A Comparative Analysis: Liberalism, Conservatism, and Political Values

This essay provides a comprehensive comparison of liberalism and conservatism, two major political ideologies that have shaped modern societies. It delves into their contrasting views on human nature, societal structures, and core political values. The essay examines how liberalism emphasizes individual rationality, liberty, and equality of opportunity, often advocating for a minimal state and social reform. In contrast, conservatism prioritizes social order, tradition, and a hierarchical understanding of society, often supporting a stronger state and emphasizing security. The analysis further explores the historical development of both ideologies, their responses to social and political changes, and their differing approaches to key issues such as equality, freedom, and the role of government. The essay highlights the ongoing tension between these ideologies and their influence on contemporary political debates and policy decisions. It provides a detailed examination of how these ideologies view the relationship between the individual, society, and the state.

Running head: SOCIAL SCIENCE
SOCIAL SCIENCE
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author note:

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Liberalism, conservatism, socialism, fascism, communism and additional major families
have been virtually reified as political actors in their own right. Major proportion of the past
century can be considered as a generally vitriolic conflicting area for these political
determinants. Apart from serving as marginal epiphenomena, ideologies have influenced the
political experience of the contemporary world. In the view of environmentalism, humans
owe a debt on earth; while nationalism has the opinion that human must owe a debt to the
nation (Alexander, 2015). On the other hand, feminism has considered that individuals must
be indebted towards women. According to Freeden (2003), each domain is concerned with
the position of specific subject or object which might have been disregarded and might
deserve great assurance. However, liberalism, conservatism and socialism are different. They
primarily shed light on every subject, self and society. Moreover, they show contradictory
views as each one of them tends to categorize it. The aim of the essay is to shed light on the
contradictory understandings of liberalism and conservatism and its role in evaluating the
nature of humans, society and the political values and ideologies.
Liberalism takes into account various concepts, all of which are essential to the
contemporary manifestations. According to Freedon (2003), the understanding that humans
show great rationality is considered as a minimal liberal kit. Liberalism functions as the
fundamental form of contemporary value due to its obvious minimalism of its principle. The
direct call for understanding self, chiefly the reason that self being considered as form of
rationality or reasonableness increases the possibility of explanation. Such an understanding
further explains reasons which make liberalism more apparent as compared to conservatism.
As a principle, liberalism underlines the idea of the direct development of individuals in the
direction of gradually progressive states of existence which has been emphasised in the
writings of John Stuart. In the view of Freeden (2015), such progress relates to liberty
claiming that individuals can practice unrestricted means of action which would not be

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regulated against their determination and further abetted by developing identification and
formalization of human rights. Meanwhile, the success of liberalism has been highly
progressive with its purpose of liberating people has resulted in the emancipation of societies
from the imperial control. All through the 1990s, number of liberals aimed to study ways in
which liberalism may support theory of self which finds opportunity for cultural association
and other unselected linkages and obligations which to certain extent constitute the self. By
drawing relevance to Green’s arguments, it has been further noted that the theoretical
understanding of self, shifts from emotional state, yearnings and thoughts and has no
association which can unite them. However, it might imply to the fact that if Green has been
supporting the supposed ‘pure ego’ by focusing on Aristotle and especially Hegel, he must
assert to the fact that the self might also act as a system of content (Gaus, 2004).
Liberalism has largely contributed to the liberation of politically disadvantaged groups
from tyranny and marginalization. In the view of author, liberalism has supported social
reform on grand measure, further peaking with the welfare state. Freedon (2003) has noted
that has shed light on the legislation for aged retirement income, job redundancy and health
coverage of the liberal governments in the UK between 1906 and 1914, encouraged by the
programme of the new liberalism.
Liberalism had the assumptions of society prevailing as an assemblage of individuals
encompassing of deliberate and predetermined agreements created by self-interested
individuals (Freeden, 2015). Conservatives, on the contrary have taken a macro view on the
society and inclined towards the understanding of collectivism shifting from the ideas of
socialism. Furthermore, conservatism supposed of a less equivalent understanding of
collectivism and shed light on hierarchical understanding whereby there remains an elite class
who control and the commonalities subsequently follow with utmost obedience. In the view
of author, customs and conducts have been significant to the ideology of conservatisms,

