(Note: these learning modules encompass the actual class lectures, and are designed for those students who have to miss class through no fault of their own, and also as a refresher for all students. Bold print in the notes are what the professor writes on the board.)

LEARNING MODULE: WEEKS 1-2, Liberal-Conservative Ideology and Introduction to Public Policy

The major philosophical dividing line between people in America today is the Liberal versus Conservative political philosophy. Liberals are dominant in the national Democratic Party, and conservatives are dominant in the Republican Party. My lecture notes are based on my readings over decades of the most prominent periodicals reflecting these philosophies, such as the conservative National Review and the liberal New Republic.

Conservatism:

This philosophy originated with European classical liberalism during the founding of our nation. It has seven major components in my opinion:

Individualism and self-reliance.

At the outset of our nation in an agricultural society, whether you could even survive was based on your own hard work, working sun-up to sun-down, six days a week. If you did not work, you did not survive. If you worked even harder, you planted more acres, you sold more crops, you could expand your farm. We are a nation of immigrants, and these immigrants have started many small businesses, and often end up working seven days a week, all day. Their hard work usually results in financial success, and their kids can start out in life with more than they had, and so they can be even more successful. Another example of individual self-reliance is the cable TV program Shark Tank, where successful business people who worked long hours to get their start are now so successful that they can invest their money in other people who are just starting out and who have a good idea for a business. Certainly, you yourselves have experienced the importance of studying hard, taking AP classes, and getting admitted into the Honors program at a world-class university like MSU (with our Presidential Library and our Phi Beta Kappa chapter). My own philosophy of life is: Pray-Work-Workout with praying and exercise giving me the spiritual and bodily strength to be able to do my job and help young people. Raise your hands, those of you who have practiced such self-reliant individualism; you, what is the story of your life?

Private sources of support, which include the family and religion.

The family and religion are an extension of yourself. You choose whom to marry, and you choose what your religion is. Historically, your spouse and children would help you to survive and be successful, such as by bringing in cash from a job, doing housework and raising your kids, performing community services. So on the farm, the kids would help out with the farm work. Immigrant kids would typically work in the family store. Today, most kids help their parents by just being successful in school, and being able to get a good job after graduation. Religion historically was community-centered with the small town attending their church, meeting with their neighbors, and helping their neighbors with their job or health problems. In other words, volunteer work. Religion provided a code of morals, ethics, and conduct, which reduces the need for a big government. Thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal…. Historically, America called itself a Christian nation, but the Ten Commandments are found in the Old Testament (important to those of the Jewish and Islamic faith). So, family and religion and private sources of conduct reduce the need for a big government. And the Founding Fathers did not like a Big Government, since they revolted against the British King. Raised hand from the audience, question, but what about the European religious wars, and religious persecution of women, minorities, and LGBTQ people? Well, humans are flawed and sinful creatures, so they can distort the words and meaning of a religious leader such as Jesus, hence the religious wars. Historically limited roles for women, minorities, and gays gets us ahead of ourselves, so we’ll come back to that. Another hand raised- what about atheists or agnostics who do a lot to help other people? Well, maybe they have their own religion of humanism, environmentalism, whatever.

A commitment to free enterprise and capitalism.

