# What is YOUR definition of conservative and liberal?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-definition-of-conservative-and-liberal/618732>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [April 14, 2012, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-definition-of-conservative-and-liberal/618732 "2012-04-14T02:39:51Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 3

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**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\
**Post date:** [April 15, 2012, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-definition-of-conservative-and-liberal/618732/41 "2012-04-15T15:35:03Z")

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> [@Parthol](#):
>
> In my experience, liberals place a higher priority on helping the unlucky, or those on the most un-level part of the playing field, _even_ if it means that a bunch of lazy or undeserving people are also given help.
> 
> Conservatives place a higher priority on preventing the lazy and undeserving from taking resources from the hard-working and competent, _even_ if it means that a bunch of deserving but unlucky/started-in-a-hole people are denied reasonable assistance.

Based on what they post here, conservatives don’t believe in luck. Financially secure people always got there by dint of hard work, and poor people have only themselves to blame. Good fortune or bad luck never enters into their view of the way things are.

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**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\
**Post date:** [April 15, 2012, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-definition-of-conservative-and-liberal/618732/42 "2012-04-15T15:45:46Z")

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Everyone who has characterized the differences based on irrational belief systems is generally correct. Those beliefs vary alot within the categories, and usually have nothing to do with the person’s actual words or deeds, but then it doesn’t really matter does it.

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**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\
**Post date:** [April 15, 2012, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-definition-of-conservative-and-liberal/618732/43 "2012-04-15T16:23:51Z")

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> [@F.U.Shakespeare](#):
>
> However, there are definitely some forms of this - like mandatory recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance - that are almost exclusively supported by conservatives.

Which is rather ironic since the Pledge was first devised by a socialist.

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