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whereby they supposed that society and individuals have correlation with their history and
must be indebted towards the ones who have had significant contributions to the society. On
the other hand, Adorno et al (2019) have claimed that the attainment of liberalism on
conservatism has not been clear or complete. Conservatism has sustained as primary
alternative to liberalism and has been dynamically contradicting those certain classifications
of classical liberalists like F.A. Hayek has been deeply stimulated by conservative ideology.
Conservatism has been instigated from the thoughts of liberalism. Gaus (2004), in the light of
Bosanquet’s idealism and gradual conception of society has claimed that such a view has led
him to reason the moral individualism which has been viewed as a ‘materialistic or Epicurean
view of life’.
Its reaction has been highly reactionary towards radical summary of enlightenment
and developed as an opposition to the liberal thoughts concerning the French Revolution,
whereas Conservatism has acted more as a form of anti-ideology and has brought no actual
narrative or abstract notion to elucidate anything within the society. However, the
conservative alternative has shifted to liberalism that is plutocratic imperialism which has
been no longer seen as a competitor nor has been identified as refusal of a pluralistic market
society (Sterling, Jost & Hardin, 2019). Meanwhile, current conservative challenger of
liberalism expresses in a specifically liberal expression while claiming that conservatism fails
to accept agreement regarding conceptions of the respectable and upright life. Freedon (2003)
has claimed that underlying factors to which conservatism has misinterpreted the nature of its
ideology system and factors which have led adversaries of conservatism to view this ideology
as unprincipled have been concerned about atypical theoretical outline which has concealed
its internal steadiness.
Contradictory statements by Freeden (2015) have questioned that conservatives could
have taken a role of paternalist in the 19th century, supposing the inclination of defenders and

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councils of social order, as during the 20th century they focused on the supporters of the
liberated market and lowest state involvement. Meanwhile, resistance towards change has
been viewed as an abstract idea or negative moment of conservatism. However, in the
political realm, conservatives had to acknowledge the essentiality of transformation. Drawing
relevance to this claim, it can be noted that conservatism has been concessionary (Alexander,
2015). Furthermore, conservatism can be altered if change is considered as a form of
continuity. However, Conservatism anticipates minimal of the future or the contemporary as
compared to liberalism as even it does not align with religion, it shows great inclination
towards eschatology in religion. Conservatives have usually claimed liberals and socialists to
be inclined in eschatology and also comprises of assertions which liberals and socialists
considering their expectations can acknowledge under no obligation.
While understanding contradictory understandings of conservatism and liberalism
towards key political values and the state, it has been noted that liberalism inclined towards a
minimal state significance which can be taken as a neutral arbiter amongst the competing
interests and groups in the society. In the view of Alexander (2015), liberalism on the
contrary has been significantly valuing harmony which tends to be reflected in terms of
equality, congruence, individual growth and humanism. Sterling, Jost and Hardin (2019)
(2019) has shared similar views claiming that liberalists significantly value harmony which
has been comprehended in relation to fairness, peace and humanism as well as individual
manifestation. On the contrary, conservatism relies on putting emphasis on security which
has been associated with factors of social order, national influence, respectability in conduct
and determination for social standing. Sterling, Jost and Hardin (2019) by drawing insights
from former studies have claimed that in the United States and United Kingdom liberalism
and conservatism has shown contradiction in value primacies referring to fairness, liberty,
national security, financial affluence, individual confidentiality as well as environmental