Real conservatives simply want the government to leave them alone. Let me take my good idea, let me work long hours, let me learn how the economic system works, and then I can be successful, and make a lot of money. And that money can give me a high standard of living. This is a very competitive system, however, so someone else may have an even better idea, may organize their business in a more efficient manner, and can provide their goods and services at a lower price than you. So you may go out of business. There is a lot of risk in this philosophy, but society as a whole is helped, since they get more products and services at lower and lower prices. There tends to be a lot of innovation. When I was growing up, we only had black and white television, only three networks plus PBS, no computers, no internet, no cell phones (only land lines). Airline fares were so high that few people would fly, and the planes were half empty. Look at how things have changed. Even conservatives, though, want to provide people with some protection from being hurt by such ruthless competition, so we have bankruptcy laws. Donald Trump himself declared bankruptcy in the 1990s, and his creditors were lenient towards him, because they knew he was a good salesman, and he would get back on his feet. But nowadays, major companies have lobbyists in Washington and state capitals, and they get the government to pass all sorts of laws that protect them from “unfair” (or too much?) competition from other countries or from other Americans (teachers unions say you need to be “certified”). Is this really conservative? Or is this, Big Government Conservatism? Some political observers say that President Trump’s trade wars are not really conservative. If the people of China are willing to work for miserably low wages so that they can build a product that sells for a lower cost than American products, why shouldn’t American consumers be able to buy from China? What do you think about this issue of trade? Someone in the audience says that it isn’t fair that other countries abuse their workers and pollute the environment as they build low cost goods. Another person says, who cares, I want low cost products so I can buy more goods and services. We actually have a lot of free enterprise in American higher education- you can choose from numerous public universities in your own state, many of you are from out-of-state so you exercised even more choice, some even attend private colleges (expensive!), or go to a community college. American universities are the envy of the world, so maybe a mixed public-private partnership is most beneficial to our nation?

Limited Government.

Conservatives hate big government! Remember, our Founding Fathers revolted against the tyranny of the British King, and his taxation of the colonies without representation in the British Parliament, and his prohibiting American colonial trade with parts of the British empire. For years, America had a very limited federal government. We had numerous small depressions, and even during the Great Depression of the 1930s many conservatives said it was a normal economic downturn, and the country would come out of it eventually. Conservatives especially dislike a large and powerful federal government, as they say it is too geographically far from the average person, and that it can become too insular and arrogant. They prefer that the state governments and local governments (cities, counties) solve most of society’s problems by themselves. Governments can abuse their powers. During World War 2 after Japan attacked our major Pacific naval base at Pearl Harbor (Hawaii), our government put many American citizens of Japanese ancestry in concentration camps. During the Cold War between the U.S. and the Communist Soviet Union (Russia and its other “Republics”) in the 1950s, people lost their jobs and careers after being accused of being “communists.” Today, some people lose their jobs for saying or writing politically “incorrect” things. The federal government has become so large that it can spy on a presidential campaign (Trump’s in 2016) and monitor telephone conversations of his first incoming National Security Advisor (Flynn). When investigated by a Congressional Committee for possible abuse of power, some federal investigators can be called out by a Congressman for smirking at them. During a national pandemic, the government can confine you to your house for two months. Even liberals point out governmental abuses, such as the killings of African American men by police, or the deporting of undocumented immigrants without due process in Trump’s second term. What do you think about the current power of the government? Have any of you or your friends or family been hurt by governmental actions? Hands raised. One student has a friend who was pulled over for “driving while black.” Another student complains about his school closing, prom and graduation cancelled for an older sibling, to deal with a pandemic that primarily affected old people.

Tradition is important.

Traditional values, traditional social arrangements are important to conservatives. Conservatives historically thought, “if it ain’t broke, why fix it?” Gosh, what a Great Country we have. We settled on the shore of one ocean, then expanded across an entire continent, defeated European colonial powers, won two world wars, survived the Great Depression with our democracy intact (unlike Italy, Germany). We did all of that with our Christian religion, our traditional division of power and labor between the sexes (women were largely homemakers), even our traditional ethnic and racial roles. Some conservatives even went further back in history, and glorified the British government (which had a House of Lords, hereditary landed nobles) and pointed out how European monarchies had promoted and protected the Catholic faith (and the Pope). Conservatives historically relegated the gay community to the “closet,” meaning that one could not publicly express an LGBTQ lifestyle (one could lose their job, some sex practices were illegal by some state laws). Abortion was believed to be murder, and as late as 1972 all except two states outlawed it. The South enacted laws to “legally” prevent most African American from voting, and forcing black kids to attend segregated and poorly equipped public schools; the rest of the nation went along with this until the 1950s and 1960s. Conservatives were very much against drugs, even marijuana. Drugs were viewed as reducing one’s ability to focus and to work hard and be responsible. So, the first four components of conservatism sounded kind of reasonable, right; but what do you all think about this adherence to tradition?? Many hands raised, much support for living your own lifestyle however you want, as long as you don’t hurt anyone else. Much support for LGBTQ freedoms- an MSU student I interviewed, a Truman Finalist, took the lead in starting an annual Gay Pride parade in Starkville, which the city finally permitted after a threatened lawsuit. Abortion causes much discussion, when does life actually begin, are we taking a human life? Some discussion of recent urban demonstrations, Black Lives Matter and anti-ICE immigration enforcement actions; traditionally people were expected to respect the police and obey them, but do all of the police follow the law themselves?

