Difference between liberal, libertarian and conservative?

[competentone]

Originally posted by fintstone
Difference:
liberal...add a backbone and 20 points to IQ and get a conservative...add 20 more points to IQ...and get a libertarian

I know a good number of people with high IQ's, most are very far to the left. High intelligence, as measured with standardized IQ tests, is not an indication of "common sense."

I see the liberal, conservative, and libertarian differences as a bit more complicated than Fray's (conservative slanted) explanation above.

There can be wide differences in people within each group, but generally both liberals and conservatives treat emotion as being more important than reason. Libertarians approach life with more use of logic. (Yes, there are hedonists who call themselves "libertarians," but I would argue against their assessment of themselves. The same with certain staunchly religious people calling themselves libertarian.)

Liberals and conservatives still use logic (no one could survive long without using it at all), but they use it only in limited, and different, areas of their life. Both liberals and conservatives will close their mind to reason on certain "sacred cow" issues.

Ayn Rand wrote something to the effect: "You can't reason with them, they're not open to reason" when trying to explain the frustration someone committed to rational living will experience when trying to communicate with people who will close their minds to logical argument.

[Mule]

Scott, glad you see it so clearly. So superior intelligence is what Ted Kennedy, Jane Fonda, Jesse Jackson and the like are working with. I thought it was just hatred for America.

The most confusing part about this is that the theocrats in the republican party have confused folks into believing that social liberalism is conservative. The rights to get an abortion, smoke weed etc are all conservative issues that have been skewed by the theocrats. Remember, conservative means your right to swing your arm stops where my nose starts.

[stevepaa]

The only ones showing hatred for American values are those that deride people voicing dissent.

[Mule]

Like Jane? Get a grip!

[Wrecked944]

IMHO any ideology is an intellectual short circuit – a crutch used to avoid critical thinking. It allows lazy people to find comfort in the belief that they know the answers before the questions are asked. So with that in mind, here is a simple formula:

Liberal = conservative = libertarian = anarchist = communist = democrat = republican = fascist = etc etc

That's just an abbreviated example. The complete formula is a lot like the value of pi. It is too long to express in its entirety. The rest of the extrapolation is left to the reader.

[Mule]

Yeah attatching meanings to words is so confusing and politically incorrect too.

[stevepaa]

Like the pot calling the kettle black!

Ted Kennedy hates America? Now what the heck does that mean?
Yeah, he just doesn't agree with you. Thanks for the update.


As the majority of Americans now feel that Bush is doing a poor job, your list of America haters must be getting darn big.

[competentone]

Originally posted by JanusCole
IMHO any ideology is an intellectual short circuit – a crutch used to avoid critical thinking....

Liberal = conservative = libertarian = anarchist = communist = democrat = republican = fascist = etc etc

Liberal = conservative = libertarian = anarchist = communist = democrat = republican = fascist = critical thinker?

That's what you're saying! Which sounds like nonsense to me.

[Hugh R]

News Flash:

Cops shoot 14 year old boy who it turns out was brandishing a toy gun.

Liberal response: It was a toy Gun!

Conservative response: He pointed what looked like a gun at a cop.

[Mule]

No Steve that walking pickled liver with a face lift you refer to loves an America where if you have a rich powerful daddy you can be a lifelong drunk, get away with murder, establish a fine tradition of rape & murder within your whole family, and still be loved by guys like you.

[billyboy]

I find it amusing that liberals are discribed as wanting/giving more freedom. From my personal experience, all liberals want to do is control all of us. They operate from the stand point that they obviously know what is best and they will make all the rules.They clearly know how people should behave (poitical correctness), how the whole universe functions( environmental fundamentalism) and economics( take the money from those who earn it and give it to those who sit on their a--).

[1967 R50/2]

Originally posted by billyboy
I find it amusing that liberals are discribed as wanting/giving more freedom. From my personal experience, all liberals want to do is control all of us. They operate from the stand point that they obviously know what is best and they will make all the rules.They clearly know how people should behave (poitical correctness), how the whole universe functions( environmental fundamentalism) and economics( take the money from those who earn it and give it to those who sit on their a--).

I will address the issue of being liberal.

Well, Billy Boy, most of the self-proclaimed "liberals" on this board certainly seem to think like that. I don't think of them as liberals though...they are just snobs.

I see very little intelligence on either side of the debating table on this forum. People in general are too emotional and too concerned with being "right" in order to satisfy their own ego, rather than being correct in fact. Grand statements of opinion get made as if they were incontravertable with nothing ever to back them up.

I also find it interesting how different regions of the country disagree ( at least I think it is a regional phenomenon). From what I can tell, I have very little in common with the "liberals" and "Democrats" from CA and MA.

Their paternalisitc agenda seems basically to be the "old money" conservative stereotype from years ago. Interesting how ideologies have swapped places.

So am I a liberal? On some social issues, certainly yes. Am I a "liberal" like some on this board. Hell no! Quite frankly, I don't think they know what liberal is.

[billyboy]

I would agree with this for sure... the lines aren't always clear. As I would be called an Ultra Con by some, I am probably more in line with the thinking of liberal workers from the heavy industrial states along national/world economic lines. I am a populist. As far as I am concerned, WTA, NAFTA, etc have done nothing good for the working/producing people in this country. I see no great advantage to the general population of the country coming from world trade. We could be completely self sufficient. Just look at the trade deficit, that pretty much says it all. Our best export has been our jobs. The neo-con leaders along with the liberal old money types have effectively destroyed the manufacturing base of the country. All that stuff that is coming here at a dizziying rate from China could be made here and without the expense of enableing our sworn enemy.When money enters the picture, ideological lines tend to blur.