America: Political Ideologies!
In the United States of America there are four well known political ideologies: centrist, libertarian, Liberal and conservative. Liberalism and conservatism are the most prominent in the United States of America.
Liberalism is a political ideology with the core belief of social justice and democracy. Liberals believe that the government should attempt to fix social inequalities that exist. They favor active government in the economy because they believe the people need to be protected from big business practices, and favor no government in social life and values. Liberals are most likely support regulation of business, same sex marriage, abortion rights, gun control, pro-affirmative action, national health care, campaign finance reform, environmental protection. Characteristics of liberals are to be young, college-educated, religious,minority and female. There are now two types of liberalism; contemporary and classical. Classical liberalism is the belief in limited government in social and economic life while contemporary liberalism believe in more government programs thus making the government more involved in economic life and still want government out of social life. Liberalism is on the left side of the political spectrum and is most identified with the democratic party.
Conservatives core belief is individual responsibility. They believe in private initiative and that social programs encourage people to be lazy and not to put hard work in because they can get stuff handed to them freely. Conservatives favor active government in social life and favor no government in the economy. Conservatives support pro life, gun rights, less regulation of business, lower taxes, and high military spending. Conservatives tend to be older, white, generally richer, and male. Two types of conservatives are social and fiscal conservatives. Social conservatives believe in traditional social values such as family and are usually against same sex marriage. Fiscal conservatives support the reduction of government spending and ensuring government budgets. Conservatism is on the right side of the political spectrum and is most identified with the republican party.
Libertarians core values are economic and personal freedom. Libertarians believe the less government the better and the only role of the government is to protect people from violence and coercion(military and police). They favor no active government at all. Libertarians support lower taxes, no regulation on business which is true capitalism, freedom in personal and social life. They don’t want government telling people how to live, they want each citizen to live their own way. The only restriction is to not infringe on another citizens right to do the same. Libertarians are on the bottom of the political spectrum and usually identify as republican.
The centrist ideology holds both liberal and conservative beliefs, for example a centrist might believe in strong government programs(Liberal idea), but also believe in lifting some regulations on businesses(conservative idea). Centrist are in the middle of the ideological spectrum because they hold ideas from both sides of the spectrum. Many Americans are centrist because most people can’t agree with everything from one ideology. They’ll agree with conservatives on some issues and liberals on another. People who consider themselves centrists will usually side with the candidate who they share the most stances with.
I tend to lean more on the conservative side, but I would classify myself as a centrist because I hold some ideals from both of the major ideologies, I don't agree with everything from one ideology which can be shown by my political compass quiz(I was in the middle). I agree with conservatives on less government programs, less government spending and lower taxes. I agree with liberals on less government in social life. I don't agree with libertarians on no government at all on social life or the economy because I believe there needs to be some laws and regulation to make America a better and safer place where people don't get taken advantage of by big business. I don’t think it is as simple as one or the other so that’s why I think I am more of a centrist and have ideas supported from two different ideologies.
Works Cited
Hughes, Keith. “What Is a Conservative?” YouTube. YouTube, 17 Nov. 2014. Web. 26 Sept. 2015.
“Modern American Liberalism.” Just A Word From The Left. N.p., 26 Oct. 2010. Web. 28 Sept. 2015.
News, TestTube. “What Is Libertarianism?” YouTube. YouTube, 11 Apr. 2015. Web. 26 Sept. 2015.
Political ideology favours spectrum. Digital image. Http://www.slideshare.net. N.p., 10 June 2010. Web. 29 Sept. 2015.
Political ideology spectrum. Digital image. Wikipedia.org. Wikimedia, 3 Aug. 2015. Web. 26 Sept. 2015.
Richey, Tom. “Classical Liberalism vs. American Liberalism (Drive Home History #3).” YouTube. YouTube, 29 Mar. 2014. Web. 26 Sept. 2015.