Anti-crime orientation, punitive approach.

Conservatives hate the government, but they do want it to exist for a few limited reasons: protect Americans from domestic criminals and from foreign enemies (and make business possible through a currency, bankruptcy laws). So conservatives are very anti-crime, and because they believe in individual self-reliance, if you commit a crime, it is your fault! And so, you should pay the penalty. You do the crime, you do the time. Historically, America used the death penalty a lot, especially for first-degree murder. An eye for any eye, Old Testament justice, a life for a life. Western movie scenes would depict white males being hanged for crimes like horse stealing. One reason for the death penalty was deterrence- maybe someone would be deterred from committing a serious crime. Of course, that might not work for some crimes of passion. But conservatives might also argue that morally, human life is so precious, that if you take a life, you must forfeit your own. Also, this removes a dangerous person from society, so they cannot harm anyone else. What about life in prison, though? Well, they may harm a prison guard, or they may escape, respond conservatives. In the 1990s there was a national movement of Three Strikes and You’re Out laws, meaning that a conviction for a third felony would result in life imprisonment. The crime rate went down, Americans were protected. Historically, police would carry a heavy baton, and disobedient citizens risked being hit in the stomach or even over the head. Parents would caution their kids to obey the police officer. Some nations even have caning, or whipping. Singapore has a low crime rate. Are such punishments deterrents, and even if so, are they morally permissible? Much class discussion. Some people can learn better behavior from pain- I learned the importance of carrying plenty of water after suffering painful dehydration on a 30-mile day hike in the Smokies one summer; henceforth, I took 6 quarts of water for a day-hike from the South Rim of the Grand Canyon down to the Colorado River and back (don’t do this, it’s deadly!). How should looters be treated; some conservatives say shoot them!

Foreign affairs- American national security interests first, anti-communist, use force.

So real conservatives hate government, and it should exist for very limited purposes. It should protect Americans from foreign enemies, period. When our federal constitution took effect in 1788, we just wanted the federal government to protect our nation so that it could exist. Therefore, we wanted to stay independent of those great European colonial powers, like England, France, Spain. We wanted to preserve our international trade, as we sold much of our farm products to other countries. We did not want to be very involved in world affairs, though we learned that we could not permit dictatorships such as Hitler’s Germany to conquer Europe and Imperial Japan to conquer Asia and the Pacific, or they could then take on the U.S. After defeating these dictatorships, we faced the dictatorship of monolithic communism (the USSR Soviet Union and China were strong allies until the 1960s, and Eastern Europe was under USSR control) whose ideology called for world conquest. So our national security interests were very anti-communist, and the U.S. would often support right-wing (conservative) dictatorships (authoritarian governments) like Iran, Guatemala, El Salvador, Chile, because they were anti-communist. In the age of 9-11 (World Trade Center destruction) terrorism, Islamic terrorism became the top national security concern of conservatives. Putting America first, conservatives are very willing to use force, and to do so without much international support. When President Bush thought that the anti-American government of Saddam Hussein’s Iraq had weapons of mass destruction (chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons) and European nations like France refused to support an invasion of Iraq, Bush went ahead anyway (and some Americans boycotted French fries!). President Trump with only Israeli strong support recently bombed Iran’s nuclear program.

