There is a common refrain among conservatives that states:
In any stable country, the most common political belief is conservatism.
This statement, without any proof is usually taken at face value.
While I suspect it is true, they are ignoring several important factors.
First, it using the definition of conservative as "conserving the past and reluctant to change" and nothing else. It is not the more commonly promoted anti-tax, anti-regulation, pro-religious politics used as propaganda by the current Republican Party. The actual core philosophies of the Republican Party are different than either of these. In the 2000's it was a rural party, and Donald Trump is remaking it into a fascist party.
Second, people and political parties are not one thing, they are often several things. Life is complicated. Every political party has some conservatism and some liberalism, they also have some aspects of authoritarianism, freedom, etc. When I say a party is conservative, it generally means they are more conservative than most other parties they compete with.
Thirdly, there is the difference between the beliefs and philosophy claimed and the beliefs they use to decide how to actually govern.
Which leads me to my main point.
Assuming the aphorism is true, not only are the majority of the population always conservative, but by definition so must the party in power be. Regardless of what they say they are. At least for their real beliefs, if not their claimed beliefs. If they've been in power for more than two years, they become conservative because they cease trying to pass new kinds of laws and instead merely try to maintain the changes they already passed.
So at the height of Obama's power - just after he passed Obamacare - the DEMOCRATS were the conservative party. Yes, they had hints of urbanism and progressiveness, but conservative became their major trait. The democrats may have claimed to be liberals, but they were conservatives.
At that time, the Republican party, despite claiming to be a conservative party, was actually a "Radical Right" party - a political party intent on overturning the current improvements and returning to older methods.
When the Republicans get into power, after they pass their laws, they become a conservative party and the Democrats stop being conservatives and become progressive party. They retained hints of urbanism as well as a few other flavors (pro-environment, anti-discrimination, etc.)
If you are wondering where the liberals are, they go by the name "libertarian". The word liberal refers to someone that cares more about freedom and liberty than anything else. But they can never truly gain power because their political belief is at heart against government power. It's like a pacifist army - a silly idea that won't work.
P.S. Just as the Democrats and Republicans aren't really liberals or conservatives, most of the time the people claiming to be libertarians aren't really libertarians. Sometimes they are Radicals that like freedom, sometimes they are Conservatives that like freedom, and s
In any stable country, the most common political belief is conservatism.
This statement, without any proof is usually taken at face value.
While I suspect it is true, they are ignoring several important factors.
First, it using the definition of conservative as "conserving the past and reluctant to change" and nothing else. It is not the more commonly promoted anti-tax, anti-regulation, pro-religious politics used as propaganda by the current Republican Party. The actual core philosophies of the Republican Party are different than either of these. In the 2000's it was a rural party, and Donald Trump is remaking it into a fascist party.
Second, people and political parties are not one thing, they are often several things. Life is complicated. Every political party has some conservatism and some liberalism, they also have some aspects of authoritarianism, freedom, etc. When I say a party is conservative, it generally means they are more conservative than most other parties they compete with.
Thirdly, there is the difference between the beliefs and philosophy claimed and the beliefs they use to decide how to actually govern.
Which leads me to my main point.
Assuming the aphorism is true, not only are the majority of the population always conservative, but by definition so must the party in power be. Regardless of what they say they are. At least for their real beliefs, if not their claimed beliefs. If they've been in power for more than two years, they become conservative because they cease trying to pass new kinds of laws and instead merely try to maintain the changes they already passed.
So at the height of Obama's power - just after he passed Obamacare - the DEMOCRATS were the conservative party. Yes, they had hints of urbanism and progressiveness, but conservative became their major trait. The democrats may have claimed to be liberals, but they were conservatives.
At that time, the Republican party, despite claiming to be a conservative party, was actually a "Radical Right" party - a political party intent on overturning the current improvements and returning to older methods.
When the Republicans get into power, after they pass their laws, they become a conservative party and the Democrats stop being conservatives and become progressive party. They retained hints of urbanism as well as a few other flavors (pro-environment, anti-discrimination, etc.)
If you are wondering where the liberals are, they go by the name "libertarian". The word liberal refers to someone that cares more about freedom and liberty than anything else. But they can never truly gain power because their political belief is at heart against government power. It's like a pacifist army - a silly idea that won't work.
P.S. Just as the Democrats and Republicans aren't really liberals or conservatives, most of the time the people claiming to be libertarians aren't really libertarians. Sometimes they are Radicals that like freedom, sometimes they are Conservatives that like freedom, and s
