I thought a detailed article on this subject might help to clarify the main terms used to define the political landscape in the US, particularly for those who follow my blog from another country or continent. These are only in the broadest terms, which I will attempt to make explicit. First, a broad definition of the terms ‘conservative’ and ‘liberal’, which have different meanings in this country as compared to many others.
The word conservative comes from “conserve”, describing those who generally wish to conserve the status quo, conserve morality, or conserve money. In broad terms a majority of conservatives support tax-cuts and other laissez-faire (reduced governmental interference) policies, oppose same-sex marriage, oppose abortion, oppose stricter gun control laws on the grounds of the Second Amendment and public safety, and favor increased military spending as opposed to other federal expenditures. Conservatives tend to favor racial color-blindness and oppose affirmative action/positive discrimination quotas. Conservatives tend to favor state governments over the federal, reserving the federal for matters of national security. Nationalist conservatives are more likely to allow torture on suspected terrorists for interrogation while some social conservatives oppose secularism and atheism in public schools.
Liberals in the US advocate strong civil liberties and social progressivism according to which societal practices need to be changed whenever necessary, for the greater good of society or the benefits of those who wish to engage in those social arrangements. They believe that government action is needed in order for people to be as free as possible. Government must thereby protect civil liberties and ensure equality, and ensure the provision of positive rights (Negative rights are protections from certain acts by a government, restricting the government from taking specified actions against its people. Positive rights are generalized rights given to people and can only be fulfilled if the government acts). American liberals commonly reject both laissez-faire capitalism and socialism as means to distribute economic resources. A mixed economy–a capitalist free market economy with limited government regulation and intervention–is seen as the ideal. Recently, there has been a strong movement among liberals against corporate welfare, which is generally favored by pro-government conservatives. Cultural pluralism is common among American liberals.
Before I talk about myself, let me ask the reader some questions that may help clarify where you would fall in the political spectrum in the United States. I obtained these from a quiz at the Pew Research Center, which is a nonpartisan fact tank. These questions all address very relevant and contemporary issues. I reveal my answers and reasons for it below. If you want to take it yourself beforehand, click here. Do you believe:
1: … (a) The government should do more to help needy Americans, even if it means going deeper into debt, or (b): the government today can’t afford to do much more to help the needy
2: … (a) Government is almost always wasteful and inefficient, or (b) government often does a better job than people give it credit for
3: … The best way to ensure peace is through (a) military strength or (b) diplomacy
4: … (a) racial discrimination is the main reason black people can’t get ahead or (b) black people who can’t get ahead are mostly responsible for their own condition
5: … (a) government regulation of business is necessary to protect public interest or (b) govt regulation does more harm than good
6: … (a) homosexuality should be accepted by society or (b) discouraged by society
7: … (a) business corporations make too much profit or (b) most corporations make a fair and reasonable amount of profit
8: … (a) stricter environment laws/regulations cost too many jobs and hurt the economy or (b) stricter environmental laws/regulations are worth the cost
9: … Immigrants (a) strengthen our country because of their hard work and talents or (b) are a burden on our country because they take our jobs, housing and health care
10: … Poor people (a) have it easy because they get government benefits without doing anything in return or (b) have hard lives because govt benefits don’t go far enough to help them live decently
11: … the economic system in our country (a) unfairly favor powerful interests or is it (b) generally fair to most Americans
12: … (a) our country has made the changes needed to give black people equal rights or (b) our country needs to continue making changes to give black people equal rights.
13: … (a) it’s best for the future of our country to be active in world affairs or (b) we should pay less attention to problems overseas and concentrate on problems here at home
14: … (a) most people who want to get ahead can make it if they’re willing to work hard, or (b) hard work and determination are no guarantee of success for most people
15: … (a) the obstacles that once made it harder for women than men to get ahead are now largely gone or (b) there are still significant obstacles that make it harder for women to get ahead
16: In foreign policy, should the US (a) take into account the interests of its allies even if this means making compromises with them or (b) follow its own national interests even when allies strongly disagree
Question 1 was a tough one for me, I flip-flopped on it. I do very much favor helping the poor, and I do not believe most of those in poverty are responsible for their condition. A primary doctrine of Christianity is that we should share our substance with the poor. However I think family, church or community organizations should be the ones primarily looking out for our neighbor, not the government. Hundreds of billions of dollars have been spent by governments to aid the poor, but over and over a large share of that money goes not to the poor but to those who build and maintain the programs, which creates a huge and often inefficient bureaucracy. Having said that, I am in favor of short-term government help that can get people on their feet when our usual supports fail. The ‘going deeper into debt’ is the rub. Our national debt is huge, and the deficit is also huge. This was a tough B.