I have spent so much time on conservatism, because it is no longer the dominant philosophy in the United States, so I had to explain what it is, and why it used to be so dominant.

Tomorrow, we turn to modern liberalism.

Liberalism:

Some view liberalism as having arisen during the Great Depression, as the U.S. federal government expanded its power to help people hurt by the Depression. Others point out that in Erich Fromm’s terminology (a German sociology writing in 1944) of valuing security over freedom, a big central government dates even earlier to German socialism the previous century. It has 6 major components in my opinion:

Liberalism recognizes human failings that hurt other people, and uses big government to help people.

The concept of self-reliance and individualism is fine, but sometimes people are hurt through no fault of their own. Sometimes they are unfairly discriminated against by other people. Liberals take the lead in making sure that government helps such disadvantaged people. Was it the fault of the average workers that a Great Depression occurred, and suddenly one-fourth of American workers became unemployed? Many, including my maternal grandparents, lost all of their money in banks (which were not regulated by government at the time), and then lost their small businesses and their homes. Until the 1930s, business could pretty much do whatever they wanted, thereby hurting workers and customers. Under Democratic Presidents, the federal government enacted Social Security, protected the right of workers to join labor unions, and outlawed business abuses. Liberals also realize that flawed humans can take over local and state governments. An example is that southern states until the 1960s were dominated by whites, and they maintained a segregation system of white supremacy over African Americans. As such, a larger federal government stepped in, with the Supreme Court ordering racially integrated schools and public services and accommodations, and the Congress ensuring that blacks had the right to vote. Another problem with sole reliance on individualism is that not everyone is born equal, and not everyone has financially well-off parents (or any parents, for that matter). As such, liberals believe that government should step in and help these disadvantaged people.

Economic security, ensured by the government.

In an agrarian, small town society, maybe most poor citizens could get help from their neighbors and charity organizations, but today’s society is so urban and so densely populated that many people lack an effective support system. Sometimes the only people they know are in the same disadvantaged situation that they are in. Liberals pioneered government ensuring the basic necessities of life- food, clothing, shelter. Democratic President Franklin D. Roosevelt during the Great Depression enacted many economic welfare programs: Social Security, a retirement program for the elderly; AFDC, Aid to Families with Dependent Children, our first federal welfare program; public jobs programs for the unemployed; the Wagner Act, ensuring that workers could join together and form a labor union, and that labor union would bargain with their employer for better wages and working conditions; minimum wage and maximum hours laws; unemployment insurance; more government regulation of businesses to protect workers and consumers. Such basic necessities have been expanded to include health care, as President Johnson’s Great Society of the 1960s enacted Medicare for the elderly and Medicaid for the poor, and President Obama enacted the Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare) for lower income workers. They have also been expanded to include education, as we guarantee a public elementary and secondary education to children, and government provides scholarships, grants, and loans for college students. Today, we still debate how far the government should go. Should the government ensure that everyone has high quality health care? Should the government pay the expense of nursing homes? Should the government provide free higher education to all high school graduates? If so, should it include high cost private colleges? What do you all think about how far the government should go in providing economic security? I see a lot of support for free college tuition in the audience, and indeed that was Democratic Presidential hopeful Senator Bernie Sanders’ program, and he got a lot of college student support. I even see much support for free medical care, as many of you have aging parents and grandparents, and you yourselves may have an expensive medical condition.

Equal opportunity guaranteed by the government, maybe even equal results.

