In Regards to Political Ideology

In the land of the free we have four general political ideologies: conservative, liberal, centrist, and libertarian.

You probably have a basic idea of the beliefs and know about the stereotypes associated with each ideology, but let’s dig deeper into the definitions,platforms, and the general standings for each (keep in mind libertarians, conservatives, centrists, and liberals are not monolithic).

Let’s begin with the Liberals shall we?

The classic definition of liberal is: “the liberalization of the individuals from the tyranny of the State.” Liberals believe big businesses and the wealthy tread on the minority, and that federal action is necessary to provide balance and basic needs to achieve an impartial society.

In general, liberals believe in individual liberty, the rule of law, a more limited government, economic freedom (with free markets and private property rights), and equal treatment of all citizens .

Liberals are usually pro abortion, push for the legalization of marijuana, free medicare and education for all, higher taxes, are against the death penalty, but are for the right to die, and are pro same-sex marriage. They base their stances on the idea that an individual has a right to their own life.

Therefore each person should be able to decide what happens with their life and body while the function of the government is to protect those rights and also solve the problems of economic inequality stemming from capitalism by granting all citizens free access to basic institutions like healthcare (after they’ve smoked their lungs to ashes).

Seems logical for the most part, but for some, liberalism, or rather the people which make up the liberal party, are just “not their cup of tea.”

Whether it be their negative stance on gun-control laws, or what a terrible date they make; liberals may not be who you want running your country, but they do have good intentions.

On to the Conservatives!

When most millennials hear the word conservative, they imagine a “faceless enemy” carrying a gun in one hand and their stay-at-home spouse and kids in the other. Generally they imagine some white, rich, God-fearing individual who’s unwilling to break the status quo(is holding onto tradition necessarily a bad thing?).

Besides the general view of conservatives being ‘behind the times;’ there are is an obvious lack of diversity in the conservative ideology which has drawn much criticism and skepticism (for good reason), but the platforms and ideas of the group shouldn’t be overlooked because of the lack of ethnic variety and devotion to tradition.

Let’s dive into the common beliefs of conservatives. (They don’t like Obama)

Most believe strongly in the responsibility of the individual citizen and think the government’s duty is not to provide everything for its people, but enforce laws, keep order, protect the God-given rights written in the Constitution, and ensure security with a strong military. Anything extending from those basic needs should be left to the individual to gain for themselves by the sweat of their brow and hard work.

Besides the power delegated to the federal government in the very beginning of the establishment of the American government, most conservatives think the rest of the power should go mostly to the states and people.

Conservatives tend to embrace the idea of American Exceptionalism, strongly support the 2nd ammendment (because it’s a natural right for an individual to defend themselves), are all for controlled and legal immigration, are pro-life, and against gay marriage because of the traditional Christian focus on the family as the central unit of life and government.

Now for the Centrists.

They pride themselves on their use of logic and common sense, but don’t seem to have a set stance on any topic. Rather, centrists stay open-minded and make decisions about their stance when the need arises.

Their focus is on balance. 

Almost every position they do have is very broad so as to not to lean too far to the right or left.

Centrists do believe that ‘real’ healthcare is about improving health now instead of focusing on treating the unhealthy public after-the-fact, which is logical. They also want to reduce special interest influence over politicians because it has lead to conflict and corruption, and continue building up our military.

Last, but not least, we have Libertarians.

You must not confuse libertarians with liberals. Libertarians and liberals have similar beliefs about social freedoms, but their philosophies on government couldn’t be more different.

Libertarians believe in the rights of the individual, and that too much power to the states causes problems. If they had the ability, libertarians would tighten and  enforce the Constitution to further limit the power of the politicians and the federal government.

The less government the better in their eyes. Libertarians believe any power given to the government takes away from the individual and leads to corruption and conflict.

Libertarians trust the individual to be responsible and run their own life in a way that is productive and best for them.

But can we put so much faith in and give free reign to each and every individual? I don’t think so. Harry Potter’s parents wouldn’t think so either. But they can’t think. Because they’re dead.

Libertarians are also advocates for a free market economy and want to break down foreign trade barriers because both result in healthy international relations and an improved economy.

Which ideology is most beneficial, efficient, and has our nation’s best interests at heart?

You decide.