Question 2 was not easy for me either. I do believe there are some good people in government and that it does several things well. However, I do believe the larger government is, the more wasteful and inefficient it tends to be. I also have great concerns about government attempting to bypass the fourth amendment, illuminated by Edward Snowden. This source helped shape my opinion. Did you know before World War I the burden of government spending averaged less than 10 percent of economic output? So my answer here was A.
Question 3 was easy, I believe diplomacy has far more successes than military strength, for peace. Look at the Marshall Plan, Bretton Woods, the GATT, the WTO, Nixon opening China in 1972, and the Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty. Having a big stick is nice, but speaking softly is usually more effective. I answered B.
Question 4 is about race. Can racial discrimination inhibit those of minority races? Yes. Is it the main reason racial minorities cannot get ahead? Possibly, though I think more racial minorities are getting ahead in recent years. This can be difficult for White people to accept because we don’t have to deal with institutional barriers, and don’t want to imagine a world where there isn’t a level playing field. The economic barriers imposed by past and present racism and systemic bias in housing, education, and the criminal justice system are well documented, with much of the impact originating from biased government policies. Having said that, do I think it’s the currently main reason? No. Overall I answered B.
Question 5 is not so simple to answer. Can regulation be harmful? Yes! Is all regulation bad? No. Look at the difference between big business and small business. Business conditions that help Walmart to be successful are almost always going to make it more difficult for a small boutique to survive. Remember the majority of business activity in the United States takes place in small business. According to the U.S. Department of State Fully 99 percent of all independent enterprises in the country employ fewer than 500 people. A lack of government regulation is almost always to the advantage of big businesses and to the disadvantage of small businesses. Such a condition results in the formation of monopolies and the suppression of smaller firms, even if those firms might be highly innovative. We are doing fairly well as a nation with economic freedom. The 2020 Index of Economic Freedom, produced by the Wall Street Journal and the conservative Heritage Foundation, places us 20th out of 178 nations. It’s absolutely necessary to protect the public interest. My answer is A.
Question 6 is particularly divisive in the US. I am completely opposed to a redefinition of marriage to include homosexual and other kinds of relationships, because I believe it does harm society as a whole. I’ve written an eight-part article on it! I’m more extreme than the average American I suppose, because I also think any sexual relationship outside of marriage should be discouraged. I don’t think those identifying as gay should be marginalized, persecuted, judged or harmed, but this different from encouraging a homosexual lifestyle. Ultimately I went with B.
Question 7 was easy. I think major corporations are too powerful, and more money brings more power. They have a seriously unfair advantage when it comes to advocating for their own interests as a result. Ralph Nader made a particularly insightful comment years ago regarding how money affects politics: “The only distinction between Bush and Gore is the velocity with which their knees hit the floor when big corporations knock on the door.” I clearly answered A.
Question 8 is another divisive issue. Research on the costs and benefits of environmental regulations shows that some candidates’ warnings of job destruction and economic decline are greatly exaggerated. In a recent assessment of the available empirical evidence on the relationship between employment and regulation, prominent scholars found “little or no aggregate net effect of regulation on jobs,” although local and individual effects do occur. Even when performed carefully, estimates of regulatory costs have often proved too high. For example, the actual costs of the national emissions trading program targeting acid rain (created in the 1990 amendments to the 1970 Clean Air Act) were far lower than the costs estimated as Congress debated the program. According to a peer-reviewed EPA study, the Clean Air Act alone will prevent over 230,000 premature deaths in 2020, and return more than $30 in benefits for every dollar spent in costs. Do I believe it’s worth the cost? Overall yes, this was a thoughtful B from me.
