Since liberalism=liberty and a liberal must be for freedom,what does a conservative or moderate person equal?
470461
Liberals (Democrats) as they're called in the States are actually not followers of traditional liberalism. Classical liberalism is more closely followed by Libertarians and some factions of the Republican party. Extreme liberalism can be seen in some forms of anarcho-capitalism or anarchy. Just so you know.\n\nAnyway, conservatives are for the protection of a traditional way of life, of the status quo, of stability. Conservatives are therefore against any social upheaval or change. Conservatives feel that too much change is dangerous, destabilizing, and ultimately the death of a society, and that a strong government is needed to protect the people, even if it means restricting freedom somewhat.\n\nModerates see the value in both. They agree that change is necessary and that freedom is important and that both can be beneficial, but that full-blown anarchy is not desirable and that the government can actually help the protection of freedom.
133326
Why is a liberal labeled as such?  A liberal wants to do away with the 2nd Amendment, and limit how average citizens can protect themselves and their property against criminals. Sounds limiting to me, instead of how the word is supposed to mean.
469105
The more liberty, the better.  Government should intrude on people's lives as little as possible.  Conservatives claim to be for that, but in practice they aren't; they want to regulate so-called morality, enforce so-called patriotism, interject their personal religion into other people's lives, and all sorts of things that make libertarians roll their eyes.
1110600
Though I am not a liberal, I have found that wacko conservatives are more stubborn know it alls than are liberals. Personally, I think both are retarded, but that's just the opinion of a hard line moderate.
631762
I answer proudly to both the liberal and progressive labels. To me the defining goals of liberal politics are (in order of importance):\n-- Equality\n-- Fairness\n-- Freedom
57518
Conservatives are Liberals who have been mugged;\nModerates are what Liberals claim they are;\nLibertarians are against any governmental restrictions;\n\nApathetic is just a state of mind -- they don't care
905646
everything\n\ngenerally, liberal stances vs. conservative stances\n\nthe liberal ideal:\n\nBroadly speaking, liberalism emphasizes individual rights. It seeks a society characterized by freedom of thought for individuals, limitations on power, especially of government and religion, the rule of law, free public education, the free exchange of ideas, a market economy that supports relatively free private enterprise, and a transparent system of government in which the rights of all citizens are protected.[2] In modern society, liberals favor a liberal democracy with open and fair elections, where all citizens have equal rights by law and an equal opportunity to succeed.[3]\n\nthe republican ideal:\n\nClassical or institutional conservatism - Opposition to rapid change in governmental and societal institutions. This kind of conservatism is anti-ideological insofar as it emphasizes process (slow change) over product (any particular form of government). To the classical conservative, whether one arrives at a right- or left-leaning government is less important than whether change is effected through rule of law rather than through revolution and sudden innovation.
320976
Here's a wikipedia article that can explain it better than I ever could. In summary, as far as I know, left is more liberal, right is more conservative.
378829
Democrats believe in equal rights, freedom, and American liberties, while Republicans believe only their supporters deserve rights, trample on freedom, and scoff at American liberties.  \n\nMany more conservatives have been found guilty of committing crimes while in office than Democrats. \n\nOn one hand conservatives claim to be good Christians while ignoring most of what the Bible teaches while on the other hand liberals tend to follow the teachings of Jesus displaying compassion, tolerance, and honesty.\n\nOne of the flaws which has hurt the liberals is they admit when they are wrong and if a liberal is caught doing wrong, other Democrats don’t continue to support them. In contrast, when a Republican is caught doing something wrong, conservatives will still back them.\n\nConservatives often resort to name calling and foul language (ie: VP Chaney) when they no longer have an intelligent argument and Democrats always have an intelligent response. \n\nI would say the big difference is liberals tend to be concerned about the well being of all Americans while conservatives pursue their own self serving agendas.\n\nIs that logical enough for you?
744601
Now that the parties have, for all intents and purposes, polarized into the Democrats being liberal and the Republicans being conservative (just 20 years ago, it wasn't this way), the difference can be expressed simply.\n\nLiberals (i.e., Democrats) believe in a loose interpretation of the Constitution.  That is, they believe that a person or group can do anything the Constitution does not expressly forbid. (and, quite a few things it does!)\n\nConservatives (i.e. Republicans) believe in a strict interpretation of the Constitution.  That is, they believe that a person or group cannot do anything the Constitution does not expressly allow.\n\nYou didn't ask about Libertarians, but their mention is merited.  Libertarians tend to be fiscal conservatives (small government, strong military, low/no taxes) but social liberals (allow legalization of marijuana, abortions, eliminate sodomy laws, etc.).
397147
you have to judge people individually\n\n(on average I would say liberals are because they care more about every body and conservatives care more about their own agenda and controlling people)
226158
I'm a libertarian although I am a registered republican. I try to be objective and answer questions with an open-mind.
1066265
Broadminded and conservative are mutually exclusive terms.  Conservatives have a set of beliefs that narrow their outlook, and their minds are by nature geared to have a narrow outlook and to want a narrow outlook.  They thrive having their minds restricted by authoritarian ideologies like religion, law-and-order, and other such prescribing dictates.  They are very uncomfortable with personal liberty management, and that is why they fight so constantly to get enforcement of prescribing rules and regulations.  It looks like they want everyone to go by what they believe, and that sure would be fine with them, but what really motivates them is their own need to escape the frightening personal liberty management issues that broadminded people handle well and enjoy.\n\nSo you can tell if you are broadminded or conservative by how well you deal with personal liberty, how threatened you are by non-standard and traditional life-styles, how much liberty you are willing to tolerate other people having.
375086
I am a moderate conservative with leaning towards being more liberal for social programs who help children, the elderly, handicapped, etc etc. Fiscally, I lean more towards the conservative end. However, what I am seeing NOW in the United States is that both parties need to more clearly define their positions. I just want to have an honest, hardworking, moral, intelligent president and even more importantly a CONGRESS who will stand up and finally think about OUR people and what is best for the United States and not THEIR special interest groups instead.
591521
The deal is: "Freedom of speech goes both ways"\n\nPeople not only have a right to say pretty much what they want, other people have a right to object, argue & even ask for an apology. \n\nA liberal says something, a conservative objects & the conservative is bashed for 'violating a person's freedom of speech.' \n\nA conservative says something, a liberal objects, and conservatives either let it drop there or defend the original statement on its merit.\n\nSo who is really against freedom of speech;\n\nThe conservative who asks a liberal for an apology for an offensive statement, or the liberal who acts like you aren't allowed to express the fact your offended by a statement?
862541
You really answered your own question. To me being a moderate means keeping an open mind. It means being able to see more than one point of view on any issue. It means not holding any extreme position on any issue: not too far to the left and not too far to the right. To me it also means being tolerant of other peoples' opinions even when they don't agree with your own.
915833
Liberal - More government intervention in economics, less in social issues\n\nConservative - Less government intervention in economics, contemporary Christian Right conservatives will say more in social issues, many will say less