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Political IdeologiesIssue by Issue
Political Ideologies“We all want…the same things in life. We want freedom; we want the chance for prosperity; we want to be the best we can be; we want as few people suffering as possible, economically; we want healthy children; we want to have crime-free streets; all these things, they’re pretty common…The argument is how to achieve them.”
Ideological Spectrum
Liberalism(the left)
Conservatism(the right)
Radical Moderate Reactionary
Liberalism Defined
• Gov’t action to achieve equal opportunity & equality
• Gov’t’s duty to alleviate social ills, protect civil liberties, individual & human rights
• Gov’t should ensure no one is in need
• Emphasize need for gov’t to solve people’s problems
Conservatism Defined
• Personal responsibility• Limited gov’t• Individual liberty• Traditional American
values• Strong nat’l defense• Emphasize
empowerment of the individual to solve problems
The Issues
AbortionLiberals
• A fetus is not a human life• Decision to have abortion is
personal choice of woman regarding her own body
• Women should be guaranteed right to safe & legal abortion, including partial birth abortion
Conservatives• Life begins at conception• Abortion is murder• Support legislation to
prohibit partial birth abortions
Affirmative ActionLiberals
• Past racism deprived minorities of same educational & employment opportunity as whites. Need to make up for that.
• Support affirmative action• Minorities lag behind
whites in all statistical measures of success
• Promote diversity in education & workplace
Conservatives• People should be admitted
to schools and hired for jobs based on ability
• Unfair to use race as factor in selection process
• Reverse-discrimination not a solution for racism
Death PenaltyLiberals
• Abolish the death penalty• Inhumane• “Cruel and unusual”• Does not deter crime• Imprisonment is
appropriate punishment• Execution risks killing an
innocent person
Conservatives• Punishment fits the crime• Neither “cruel” or “unusual”
EconomyLiberals
• Gov’t should regulate economy
• Gov’t should protect consumers from big business
• Unlike private sector, gov’t motivated by public interest
• Gov’t regulation levels playing field
Conservatives• Free market capitalism
affords widest opportunity & highest standard of living for all
• Excessive gov’t regulation hampers economic growth
• Free markets create jobs
Education (School Vouchers)Liberals
• Untested experiment• More funding for existing
public schools– Raise teacher salaries– Reduce class size
Conservatives• Vouchers give parents right
to choose good school for their children– Not just those who can afford
private schools
• Parents should decide how and where to educate their child
The EnvironmentLiberals
• Desire clean water, air, & planet
• Industrial growth harms environment
• Global warming cause by increased production of carbon dioxide
• U.S. major contributor (produces 25% of world’s CO2)– Should enact laws to reduce
Conservatives• Desire clean water, air, &
planet• Environmental policies
destroy jobs & damage economy
• Climate change occurs over long periods of time
• Science has not shown humans can affect permanent change to Earth’s temp
Gun ControlLiberals
• Second Amendment gives no individual right to own gun– Allows state to keep militia
(National Guard)
• Guns kill people• Guns kill children
Conservatives• Second Amendment gives
individuals right to keep & bear arms
• “Guns don’t kill people. People kill people.”
• Gun control laws don’t thwart criminals
• You have right to defend yourself
• More guns = less crime
Health CareLiberals
• Support universal government-supervised healthcare
• Millions can’t afford health insurance
• Uninsured being deprived of basic right to healthcare
• Support “Obamacare”
Conservatives• “Obamacare” (socialized
medicine) means everyone gets same poor-quality healthcare
• Rich will continue to pay for superior healthcare; all others will receive poor-quality healthcare from gov’t
• Healthcare should remain privatized
• Support Healthcare Spending Accounts
Homeland SecurityLiberals
• Oppose the PATRIOT Act
Conservatives• Wary of the PATRIOT Act
ImmigrationLiberals
• Support legal immigration & increaing # of legal immigrants permitted to enter U.S. each year
• Support blanket amnesty for current undocumented immigrants
• Undocumented immigrants deserve…– Gov’t financial aid to college– Visas for spouse/children to
come to U.S.
• Undocumented immigrants do jobs Americans don’t want to do
Conservatives• Support legal immigration
at current numbers• Do not support illegal
immigration• Gov’t should enforce
immigration laws• Oppose amnesty for current
undocumented immigrants• Undocumented immigrants
do not deserve same rights as those who enter legally
• Undocumented workers take jobs from citizens
ReligionLiberals
• Support separation between church and state
• Religious expression has no place in gov’t
• Support removal of all references to God in public & gov’t spaces
• Religion should not interfere with gov’t
Conservatives• Phrase “separation between
church and state” is not in Constitution– “Congress shall make no law
respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the exercise thereof…”
• As a result, Constitution does not prevent God from being acknowledge in schools & gov’t buildings
• Oppose removal of Christian symbols from public & gov’t spaces
• Gov’t should not interfere with religion & religious freedom
Same-Sex MarriageLiberals
• Marriage should be legal for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender couples
• All have right to marry• Prohibiting same-sex
marriage denies LGBT community civil rights
Conservatives• Marriage is between one
man & one woman• Opinions differ on a
constitutional amendment establishing marriage as union of one man and one woman
• Requiring citizens to sanction same-sex relationships violates moral & religious beliefs of millions of Christians, Jews, Muslims, & others
Social SecurityLiberals
• Generally oppose change to current Social Security system.
• Opinions vary on whether current system is in financial trouble
• Changing system will cause people to lose their SS benefits
• Support cap on Social Security payments to the wealthy
Conservatives• Current Social Security
system is in serious financial trouble
• Changes necessary to maintain system
• Support proposal to all portion of SS dollars withheld to be be put into account chosen by individual, not gov’t
TaxesLiberals
• Support higher taxes & larger gov’t
• High taxes enable gov’t to do good & create jobs
• Need high taxes for social welfare programs, to provide for the poor
• Can’t afford to cut taxes
Conservatives• Support lower taxes &
smaller gov’t• Lowers taxes = more
incentive for people to work, save, invest, and engage in entrepreneurial endeavors
• Money best spent by those who earn it
War on TerrorLiberals
• 9/11 caused by America’s arrogant foreign policy
• America needs to stop angering other countries
• Threat posed by terrorism exaggerated by President Bush for own political advantage
Conservatives• World toward which
Militant Islamists strive cannot peacefully co-exist w/ Western world
• In past decade, Militant Islamists have repeatedly attacked Americans & American interests here and abroad
• Terrorists must be stopped & destroyed
WelfareLiberals
• Support welfare• Need welfare to provide for
poor• Conservatives oppose
welfare & are not compassionate toward poor
• Welfare brings fairness to American economic life
• Without welfare, life below poverty line intolerable
Conservatives• Oppose long-term welfare• Provide opportunities to
make it possible for poor & low-income workers to become self-reliant.
• Far more compassionate & effective to encourage people to become self-reliant, rather than keeping them dependent on gov’t for money
MilitaryLiberals Conservatives
Embryonic Stem Cell ResearchLiberals Conservatives
EnergyLiberals Conservatives
Euthanasia & Physician-Assisted Suicide
Liberals Conservatives
DrugsLiberals Conservatives
United Nations (UN)Liberals Conservatives