governments, or ways of life which accept the ancient evils
of mankind, such as poverty, inequality, and war, as necessary—and therefore as
permanent—attributes of the human condition. Political excellence can no longer
be measured by the degree to which it ameliorates such evils. The only
acceptable goal is their abolition. Liberalism and Radicalism look forward to a
state of things in which the means of life, and of the good life, are available
to all. They must be available in such a way that the full development of each
individual—which is how the good life is defined—is not merely compatible with,
but necessary to, the full development of all. Competition between individuals,
classes, races, and nations must come to an end. Competition itself is seen as
the root of the evils mankind must escape. The good society must be
characterized only by cooperation and harmony.