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safeguard. Furthermore, liberalism in developed societies has been valuing equality and
avoidance of destruction more as compared to conservatives, while conservatives appreciate
internal allegiance, compliance to authority and clarity as compared to liberalism. Under the
theory of political ideology, liberalism since the onset of French Revolution has shown
substantial inclination towards social, economic and political fairness and has been
consequential to accept social change and further to encounter tradition (Rapaczynski, 2019).
By drawing insights from former studies, Freeden (2015) has reasoned that liberalism has
believed that rational individuals expecting the unstable status quo of society of individuals
tend to attain an external compromise in order to submit civic life to state power through
social contract. Under Kant’s understanding, the freedom of one’s determination has been
compatible with the idea of liberty as per universal law. In other words, key political values
have no conventional argument for establishing laws to compel others in becoming upright
citizens; regulations have been present to empower men in acting uprightly and developing
morality as a person (Adorno et al., 2019). On the other hand, conservatism has embraced
theory of social order by supporting a robust state from uncertainty and disorder. They
assume that the state as fundamentality as an upright thing which prevents individuals from
separating and supporting the political values and its ability to implement force in restoring
essential order.
Conservatism on the other hand, has been influenced to uphold social order and has
resulted in protecting and explaining the current social, financial and political hierarchies as
well as inequalities. These motivational propensities for supporting and refuting social
change and further to agree as opposed to reject dissimilarity which has been connected to
fundamental alterations in epistemic, existential as well as interpersonal requirements in order
to decrease indecision, risk as well as social disharmony. By drawing relevance to this, it has
been noted that liberalism as an ideology not only acknowledges social change along with

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economic, communal and political equality as compared with conservatism, they has been
showing greater tolerance of uncertainty, ambiguity, risk and susceptibility. Thus, such an
ideology is more likely to be critical of societal situation as compared to conservatism.
Liberalism has essentially relied on equality of opportunity which has been viewed as a
political theory whereby individuals can compete in fairness for positions. In the view of
Rapaczynski (2019), equality of opportunity implies to the elimination of hindrances which
stand in the way of individual growth and development. Under liberalism, equality of
opportunity can be viewed in liberated market, whereby all suppliers show propensity of
competing with similar prospects and regulations. This ideology contradicts with
conservatism and has claimed that individuals are all significant of having human rights
safeguarded and that any form of inequality in the protection of these privileges have only be
defensible if it has been essential to the protection of human rights in general. On the
contradictory, authorized formal equality has been believed as the only type which has been
embraced by Conservatism. As per conservatism, the way in which culture and hierarchy has
been supported; it is likely to create natural disparities and differences. These forms of
inequalities have drawn utmost significance as Conservatism inclines to the fact that devoid
of inequalities of health and status, there would be lack of enticements for people to sustain in
the society.
Liberalism believing in individualism has been providing primacy towards liberty and
chiefly supported unconstructive freedom. According to author, under social contract theory,
Locke reasoned while the importance of the individual, individual privileges should be
characterized by the government, it can never be shifted to different realm. As a consequence,
it tends to enforce the sovereignty of the individual. Conservatism, on the other hand has
exhibited a weaker stance of freedom and assumed negative freedom to be harmful to the
society. Due to the conservative understanding of naturally developing society, this ideology

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has been of the opinion that individuals being separated in the society are challenging to
comprehend. Conservatives view freedom as duty and obligation which has been believed
with fundamental value of tradition which is considered as a highpoint in binding the society
together.
Liberalism and conservatism have shown great likelihood of agreeing that private
possession draws relevance to practice and tradition and consequently associated with core
ideologies. As per Alexander (2015), both liberalism and conservatism have shared similar
views that ownership successfully stimulates security and in consequence establishes
assurances which lead to freedom of voicing opinions. Liberty encourages individuals in the
society to value the possession and assets of other individuals which will subsequently rouses
individuals to engage greatly with the society. Such ideology has led to the increase in the
respect of law, right as well as social order. Freeden (2003) has viewed another similarity
between Conservatism and Liberalism understanding of society’s democracy.
To conclude, at the beginning of the twentieth century, the idea of liberalism had shown
great passion towards avenues of liberalism. However, till its conclusion, the ideology had
seemingly overpowered its traditional challengers. Liberalism advocating individualism
offered superiority towards authorization and predominantly reinforced unnecessary
sovereignty. Conservatism on the other hand, has been influenced to sustain social order and
has occasioned in defending and elucidating the existing communal, financial and radical
pyramids and disparities. In liberalism, equivalence of prospects can be observed in
unconventional domain, whereby all providers show tendency of opposing with similar
predictions and conventions. While, conservatism relies on safety which has been associated
with factors of social order, national influence, respectability in behavior and determination
for social standing. In addition, liberalism has fundamentally relied on fairness of
opportunity which has been regarded as a political theory whereby individuals can contest in

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equality for positions. Yet, both liberalism and conservatism have shared comparable views
that possession positively rouses safekeeping of the self and the society.

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References
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