[Winona Online Democracy]
This is going to be very brief and basic, but I don't think the question's
been thoroughly addressed.
There must be political science enthusiasts out there who can give a better
answer, and this is admitedly coming from someone who probably fits the
"flaming liberal" category (at least in this part of the state!) (Aside:
where does the "flaming" in "flaming liberal" come from?)
At some point I was taught that political conservatism has to do with (1)
placing a high priority on preservation of the traditional, the status quo,
the way things are perceived to have been since the beginning or founding
of the social entity in question; (2) pessimism about social change in
general, especially change that is supported in any way by publicly funded
entities such as schools, social services, courts, etc.; (3) pessimism
about the ability of such publicly funded entities to effect a net gain in
the quality of life for either the general population or for particular
sub-groups; (4) optimism about a net gain in the quality of life resulting
over time from unrestrained progress in the realm of private economic
activity.
It seems to me that people who describe themselves as conservatives tend to
be especially preservationist when it comes to the ways that social
advantage and disadvantage are distributed. I think conservatives tend to
see social advantage/disadvantage as resulting mainly from either (1)
inevitable and perennial unseen forces ("the poor are always with us" and
"it's just human nature") or (2) internal characteristics of individuals or
groups of individuals ("if only those people were more like us").
It's also been my experience that conservatives usually view questions of
public policy from the perspective of the socially advantaged. This is
consistent with the frequently observed tendency of people to become more
conservative in their beliefs as they become older, more materially
comfortable and financially well off.
These observations are intended to be both fair-minded and arguable. I look
forward to reading other points of view.
Scott Lowery
461 Sunnyview Drive, Rollingstone MN 55969
home phone: (507)689-4532
school phone: (507)453-3888
home email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
school email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
"Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be
counted counts." Albert Einstein
"You can fool too many of the people too much of the time." James Thurber
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