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The Tenets Of Conservatism And Liberalism

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President Barack Obama introduced his America’s College Promise proposal to make community college tuition-free for students in January, but Finger Lakes Community College (FLCC) President Barbara Risser did not bring it up with the collegewide governance body until October. She did not endorse it; she only asked the approximately 20 members to think about what it would mean for the school. No one responded. Mr. Obama says his proposal would expand the reach of higher education, a goal that fits with liberal ideology. Given that academics tend to lean left (Jaschik, 2012), the lack of enthusiasm for a seemingly liberal proposal on a college campus might seem unusual. This essay will review the tenets of conservatism and liberalism and explore their usefulness in predicting the impact of American’s College Promise and who might take sides for or against it. It will show the president’s proposal cannot be categorized neatly into one of the two dominant ideological camps. Wilson’s cost-benefit typology proves a more meaningful way to consider the potential ramifications of the policy and how that information could be used to refine it.
“Liberal” and “conservative” are common short-hand ways to describe politicians and policies. Rational choice theory, which assumes people act out of self-interest as voters just as they do as consumers (Cochran & Malone, 2010, p. 62), suggests voters want such short-hand descriptions to help them make decisions. A key aspect of this

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