The Three Main Ideologies of Liberalism and Conservatism and Libertarianism - Essay Example

Survey of American Government: Who is right: liberals or conservatives and libertarians, or, perhaps, the truth lies somewhere in between? June 6, 2011 Outline: Introduction……………………………………………………………………………. 3 Law as the Basis of Any Political Ideology…………………………………………… 3 Liberals………………………………………………………………………………… 4 Conservatives………………………………………………………………………….. 5 Libertarians……………………………………….......................................................... 5 The Truth is somewhere in between…………………………………………………... 6 Introduction The contemporary political situation in the United States is determined by various political ideologies and parties from left (liberals) to right (conservatives), which reveal the amount of government authority and control over the personal and economic freedom. Thus, there are numerous arguments whether liberals or conservatives and libertarians are right in their ideologies concerning the society and its political, economic and social development. Some give preferences to the ideas of liberals, some to those of conservatives and libertarians while the rest thinks that the truth lies somewhere in between. While liberals believe that the desired American society should have European-style with comprehensive benefits such as tax-financed education and healthcare, economic conservatives and libertarians see self-reliance as an integral part of the American culture, which presumes independence from the government. The current paper will define and analyze the ideologies of liberals, conservatives and libertarians to understand which one is more appropriate for the American society to ensure its efficient political, economic and social development. Law as the Basis of Any Political Ideology According to Lon Fuller (1969), law can be defined as "the enterprise of subjecting human conduct to the governance of rules" where the legal system is considered as the product of a sustained purposive effort. Fuller emphasized that the goal of order within the society can be achieved only if a legal system of rules would be prospective in effort, be publicly promulgated, understandable for each community member, and be administered in a consistent manner. Fuller (1969) emphasized that the goal of order within the society can be achieved only if a legal system of rules would be prospective in effort, be publicly promulgated, understandable for each community member, and be administered in a consistent manner. Fuller (1969) pointed that life of each person is guided by two moralities, such as morality of duty and morality of aspiration, which define the role, goals and limits of law. While the first morality is presumed by the society a person lives in whether he/she agrees to such laws or not, the second one represents the morality of good life and the fullest realization of human abilities and powers. The morality of duty presumes certain requirements for the social communication among people, which can be achieved only within the community since outside it a person cannot be considered more than an animal. Thus, Fuller (1969) emphasized the importance of the second morality, which main responsibility is to preserve and enrich the social inheritance. In order to maintain and ensure the certain place within the hierarchy of the society law should be used as a powerful tool for oppression, control and punishment if necessary. The chart below by David Nolan (1969) clearly shows the distinction between the existing political ideologies of the United States defined by the following two dimensions: (a) left/right represented by liberals and conservatives; and (b) up/down represented by libertarians and authoritarians accordingly. Liberals While on the individual level liberals usually maximize personal freedom and promote tolerance and open-minded perception of the surrounding world, they prefer strict business regulations and government control of the economy to ensure equal rights and benefits for each member of the society (Maritain and Sweet, 2001). Civil liberties and free expression of opinion is of high importance as well since it helps to stand for the diverse lifestyles and help to protect environmental regulations. In brief, liberals are looking for less personal control and more economic control from the government. Conservatives Jonathan Krohn (2011) wrote that the true conservative beliefs are based on natural and moral laws. On the contrary to liberals, conservatives prefer to restrict individual behavior of each member of the society by applying certain laws and regulations to ensure such behavior does not violate the traditional values of this society. At the same time, conservatives give preference to the economic freedom and do not accept any restrictions and control of business from the government to ensure a free-market economy. Strong military forces and law enforcement are important requirements for them while high taxes and bureaucracy should be prevented. On the contrary to liberals, conservatives are afraid to explore some new ideas, especially if they can be viewed as strange and unusual by others. In such a way, conservatives are looking for more personal control and less economic control from the government. Libertarians Finally, libertarians are looking for the maximum freedom in both individual and economic areas of life (Murray, 1997). Same as conservatives, libertarians oppose to the high taxes and government bureaucracy since they perceive the role of the government as the limited one, the main purpose of which is to protect its citizens from the violence and oppression. Same as liberals, libertarians defend the civil liberties and support a free-market economy. Wayne Allyn Root (2010) defends the ideology of libertarians and offers unique reforms in the public sector as well as health care and energy. By promoting the limited government control and solutions, Root (2010) reveals how Americans can fight against the “big government” with its large corporations and unions, bureaucrats and corrupted politicians, etc. As Nolan’s chart shows, authoritarians prefer a significant control of the government over both personal and economic matters. That is why, the opposite libertarians believe in the personal and economic freedom that should be provided by the government. The truth is somewhere in between There is always a debate about the difference between personal liberty and economic liberty, which once were perceived as one (in the times of Thomas Jefferson), but became as two separate perceptions in the contemporary American society (Gillespie and Welch, 2011). It is mainly due to the fact that conservatives will support economic freedom and government involvement in the personal lifestyles and behaviors while, on the contrary, liberals will support civil liberties and personal rights in addition to promoting government involvement and control of the economy. Unfortunately, instead of working together to improve the political, economic and social fields of the American society, liberals and conservatives consider each other as a threat to their own ideologies and freedoms, which eventually divided the American society into parts that always conflict and create political chaos. Despite the variety of opinions, political beliefs and theories, all legal philosophers agree that law needs an open communication between people and institutions when any information, knowledge, skills and legal experience can be shared for better achievements and performance in the future. Law should be governed and controlled by the established legal institutions, without which order within the country seems to be impossible due to the numerous perception and views on legal procedures and issues. Despite sometimes law limits the rights and interests of certain groups, minorities or some institutions, it is good for regulating the behavior of society members, various procedures, customs and practices. There are certain advantages and disadvantages as well as extremes in each ideology mentioned above, though today it seems that more and more Americans proclaim themselves as libertarians as the popularity of libertarianism movement increases. Each is trying to seek its own benefits lacking transparency of their intentions and actions in the past. That is why, the truth is always lies somewhere in between because American society cannot go to any of these extremes. Thus, it is important to find an optimal consensus between the three main ideologies of liberalism, conservatism and libertarianism. References: Fuller, Lon. The Morality of Law. Yale University Press; Revised edition, 1969. http://www.amazon.com/Morality-Law-Revised-Storrs-Lectures/dp/0300010702 Gillespie, Nick and Matt Welch. The Declaration of Independents: How Libertarian Politics Can Fix Whats Wrong with America. Public Affairs, 2011. http://www.amazon.com/Declaration-Independents-Libertarian-Politics-America/dp/1586489380/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1307386772&sr=1-1 Krohn, Jonathan. Defining Conservatism: The Principles That Will Bring Our Country Back. Vanguard Press, 2011. http://www.amazon.com/Defining-Conservatism-Principles-Bring-Country/dp/1593156316/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1307386799&sr=1-5 Maritain, Jacques and William Sweet. Natural Law: Reflections on Theory and Practice. St. Augustine’s Press, 1st edition, 2001. http://www.amazon.com/Natural-Law-Reflections-Theory-Practice/dp/189031868X/ref=pd_sim_b_4 Murray, Charles. What It Means to Be a Libertarian. Broadway, 1997. http://www.amazon.com/What-Means-Libertarian-Charles-Murray/dp/0767900391/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1307386772&sr=1-2 Root, Wayne Allyn. The Conscience of a Libertarian: Empowering the Citizen Revolution with God, Guns, Gold and Tax Cuts. Wiley, 1st edition, 2010. http://www.amazon.com/Conscience-Libertarian-Empowering-Citizen-Revolution/dp/0470918187/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1307386772&sr=1-3 Read More