Question 9 was another easy one. Economists agree that the effects of immigration on the U.S. economy are broadly positive. The available evidence suggests that immigration leads to more innovation, a better educated workforce, greater occupational specialization, better matching of skills with jobs, and higher overall economic productivity. In fact many serve in our military, despite several limitations for non-citizens seeking advancements within it. Immigration also has a net positive effect on combined federal, state, and local budgets. In areas with large populations of less educated, low-income immigrants, however, native-born residents do bear significant net costs due to immigrants’ use of public services, especially education. Despite this exception this was an easy A for me.
Question 10. Do most poor people ‘have it easy’? As a social worker who’s worked with the poorer cross-section of Americans for a decade, I can unequivocally say no they do not. Folks who answer A likely have never had a conversation with a poor person, nor imagined their economic and social reality, yet somehow imagine they know enough to hold an opinion. Is it because government benefits don’t go far enough to help them? I’m not sure of that. I believe we are the ones that should be helping the poor, the govt should be the last resort, not the first one. I am not opposed to government help in the face of a national calamity such as the Great Depression or this recent pandemic, though I believe any help should be temporary. My answer is B–sort of.
Question 11 was again easy. There’s no question our economic system unfairly favors powerful interests. This could be an article in itself, but in the interests of time and space, I answered A.
Question 12. Our Declaration of Independence declares: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” This has not been the case for minorities in the US, including women. I wrote an article on it. This is a different issue than question four. Does racial discrimination need to be fought? Yes. Does more need to be done? Yes on an individual level, not a governmental one. Do blacks, as well as every other minority, have equal rights? Since the Voting Rights Act of 1965, I believe they do. This answer was A for me.
Question 13. I do believe the US should be involved, at least to some degree, in international affairs. The key word here is ‘degree.’ On one hand it is not my nation’s job to be the world’s policeman. On the other, our isolationism in the 40’s would likely have resulted in victory for the Nazi party if the Japanese had not chosen to bomb Pearl Harbor. This was a relatively easy A for me.
Question 14 can be a touchy one, because it touches on the American Dream. Namely, “life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement.” Is it this way it is in America? Frankly both statements in this question are true. The two key phrases here are “get ahead” and “most people.” Six out of ten Americans say working hard is the main reason for getting ahead or not. How do we measure to discover the truth? One metric is the Social Mobility Index by the World Economic Forum. Social mobility can be understood as the movement in personal circumstances either “upwards” or “downwards” of an individual in relation to those of their parents. The US ranks 27th out of the 82 nations included. I interpret this as the US is doing OK, but not all that likely to do much better than our parents. At heart I try to be optimistic, so I chose A despite some serious misgivings.
Question 15 seems pretty straightforward, but the key phrase is “largely gone.” Can women get ahead? Absolutely. Do they have more obstacles to success? Of course. Are the obstacles “largely gone”? There is still a 3% – 8% unexplained gap in pay between men’s and women’s earnings in the United States for the exact same jobs. Women are also very likely to be discriminated against in traditionally male-dominated fields, such as law enforcement or the military, and be sexually harassed or assaulted. Are women still marginalized for being in the career field? Yes. Are some women stigmatized for choosing to stay home? Yes also. I answered B.
Question 16. To me the answer to this question is ‘it depends.’ I am opposed to Trump’s ludicrous “America First” approach to everything, but I don’t believe we should be beholden to what other nations want of us either. Unilateralism has the advantage of minimizing the need for compromise and maximizing speed and ease of acting, but it is also expensive (in both dollars and people) and impractical. Few undertakings can be carried out by the United States alone. Major military operations require overflight rights, access to bases, and contributions of troops and equipment. Unilateral sanctions can easily be circumvented. Every nation in the world makes compromises. I prefer a multilateral approach: coalitions of parties able and willing to work together for a common purpose. Sometimes they aren’t ideal, but they are consistent in a world where the willingness of governments to cooperate varies from crisis to crisis, where great power consensus is unreliable, and where U.S. resources are still limited. This is an A for me.
My hope is that this post was useful, and helped you to clarify your own position on issues, as well as possibly take mine into consideration as well. If you’d like to take the quiz here is the link.