Liberals Vs Conservatives

Liberals Vs Conservatives

I would like to start by saying that I consider it to be a tragedy that this assignment is necessary. I can not believe that so many people in our class do not know the liberal and conservative views on some of the most basic topics. I by no means think that everyone should believe all of the things that I do, but at the very least they do need to know what both parties have to offer. They have obviously been voting solely on party lines and chose their side based on what their parents, people in their community, etc told them. They have in no way made any kind of informed decisions over the last 20 years of voting. I do however commend you for trying to get people to care more about these very basic but important topics, even if you didn't give the best representation of the liberal side.

Conservatives believe in personal responsibility, limited government, free markets, individual liberty, traditional American values and a strong national defense. They consider the role of government to be providing people the freedom necessary to pursue their own goals. Conservative policies generally emphasize empowerment of the individual to solve problems. Liberals believe in governmental action to achieve equal opportunity and equality for all, and that it is the duty of the State to alleviate social ills and to protect civil liberties and individual and human rights. They consider the government should be to guarantee that no one is in need. That people are basically good. Liberal policies generally emphasize the need for the government to help solve people's problems.

On the issue of the Death Penalty the conservative view is basically that the death penalty is a punishment that fits the crime. It is not looked at as either Ð''cruel' or Ð''unusual'. Executing a murderer is the appropriate punishment for taking an innocent life. They believe in eye for an eye. If a person commits murder then they of course deserve to be killed. They do not believe that life imprisonment is justice enough for a "cold-blooded killer". They wrongly believe the death penalty to be more cost effective as well.

The liberal view on the subject is that the death penalty should be abolished. They believe that no one has the right to kill a person including the government. In fact, I personally believe that the government should set an example and stop the murder. Violence is too prevalent in our world and the United States should stop promoting it the way they continue to do. Over the years it has also been found that many of the people on death row were incorrectly charged and tried. They were found free of quilt after many years of their imprisonment but luckily were found out before they were murdered.

The death penalty also does not deter crime. Some studies have been done to evaluate homicide rates in states with and without capital punishment. Researchers found that murder rates in neighboring states with and without the death penalty were not significantly different. Studies were also done to compare the homicide rates for states before or after the reintroduction or abolition of capital punishment They also found that homicide rates in states did not increase after the abolishment of the death penalty or decrease after the reinstatement of the sanction. The existence of capital punishment in law and practice of it has no perceptible effect as a deterrent to murder.

As I said conservatives are wrong in believing the death penalty to be more cost effective. A 2003 legislative audit in Kansas found that the estimated cost of a death penalty case was 70% more than the cost of a comparable non-death penalty case. In Tennessee, death penalty trials cost an average of 48% more than the average cost of trials in which prosecutors seek life imprisonment. It is like this everywhere because Trials in which the prosecutor is seeking a death sentence have two distinct and separate phases: conviction and sentencing. Special motions and extra time for jury selection typically precede such trials. If the death penalty trial results in a verdict less than death or if it is reversed, taxpayers first incur all the additional costs of capital pretrial and trial proceedings and must then also pay either for the cost of incarcerating the prisoner for life or the costs of a retrial. The state governments could be spending those tax dollars on preventing crimes, education and rehabilitation, mental health treatment, meaningful victims' services, and drug treatment programs, etc.

On the topic of affirmative action the conservative view is basically that it should not exist. They believe that affirmative action has become reverse-discrimination and that it is not a solution for racism. They believe that it is unfair to use race as a factor in the selection process. They also think that people should be admitted to schools and hired for jobs based on their ability.

The liberal view on affirmative action is that it is necessary. Due to prevalent racism in the past, minorities were deprived of the same education and employment opportunities as whites. We need to make up for that. Minorities still lag behind whites in all statistical measurements of success. It is sad that companies, schools, etc. need to be told to admit people of different races in as well as white people, but sadly America is still a racist society. Of course not every company or school is this way but too many are to have affirmative action taken out at this time. Also, the presence of minorities creates diversity.

Conservatives believe that abortion should be abolished. Their argument is that human life begins at conception. That abortion is the murder of a human being, and that nobody has the right to murder a human being. They also have the tendency to bring religion into their argument. They say that God created that life with a purpose and even if the girl doesn't see that plan he does, and wants the child to grow-up and live a wonderful life. The liberals find that part of the argument to be very foolish. There are so many different religions in our world and country. One may not agree with any of the other religions but they at the same time can not condemn them for believing differently. Just as radical as the Christians get there are people that believe just as strongly in their religion. Using any religion as a political argument is ignorant.

Liberals are pro-choice. It seems that pro-choice gets substituted for pro-abortion in many people's minds. The liberals basically want to take a hands-off approach when it comes to abortion. They consider the decision to have an abortion is a personal choice of a woman regarding her own body. Plenty of pro-choice liberals are Christians. They themselves would not have an