How to understand what the Conservative movement stands for?

The best way of understanding why a libertarian vs conservative movements contradiction exists is to imagine the country as a playing field. The Republicans, which adhere to the conservative movement and to the original ideals of the Republic and the Constitution, want a country built on the freedom of every citizen to decide where they want to be during the game. Also, they believe in securing the field with a strong national defense. The Democrats on the other hand believe in a more centered state. They believe that citizens should be told what to do, when to do it and where they belong on the field. In addition to that, they want to provide the field itself. They see the country as in need of a more state controlled approach, and that is why their method of doing things is closer to what some might call socialism

What You Should Know about Libertarian vs Conservative Thought

The two-party system has been in place in the United States for quite some time now, and people have been free to choose which school of thought they want to belong to. But in order to make a proper decision, one should always understand what they are choosing first. This is why it is very important that citizens do their research and come to understand what ideology best fits their way of thinking. Although some idea might be new, the governing principals of both movements haven’t changed for decades.

The  libertarian vs conservative choice isn’t a new one citizens have to make. But they have to understand that there are some major differences between the two ideologies. For instance, although both schools of thought claim that they follow the Constitution and follow it as a corner stone document, libertarian have been known to want to re-write several areas of it on more than one occasion. The worst part of this is that in some cases and activist Supreme Court has allowed the re-writes to happen, moving the country and its society a bit closer to a form of modern day socialism.

Conservative ideology:
• Reduced Federal Government with limited powers
• De-centralized government, with more power to States or citizens themselves.
• Increased National Defense capability.
• Reduced Federal Government involvement in the National Economy.
• Freedom to achieve personal goals, and the responsibility to take care for one’s self.
• The enforcement of fundamental Rights granted by our Federal Constitution, or by God.
• Honoring the Judaeo-Christian heritage of the people of the country by basing laws upon it, while providing equal rights to all citizens.
• Oppose abortion, same-sex marriage and civil unions.

Liberal or Socialist Ideology:
• Large and omnipresent Federal Government.
• Reduced National Defense capability.
• Reduced personal responsibility and a minimum wage provided by the Government regardless of employment status.
• The wrongful distribution of wealth among both working and not working citizens.
• High level of state interventionism.
• Recognition of more than 2 sexes, state sponsored abortions and allowing same-sex marriages and civil unions.
• Intruding on personal property under the guise of protecting natural resources.

When it comes to understanding the differences that the libertarian vs conservative dispute entails, anyone wanting a clearer image should understand that conservatives advocate personal responsibility and liberty, notions that have been stated in the Constitution and have been the bases of the Enumerated Powers of Federal Government. Unfortunately, due to a series of activist court ruling by the Supreme Court over the years, these notions have come to be under dispute by the libertarians. Especially Article 1, Section 8 which states:

The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;

The words “general welfare” are the ones that libertarians have been using to argue their case for decades. They interpret them as a loophole for the Federal Government to be able to do anything it deems necessary if it is for the greater good of all citizens. But the person that helped write the Constitution, James Madison, explains in Federalist #41 that there is no such hidden meaning behind these words and that Federal Government shouldn’t ever be allowed to have so much power. Imagine justifying that you are doing something for the good of all people, but you take what one person has worked for and divide it among others that didn’t work for it.

On the other side of the libertarian vs conservative argument, the conservative movement strongly hold to what Madison originally wanted to say, proof being that the Enumerated Powers serve citizens equally, without playing favorites with a particular socioeconomic or ethnic group.

Why Is the Conservative Movement Important?

The  conservative movement  has always been the balancing force against libertarians. The gap between the fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution and what the Federal Government is actually offering citizens is largely due to libertarian behavior. More so, the way that justice is being administered to citizens is also a direct result of libertarian ideas making their way inside the judicial system.

The model of society that the libertarians are proposing and trying to impose on US society today is unsustainable and is fueled by personal greed and corrupt interests. In order to return the country to its path and towards the values written within the Constitution, a strong conservative movement is necessary.

The best example of how a strong conservative movement is beneficial to a society is Plymouth colony. The settlement was originally founded on libertarian principals, with people bringing all of their crops into a communal barn and taking from it what and how much they needed. But after a short while, some colonists decided to take their shares without doing any more of the work. That lead to a crisis and the colony was near collapsing after just 2 years. Governor Bradford had to rewrite the founding charter, basing it upon private property and eliminating the equal distribution of resources. The colony began to restore and the rest is history.