Fundemental difference between Liberals and Conservatives

[iamsam]

A question that has genuinely intrigued me for a long time, and after reading a few threads here with some pretty nasty debating, i figured i'd ask this.

For the record, i think my avatar gives my viewpoint away....;)

So, lefties and righties are SO different in opinion, mentality, and in their general outlook on life. Each side wants to better the world and their lives (obviously), but with a common overall goal, how can there be such differing ideologies?

a few theories i have come up with that cause differences

Belief in God (clarify: belief there is a greater afterlife/purpose rather than not) - my strongest theory
Adherence to logic
Adherence to emotion
Financial status
Demographic upbringing

Now none of these factors clearly defines who is a Liberal and who is a Conservative, so input time!


note: if you think this thread is useless, idiotic, and pointless, that's fine, no one is forcing you to take part in it.

[Alkasquawlik]

Parents also play a huge factor into how people think.

Then there are optimistics and pessimistics.
My friends who are liberal are optimistic and think that all these bail outs MIGHT work because people MIGHT be nice to each other.
I'm pessimistic and know they won't work because humans as a race are greedy and selfish. It is what it is.

[iamsam]

The way i have seen it at college is that the hard core liberals don't believe there is a greater purpose than life on earth at all, and live for the moment, and don't think about death and stuff. I worked with one of the most hard core raging liberals that the world has ever produced and he firmly believed there was no God and that people ceased to be when they died. I asked him if that bugged him, apparently it doesn't.

So there is one difference i see. But of course there are Libs who believe in God and vice versa.

[blunttech]

Parents also play a huge factor into how people think.

Then there are optimistics and pessimistics.
My friends who are liberal are optimistic and think that all these bail outs MIGHT work because people MIGHT be nice to each other.
I'm pessimistic and know they won't work because humans as a race are greedy and selfish. It is what it is.

i dunno man, im as right as can be and both my sons are libs. of course they dont own much besides cars right now. i may be seeing the same rebellion i went thru as a kid but my oldest is hardcore lib to the point we get in furious debates over shit. hes very hard to argue with too because hes smarter than me. my youngest isnt as hardcore but hes definitely left

[Alkasquawlik]

Alot of my friends in college who are liberal (5/6 of the guys in my suite are hard core liberals, I was the only conservative. That was fun) tend to "live in the monemt", like you said, they only care about what party they are going to next, where they are getting their next eigth, or what girl they want to fuck. They have no idea what is really going on in the world.

One major reason they like Obama is because he admitted to smoking put, and inhaling. Figures.

[Alkasquawlik]

i dunno man, im as right as can be and both my sons are libs. of course they dont own much besides cars right now. i may be seeing the same rebellion i went thru as a kid but my oldest is hardcore lib to the point we get in furious debates over shit. hes very hard to argue with too because hes smarter than me. my youngest isnt as hardcore but hes definitely left

I'm not saying that every child follows their parent, but there has to be a slight correlation between the two.


"If you're 25 and you're not a liberal, you don't have a ehart. If you're 50 and not a conservative, you don't have a head"

[kishg]

I don't think it's that simple. some people are a mix of both and don't like being categorized one way or the other. it's nothing to do with optimism or pessimism either. these are very simplistic outlooks on a much more complex viewpoint as usual. Take my case:

- abortion: yes please
- gay marriage : let em do it
- death penalty : no
- gun control : don't own a gun but against banning them. i do support strict regulation and licensing and making sure all safety aspects are followed
- religion: im a buddhist which imo= atheist. i don't believe in god.
- income bracket : i pay 35% in taxes, go figure out which bracket
- homeowner : yes
- in favor of burning gasoline : hell yes
- do i believe in global warming : yes but don't think emissions laws on autos is going to help much
- economics : favor fiscal conservatism, cutting military spending and reforming the tax code (gee i wonder why :))
- wall st greed : all for it, i work on wall st.
- wars in iraq/afghanistan : against them, bring the troops home and stop spending $3000/second
- universal healthcare : judgement is still out but we definitely need to fix the current system
- immigration : for reform and providing a means of legalizing the people that are here.

that's just a few topics.. so what am I ?

[kishg]

he firmly believed there was no God and that people ceased to be when they died. I asked him if that bugged him, apparently it doesn't.

doesn't bug me either.. I don't need a god crutch to make me feel secure. No offense intended to those that believe. and this has nothing to with being a liberal or conservative.

[kishg]

btw, if you step outside this country and live on other places as I have you will notice that there is very little difference between liberals and conservatives in America. in fact the major political parties are so close in ideology as to not make a huge difference. that is the reason for the stability of the political system here. in other less matured democracies, party change is followed by massive upheavals in almost everything right down to what color the road signs are painted.

[Alkasquawlik]

OT: kish, do you work in finance?

[iamsam]

Kishg: i think you definitely lean left. I would say liberal, although you don't completely fit the mold 100%. And you don't believe in God, you believe the same way my co-worker does, so that means so far my God theory holds.

Liberals usually don't like being categorized. When i first asked my co-worker is he was liberal (the day i started working there) he said something along the lines of "Well, if that means i pay attention to what is happening around me intelligently and don't follow the cookie-cutter paths of my parents, then yes, i am a liberal!"

[John Rocker]

Im Republican, with Libertarian accents.

My family is mostly all right minus my mom and my sister.

[Alkasquawlik]

fwiw, I am socially liberal, but extremely fiscally conservative. The economic wide usually wins when I am debating between things.

[kishg]

Kishg: i think you definitely lean left. I would say liberal, although you don't completely fit the mold 100%. And you don't believe in God, you believe the same way my co-worker does, so that means so far my God theory holds.

Liberals usually don't like being categorized. When i first asked my co-worker is he was liberal (the day i started working there) he said something along the lines of "Well, if that means i pay attention to what is happening around me intelligently and don't follow the cookie-cutter paths of my parents, then yes, i am a liberal!"

so if you don't believe in god your a liberal? ok, i'll stop taking you seriously now.. btw, i don't care about being called a liberal or left, i just don't think it's accurate.

[iamsam]

Blunt: the younger tend more to be liberal because it is rebellious against their parents and authority and grants them more freedom to do what they want, as they grow older, they see that doing whatever you want isn't necessarily good, and being rebellious isn't as cool as it once was. Your kids will come 'round!! ;)