Politics and Political Parties
Name: ____________________________
Political Ideology – Liberals and Conservatives
* For a general definition of the word LIBERAL: “Favoring proposals for reform, open to new ideas for progress and
tolerant of the ideas and behavior of others; broad-minded.”
* For a general definition of the word CONSERVATIVE: “Favoring traditional cultural views and values; tending to
oppose change – traditional or restrained in style.”
I. Classical Liberal (Latin word, liber, which means ‘free’)
A. Mercantilism (1500s-1700s) – wealth is defined by the amount of gold and silver a country has!
B. Adam Smith and The Wealth of Nations, 1776 (laissez-faire economics)
* General idea is that “government interference retards growth”
* Argued that “the market itself will regulate the economy. Efficient producers will prosper and inefficient
ones go under. Supply and demand determine prices better than any government official…”
C. This ideology took the name LIBERALISM in that it was so different and it was such a broad-minded and new
approach to the established economic status-quo of the time!
* Hence, the reason why this “hands-off” economic approach is referred to as Classical Liberalism…
* Thomas Jefferson, “the government is best that governs least.”
* New American nation applied this approach to most aspects of society – religion, speech, press,
economics, government, etc.
II. Classical Conservative
A. Edmund Burke (18th century Irish philosopher who did not necessarily oppose free market economics)
* But, he philosophized that “institutions and traditions that currently exist cannot be all that bad… for they
are the products of hundreds of years or trial and error. People have become used to them. The best should
be preserved or conserved.”
* Burke did not believe that ‘things’ should never change in society, he felt that they should change
gradually, giving people time to adjust.
B. Burke was ANTI-REVOLUTION – he felt that revolutions ended badly because society cannot be instantly
remade according to human reason!
* Found that radicals and revolutionaries “suppose that things can be much better when in fact violent
upheaval always makes things worse.”
III. Modern Liberal
A. By the end of the 19th century, free market economics had dominated the Western world! (Classical Liberalism)
* Problems had arisen under a “hand-off” approach to the economy – monopolistic tendencies, imperfect
competition, growing division between rich and poor, etc.
B. Thomas Hill Green (English philosopher) rethinks Classical Liberalism in the 1880s…
* If the goal of liberalism is a free society, what happens when economic developments take away freedom?
* Then, Green argued, it was the government’s job to step in and ensure freedom! “Government was to step
in to guarantee the freedom to live at an adequate level.”
* “Classical Liberalism expelled government from the economy; Modern Liberalism brought government
back in.” – to protect people from a sometimes unfair economic system!
* Examples of this Modern Liberalism include: Minimum wage laws, 40 hour weeks, unionization,
unemployment insurance, etc.
IV. Modern Conservative
A. Individuals who did not split with the new Modern Liberals in the late 19 th century became today’s Modern
Conservatives!
* These individuals stayed true to Adam Smith’s doctrine of minimal government… Free market still reigns
supreme, tradition and religion throughout society is to be upheld.
* Examples of this Modern Conservative include: outlaw abortion and same-sex marriage, support private
and church related schools, oppose special rights for women and minorities (everyone should have the same
rights), etc.
* Modern Conservatism is a blend of the economic ideas of Adam Smith and the traditionalist ideas of
Edmund Burke!
Politics and Political Parties
Name: ____________________________
Political Ideology – Liberals and Conservatives
* General definitions of the words ‘liberal’ and ‘conservative’:
LIBERAL: “Favoring proposals for reform, open to new ideas for progress and tolerant of the ideas and behavior of
others; broad-minded.”
CONSERVATIVE: “Favoring traditional cultural views and values; tending to oppose change – traditional or
restrained in style.”
Directions: Read each statement. Determine what political ideology is best represented by each statement. Place
your answer in the open space. Also, circle whether or not you agree or disagree (personally) with the statement.
CL. Classical Liberal
CC. Classical Conservative
ML. Modern Liberal
MC. Modern Conservative
1.) _______ “As many people as possible should have as much say as is imaginable over the direction that their
lives will take – personally, socially and economically.”
AGREE
DISAGREE
2.) _______ “Established governmental and societal institutions should be changed slowly, giving people time to
adjust.”
AGREE
DISAGREE
3.) _______ “In economics, the free market reigns supreme, while traditional culture and religion is to be upheld
and respected with the utmost approval throughout society.”
AGREE
DISAGREE
4.) _______ “Liberalism inevitably turns into radicalism, radicalism brings out man’s irrational impulses which lead
to chaos – inevitably ending in tyranny.”
AGREE
DISAGREE
5.) _______ “The independent life is the best life. We, the people, have the potential and are therefore responsible
for realizing it, to be masters of our own destiny.”
AGREE
DISAGREE
6.) _______ “When economic developments take freedom away from the people, it is the government’s job to step
in and guarantee the freedom to live at an adequate level.”
AGREE
DISAGREE
7.) _______ “Individuals who suppose that society could be much better are, in fact, wrong because violent
upheaval usually makes problems worse.”
AGREE
DISAGREE
8.) _______ “The minimum wage, the 40 hour work week and unionization are all great methods for avoiding
employment discrimination throughout the economy.”
AGREE
DISAGREE
9.) _______ “Government interference in the economy slows, delays and hinders economic growth.”
AGREE
DISAGREE
10.) ______ “Revolutions typically end poorly because society cannot be instantly remade according to human
reason!”
AGREE
DISAGREE
11.) ______ “The market itself will regulate the economy. Efficient producers will prosper and inefficient ones go
under. Supply and demand determine prices better than any government official…”
AGREE
DISAGREE
12.) ______ “Individuals should be able to freely sell their labor to any buyer or enter almost any profession and
sell goods and services to the market as a matter of freedom of exchange. But, the government is justified in some
instances of restricting freedom of thought and expression throughout society.”
AGREE
DISAGREE
13.) ______ “Free market economics leads to unfair and imperfect competition, as well as monopolistic tendencies.
Class positions are inherited, children from better-off families get a good education and the right connections that
help them stay on top. Therefore, the government should right these wrongs.”
AGREE
DISAGREE
14.) ______ The political philosophy of the Founding Fathers which permeates the U.S. Constitution, the Federalist
Papers, the Declaration of Independence and many other documents produced by the people who created the
current American system of government.
AGREE
DISAGREE
15.) ______ “Societal institutions and traditions that currently exist cannot be all that bad – for they are the
products of hundreds of years or trial and error. People have become used to them. The best should be
preserved.”
AGREE
DISAGREE
16.) ______ “The government is best that governs least.”
AGREE
DISAGREE
17.) ______ “A progressive tax system, one which places a higher tax on the rich than on the working class, is an
acceptable economic tool of the government to alleviate economic and social ills.”
AGREE
DISAGREE