Ideology of conservatism and liberalism

Conservatives and liberals want the same things but their ways of approaching them are different. Their views often clash on important issues like abortion and education but they seek the same social and economic stability that every American dreams of. Their differences on issues originate from their values and beliefs some of which are discussed below.

Conservatives want accountability and personal action. They want minimum government intervention and seek to bring change through individual actions. They seek government action only in a manner that facilitates personal actions and aids people in pursuing their goals. Thus individual is more important than government. They value traditional American family setup and uphold traditional norms.

Liberals on the other hand seek governmental action in everything. They believe that it is the responsibility of the government to bring social equality and economic stability. They push for state's support on issues, as they believe in effective action from the top to solve the grass root problems.

Now that we know what they believe, it is important to see their views on some important issues. This will help us see the different ways in which conservatives and liberals approach problems. On the issue of abortion, Conservative being traditionalists believe that fetus has the right to live. They equate abortion with murder. They do not support Partial Birth abortion. Liberals feel abortion is the right of a woman. It is her choice and if she doesn't want the baby, no one should stop her from abortion. They feel that fetus is not a human being and thus terminating it is not equal to murder.

Conservatives and liberals differ on the subject of affirmative action too. Conservatives feel that everyone should get to respective positions on merits and reserve discrimination is the not solution. Liberals on the other hand maintain that with so many discriminatory practices it is only obvious why we need quotas. They feel that people of color may never be able to get ahead if there was no affirmative action. Conservatives and liberals also differ on the subject of death penalty. Conservatives are for it while liberals are against the same. Liberals feel that it must be abolished while conservatives do not see anything wrong with punishing the wrongdoer.