The most glaring historic failure of American society has been how our people and governments have treated the Native Americans and the African Americans. Because the Americans coming from Europe were technologically and militarily stronger than these groups, they proceeded to take the land from the Native Americans, and to purchase Africans who had been kidnapped from their own lands to work as slaves on southern plantations. Though the bloodiest war in our history was fought over slavery (the Civil War), federal amendments seeking to protect the rights of newly-freed slaves were never effectively enforced on southern states. As late as 1964, only 7 out of 100 adult African Americans in Mississippi were registered to vote, and as late as 1967, out of 122 state house of representative members and 52 state senate members, not one was an African American. Finally, the federal Supreme Court declared racial segregation preserved by government to be unconstitutional, and the federal Congress enacted the 1965 Voting Rights Law that guaranteed African Americans the right to vote. Most Republicans as well as Democrats outside of the South supported these equal opportunity measures. A more difficult question is whether we should go further, and try to guarantee equal results. Should we have a racial quota system in job hiring, promotions, and college admissions and scholarships? Some liberals would say yes, based on our past history of discrimination which put generations at an unfair disadvantage. Others would stop at just guaranteeing equal opportunity to succeed, and recognize that qualifications and demonstrated accomplishments are important. Equal opportunity is also extended by liberals to other groups, such as women and the LGBTQ community. Historically, American society, businesses, government, and universities have been dominated by white males. The bosses would often call their good-ole-boy friends and ask whether there was a good chip-off-the-ole-block who was like themselves whom they could hire. Women applicants would often be asked- do you plan to get married, will you have kids, will you miss workdays? As such, liberals have taken the lead at ensuring that women are not discriminated against in the workplace. Liberals are also pushing for guaranteed paid family leave for pregnancy. Once again, these programs are so popular than even some Republicans support them. Ivanka Trump successfully worked for paid family leave for most federal employees. Protection against discrimination against the LGBTQ community is also important to liberals. Gays finally have the right to legally get married in every state. The question of whether private companies, especially small businesses, should be forced to serve gay people if it violates their religious beliefs (forced to bake a wedding cake for a same sex couple) is currently being debated. What do you think? The ideological debate over equal opportunity and results is reflected in the Biden and Trump presidential administrations, as Biden stressed racial and sex diversity in hiring in the federal government (such as more women in the Secret Service), and Trump currently attacking DEI (diversity, equity, inclusion) programs at our universities. What do you think about this debate over DEI and equality for different social groups?

Support for individual civil liberties, deemphasizing tradition.

If family, religion, and tradition isn’t as important to the liberal philosophy, if flawed humans have hurt so many of their fellow citizens, what is the solution? Well, liberals focus on the importance of the individual. Humanism, rather than the centrality of God. Individuals should be able to live their lives however they wish, as long as they don’t hurt other people. So, a person should be able to take whatever drug they want, at least marijuana. It is a woman’s right to choose whether or not to have an abortion. A person should be able to choose to marry whomever they wish, even if they are of the same sex. Indeed, a person should be able to change their own sex, and not be discriminated against. And so, liberals are very tolerant of alternative lifestyles. Obviously, women should be able to break the glass ceiling, run for President, and be elected President of our country. African Americans should be able to be safe from law enforcement excesses, reflected in the rallying cry Black Lives Matter. Historically, liberals were very supportive of free speech and freedom of ideas. When conservatives in the 1950s were getting communists, socialists, atheists, and anarchists fired, liberals fought for their individual civil rights to express their unpopular beliefs. Today, liberals seem less supportive of free speech rights, as they promote political correctness that has resulted in some conservatives losing their jobs after expressing unpopular beliefs. Liberal support for historically discriminated against groups such as blacks, women, and gays makes liberals very concerned that people in those groups will be damaged by derogatory comments about them. What do you all think about “liberal” political correctness? Any examples from your own high schools? The second Trump administration seems to be promoting its own version of political correctness, as they oppose DEI programs that make white people feel guilty, and equate pro-Palestinian speech with support for anti-Jewish hatred. Many college students today are afraid to speak out in class about their own political beliefs, fearing that they will anger a teacher or fellow student. How much freedom of speech do you believe that you have in actuality, and should such free speech ever be limited by the government?

