Classical Liberalism, Traditional Conservatism and Marxism

Classical Liberalism, Traditional Conservatism and Marxism

Introduction

In its most basic form, political science can be defined as the study of both the institutions that form states and governments, and the political processes that animate them. (Benjamin N. Judkins, 2006). In the history of politics, the one basic surviving issue is the one of collectivism vs. individualism. Most of the American political debates are dominated by modern liberalism and contemporary conservatism. These approaches to politics are called “Sociologies”. Both contemporary Conservatism and contemporary Liberalism do not have entirely collectivist or individualistic views. Instead, it's a mixture of both according to the ideologies of the political parties themselves. The voter then has to choose which ideology that seems to be more coherent with the voter's personal point of views. A voter can choose one of the candidates which he /she feels is more relative to his own idea of state or He/She can choose not to vote.

Discussion

Both Contemporary liberalism and modern conservatism are centrist ideologies practiced by the United States government currently and are basis on which the political decisions are taken. Both of these ideologies share similarities and differences. In the past the liberals focused on economic issues and the obligation of government to assist the needy. But in recent decades the liberals focused on social and foreign policy issues, this outraged the liberals who identified the liberal movement. As a result, the liberals became associated with the negative feelings. Neoliberalism was introduced to help bring the liberal movement back.

Liberalism in Latin means “Free”. Liberalism is a philosophy, a political theory, a theory of education, an idea in economics, and a religious idea, all of which ultimately are grounded in the liberty of individuals and the free associations they create (McGraw, 2008) Liberalisms still in present continues to be the basis of western and many social institutions.

John Rawls dominates the political theory of Contemporary Liberalism. This has been defined in his most famous works, Contemporary Liberalism and theory of Justice. (Clayton, M. (2010). To understand the Contemporary liberalism completely, a distinction must be drawn between the fundamental philosophical principles and fundamental philosophical details. The contemporary liberalism relates to the regulation of major social, political, and economic organizations.

Contemporary liberals believe that one should be able to have freedom of speech (even if it offends someone). Modern liberalism itself has both elements of conservatisms and individualistic views. The contemporary liberalism policy stances include abortion, gun control and civil unions support. Additionally, the idea suggests that the Government should also be responsible for assisting individuals, businesses, and communities in dealing with social and economic problems. A contemporary liberal Government should also ensure the economic wellbeing of a nation and should provide basic material guarantees which include food, shelter, health care, and education to every individual. The contemporary liberals favor a state that is proactive in assuring what they assume to be in benefit of all. The contemporary interpretation of liberalism approaches to combine the personal whim, rather than reason, with the ...