George Will on the difference between liberals and conservatives

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[ARCHIVED THREAD] - George Will on the difference between liberals and conservatives

Posted: 6/4/2008 4:35:45 PM EDT

"The competing values are freedom and equality at all times. Conservatives tend to favor freedom and are willing to accept inequalities of outcome from a free market. Liberals tend to favor equality of outcome and are willing to sacrifice and circumscribe freedom in order to get it"

Heard him say that last night and just thought it was interesting...

Posted: 6/4/2008 4:36:25 PM EDT

[#1]

He's right.

Posted: 6/4/2008 4:38:50 PM EDT

[#2]

Democracy and socialism have nothing in common but one word, equality. But notice the difference: while democracy seeks equality in liberty, socialism seeks equality in restraint and servitude. - Alexis de Tocqueville

Posted: 6/4/2008 4:40:53 PM EDT

[#3]

Quoted:
Democracy and socialism have nothing in common but one word, equality. But notice the difference: while democracy seeks equality in liberty, socialism seeks equality in restraint and servitude. - Alexis de Tocqueville

Damn fine quote... and new sigline material

- AG

Posted: 6/4/2008 4:44:19 PM EDT

[#4]

George Will kills me sometimes. He's a "conservative" and is the first to lambast someone who claims they are (like a RINO). But, alas, George Will is anti-gun.

BZZZZTTTTTT!!! You lose, George, a true conservative is NOT anti-gun.

ETA---I agree with a lot he says, just not about guns and the war (well, two of my most important issues anyways).

Posted: 6/4/2008 4:47:17 PM EDT

[#5]

Quoted:
"The competing values are freedom and equality at all times. Conservatives tend to favor freedom and are willing to accept inequalities of outcome from a free market. Liberals tend to favor equality of outcome and are willing to sacrifice and circumscribe freedom in order to get it"

Heard him say that last night and just thought it was interesting...

Pretty much.

Posted: 6/4/2008 4:51:03 PM EDT

[#6]

It's all semantics and how the words have been watered down through the years.

Classic Liberalism is something to aspire to, and what many people here and other places mean when they say "Conservative".

Classical liberalism (also known as traditional liberalism[1] and laissez-faire liberalism,[2] or, in much of the world, simply called liberalism) is a doctrine stressing individual freedom and limited government. This includes the importance of human rationality, individual property rights, natural rights, the protection of civil liberties, constitutional limitations of government, free markets, and individual freedom from restraint as exemplified in the writings of Adam Smith, John Stuart Mill,[3] Montesquieu, Voltaire,[4] Thomas Paine and others. As such, it is seen as the fusion of economic liberalism with political liberalism.[2] The "normative core" of classical liberalism is the idea that laissez-faire economics will bring about a spontaneous order or invisible hand that benefits the society,[5] though it does not necessarily oppose the state's provision of a few basic public goods.[6]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classical_liberalism

Conservative is less able to be defined.

Conservatism is a term used to describe political philosophies that favor tradition and gradual change, where tradition refers to religious, cultural, or nationally defined beliefs and customs. The term is derived from the Latin, con-" (together) and "servare (to keep). Since different cultures have different established values, conservatives in different cultures have differing goals. Some conservatives seek to preserve the status quo or to reform society slowly, while others seek to return to the values of an earlier time, the status quo ante.

Conservatism as a political philosophy is difficult to define, encompassing numerous movements, and conservatives sometimes disagree about which parts of a culture are most worthy of preservation. Thus religious conservatives may be at odds with nationalist conservatives. There may be contradictions between alternative conceptions of conservatism as the ideology of preserving the past, and the contemporary worldwide conception of conservatism as a right-wing political stance.

You currently do not have a Liberal Party (Democrat) and a Conservative Party (Republican).

There is a deeply socialist party (Democrat) and a slightly less socialist party (Republican)

Posted: 6/4/2008 4:53:04 PM EDT

[#7]

George Will is an elitist bitch.

DN

Posted: 6/4/2008 4:58:45 PM EDT

[#8]

Quoted:
George Will kills me sometimes. He's a "conservative" and is the first to lambast someone who claims they are (like a RINO). But, alas, George Will is anti-gun.

BZZZZTTTTTT!!! You lose, George, a true conservative is NOT anti-gun.

Wow, I didn't know that. That kind of surprises me...

Posted: 6/4/2008 4:59:40 PM EDT

[#9]

He was just on Colbert, he's a snob to say the least but man is he quick witted....smart guy.

Had no idea he was anti-gun, weird position for his type line of thinking.

Posted: 6/4/2008 5:04:36 PM EDT

[#10]

Quoted:

Quoted:
George Will kills me sometimes. He's a "conservative" and is the first to lambast someone who claims they are (like a RINO). But, alas, George Will is anti-gun.

BZZZZTTTTTT!!! You lose, George, a true conservative is NOT anti-gun.

Wow, I didn't know that. That kind of surprises me...

Yeah, him and Charles Krauthammer. Go figure......

Posted: 6/4/2008 5:12:17 PM EDT

[#11]

Quoted:
"The competing values are freedom and equality at all times. Conservatives tend to favor freedom and are willing to accept inequalities of outcome from a free market. Liberals tend to favor equality of outcome and are willing to sacrifice and circumscribe freedom in order to get it"

Heard him say that last night and just thought it was interesting...

Bzzzt. Might have been true years ago, but not anymore. Current Conservatives favor freedom? I wish.

Posted: 6/4/2008 6:27:15 PM EDT

[#12]

Quoted:
He's right.

+1

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - George Will on the difference between liberals and conservatives

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