In the run-up to the US elections, this policy outlook aims to briefly unpack the notions of Liberalism and Conservativism as they manifest in the US domestic political scene.
In the run-up to the US elections, this document aims to briefly unpack the notions of Liberalism and Conservativism as they manifest in the US domestic political scene. The purpose of the paper is to discuss and describe ideological difference. It is not an argument for any particular ideology, but functions as an explainer for those unfamiliar with US domestic politics as to how ideologies manifest. As a corollary to the main discussion, the paper examines the issue of the extent to which ideological difference matters in times of crisis. “Liberalism” and “Conservativism” are capitalised to indicate a political ideology as a whole, whilst “liberal” and “conservative” are sometimes used to describe points on a political spectrum in relative terms, such as “more liberal”, or “less conservative”.
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