Conservative, Liberal and Radical Views

The conservatives, the liberals, as well as the radicals have differing views on many significant areas such as the human nature, the individual behavior, the family, social systems, in addition to the role that the government plays in the assistance of those people who are in need.

Conservatives have a tendency of resisting change and maintain status quo. They have the perception that change has more negative outcomes as compared to positive effects. The social welfare programs usually correspond to the non-traditional approach of tackling problems. For instance, Newport & Mendes (1) assert that one in every six United States citizens do not have health insurance coverage, and the government should create social programs to cover every citizen. On the subject of human nature, conservatives assume a pessimistic perception. People are viewed as being lazy, selfish, corrupt, lacking true charity, and, therefore, they must be controlled. For instance, Gansberg (1) reports that among 38 people who witnessed another person being murdered did not make a step to call the police. This is a selfish act from all of them. Their take on individual behavior is that people possess a free will to act the way they want and that they are responsible for their lives. Conservatives respect the “traditional” family and make an effort to preserve it. They consider it as a significant source of strength. The conservatives view the social system as being inherently unfair. In the case where some people are poorer in comparison to others. Conservatives view on the role of the government in helping the poor that the less the governing of the government is, the betters. This is because most of the activities carried out by the government represent a threat to personal liberty as well as the functioning of the free markets.

Liberals view change differently as compared to conservatives. Liberals favor change. They as well consider that constant change will bring continuous progress. According to the liberals, all people are equal. The government has the accountability of providing for the common good of the society. For instance, the social security is one of the most popular.  The “Libertarianism” refers to the belief that a justifiable government ought to be small and have a minimum role in the economy (The American Voice). Liberals view the social structure as one that requires regulation so as to make sure that there is fair competition between people who have the same interests. Their view on human nature is that people are good, and they require structures to strengthen good impulse. Nader asserts that they perceive human behavior as being not comprehensively self-governing, as the environment has a part to play in most of the problems that people face. In addition, they view the family as one that is changing, and therefore needs support from the government. The role of the government is to make sure that there is fairness and that its programs aim at helping the poor.

The radicals view the government’s role is not neutral; instead it is a system that mainly supports the capitalism system. According to the radicals, most of the ills that take place in the society stems from capitalism, which is illustrated by the conflict between classes, for instance, rich and poor (Nader). The radical view on change is similar to that of the liberals, that is, it is particularly good when it implies a significant change in the system. Their view in human nature is that people are good. However, these people may be corrupted by institutions. According to the radicals, individual behavior is strongly manipulated by both the social as well as the economic structures (The American Voice). They view the traditional family as being oppressive and that the varying family requires government support. According to them, on the role of the government in assisting those in need is that a market economy is manipulative as well as essentially unfair. The radical view on social systems is that it contains inequalities, which brings in conflict involving those who are in power and the common citizens, which brings out the need for change (The Worldview of Conservatives, Liberals, and Radicals 21).