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raj1
Student
What is the difference between liberalism, conservatism, and radicalism?
political science.
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ms-mcgregor Teacher
High School - 12th GradeeNotes Editor
Posted by ms-mcgregor on Thursday September 25, 2008 at 1:36 PMConservatism is a general political theory that seeks to keep things the way they are. General beliefs support the "status quo"; cautiously consider or resist change; and rely upon traditional values. Conservative ideology has been called "the right" or "right–wing" segment of a theoretical political continuum. Historically, conservatism has been linked to the Republican party in the United States. In contrast to conservatism, liberalism generally supports reform, change and attaches great importance to safeguarding individual rights and freedom of the individual in society. The Democratic Party in the United States is usually considered more liberal that the Republican Party. Radicalism--political and social movements and ideologies that aim at fundamental change in the structure of society--has also been a persistent feature of U.S. history. Radicalism can result from either conservatism or liberalism. The distinction between a "radical" conservative or a "radical" liberal is usually based on how far a person will go to implement their ideology. Radicals are much more convinced about the correctness of their views and often work outside the usual pathways of govenment.However, sometimes today's radicalism becomes tomorrow's liberalism or conservatism--as in the case of the American Revolution, civil rights, and opposition to the Vietnam War.
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enotechris Teacher
VocationaleNotes Editor
Posted by enotechris on Wednesday December 24, 2008 at 1:20 PMThese designations of political philosophy are also described as "left" (Liberal) and "right" (Conservative) with the radical element making the liberal more extremely liberal and the conservative more extremely conservative. If a liberal leans toward the right, or a conservative toward the left, there's a "middle of the road" Centrist designation as well. However, that's looking at the political spectrum in one, linear dimension. The case has been make that the spectrum is two dimensional, with an up and down component; "up" tending toward moral and economic freedom, "down" tending toward government control of morality and economics. The radical element of "up" is Anarchy; that of "down" is Totalitarianism. See more at the link:
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