Regarding crime, liberals stress prevention and rehabilitation.

Given our nation’s history of discrimination against politically weak groups, is it fair to just enact harsh punishments? Does the death penalty even work as a deterrent to crime? Look at how expensive it is to finally execute someone, given the decades of judicial appeals. Jail itself is extremely expensive for the taxpayer. Liberals stress preventing someone from becoming a criminal. Make sure that young people have summer jobs, summer youth camps, summer sports. Make sure that everyone has a good education, or a good job training opportunity. If someone ends up in jail for committing a crime, make sure that they are rehabilitated. Give inmates access to a high school GED, college courses, job training, weekend furloughs to start a job. More controversial for liberals is whether religion should be promoted in prisons, which conservatives would be more in favor of. Liberals oppose harsh punishments. President Biden was blasted by liberals for supporting as a Senator three strikes and you’re out laws in the 1990s, and for supporting the war on drugs, and he has since reversed his positions. Liberals oppose the death penalty, pointing out that minorities (who lack the money for the best lawyers) are much more likely to be on death row. So, what do you think about how we should seek to reduce crime? Do you know of anyone who has been in trouble and turned their lives around? How did they do it?

In foreign affairs, liberals either have a broad world-view, or they interpret American national security interests more broadly. They favor foreign economic aid, cooperation with other nations, and protecting human rights. In short, they seem to wish to promote their liberal ideology to other countries.

Liberals like humanitarian aid to other countries, kind of welfare for the world. It is the humane thing to do, but was our federal government ever expected to do that? Why in the 1960s provide billions of dollars of foreign aid to India, when India was neutral in the Cold War? Well, maybe it bought good will among the people of India. Today, India is very capitalistic, and very pro-American. Why not support the individual human rights of people living in other countries? Why shouldn’t there be free elections in every nation? Why shouldn’t people be able to protest against their governments in every country? Well, we supported these human rights for the people of Iran in the late 1970s, and the U.S. lost a good pro-American dictator and has since had a very anti-American government hardline Islamic regime supporting terrorist groups that attack Israel. Maybe not all people are ready for a Western style democracy (see Condi Rice’s book Democracy). On the other hand, both liberals and conservatives supported human rights for the captive nations of Eastern Europe, and today they are free and independent nations, very pro-American and very anti-Russia. Cooperation with other nations examples, liberals love world bodies like the United Nations and the European Parliament. Why do we have narrow, self-interested nations, why not have larger bodies? Especially when nations and nationalism have caused so much warfare and hurt minorities in their own borders. And when nations cause so much pollution (like China). An effective world body (unlike the League of Nations after World War 1 that the U.S. boycotted) might have prevented World War 2. So, liberals historically have championed foreign aid, cooperation with other nations, and human rights.

Well, that takes care of week 1. But liberal versus conservative ideology is very important, as it frames the debates over nearly every issue in modern American society. Even how we dealt with the Covid pandemic. Liberals and Democrats were more likely to opt for security, keep the societal lockdown by our governments going for as long as necessary, as long as it can save “one human life” as the New York governor said. Conservatives and Republicans said that government had become oppressive, closing down our churches, even our parks and beaches, and causing the horrible tolls of Great Depression level unemployment. I have greatly simplified what these ideologies stand for, and even supporters of these ideologies are not 100% pure or consistent. Certainly, Democrats support capitalism over communism. Republicans support equal opportunity. But historically, these 7 components of conservatism and 6 components of liberalism have been very important. Make sure that you know all 13, understand them, and are able to explain why each is important to that ideological group, and be able to give specific examples. Obviously, in the midterm essay examination, which will ask you to choose to answer 2 out of 3 questions, this subject of liberal and conservative ideologies would make a great question!