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Classical Liberalism vs. Classical Conservatism Essay

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Classical Liberalism vs. Classical Conservatism In today's society, most people are unable to explain the differences between the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. In fact, the two parties' ideologies seem to be very much alike; and therefore, people tend to believe that a Republican candidate and a Democratic candidate running for the same office will not make a large difference from one another. Furthermore, both Democrats, the supposedly liberal party, and Republicans, the supposedly conservative party, have been appointed to the highest office, the President of the United States of America. In most cases, the President has been effective in building notable progress in our nation's growth, regardless of the political party …show more content…

Finally, classical liberalism also protects the free marketplace, allowing buyers and sellers to freely circulate ideas in order to achieve the most success (Franks 28). Therefore, the development of capitalism is an important ideology protected by classical liberalism, along with the natural rights of individuals. On the other hand, the ideologies of the Republican Party originate from the principles of the classical conservatism philosophy. Classical conservatism's underlying idea is to protect and conserve established traditional values in the name of "liberty, equality, and fraternity," or to reinstate ideal values that are in decline (Franks 28). According to Edmund Burke, who is regarded as the intellectual source of classical conservatism, the preservation of the values of tradition in family and the Church is more sound in forming a government than "reason" (Jones 261). Thus, classical conservatism rules out the idea of empowering people who do not "deserve" power, completely opposing the underlying factor of the individual's natural rights protected by classical liberalism. Moreover, because tradition is highly valued by classical conservatism, revolutions of any kind, a natural right by classical liberalism, are highly condemned. Classical conservatism also hinders the

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