·       Rationalism

·       Freedom

·       Justice

·       Tolerance

·       Human imperfection

·       Organic society

·       Hierarchy and authority

·       Property

·       Cooperation

·       Equality

·       Class politics

·       Common ownership

·       Liberalism emphasises the importance of the individual, both the uniqueness of each individual and at the same time the equality of all individuals.

Freedom

·       Thus, liberalism emphasises a commitment to individual freedom. This does not mean though, that an individual is free to do whatever they like. There are still constraints on what you are actually allowed to do, one constraint being that you are not allowed to hurt another individual.

Rationalism

·       Having faith in reason, or the ability to use one’s intellect in taking action in the world, is also a central component

Justice

·       Liberals look at justice in that each person should be given what they are “due‟.

Tolerance

·       Because individual rights are central, this means that liberalism believes in tolerance and pluralism, or the idea that different moral, cultural and political cultures can exist together.

·       Conservatives argue for the preservation of “tradition‟, in particular with regards to values, practices and institutions

·       They see tradition as being one of the foundations of society; without it, they believe society would crumble.

·       Humans are imperfect Conservatives argue that human beings are imperfect and not perfectible, thus they will need stability and security in their lives, which the government can provide

Organic society

·       Conservatives believe that human beings cannot exist outside of society, or the social groups that nurture him/her, such as family, friends, colleagues, local community, and the nation

Hierarchy and authority

·       Believe that society is hierarchical, and that authority (who is on top or in charge) develops naturally

Property

·       Conservatives have a firm belief in the importance of owning property, and encourage private savings and investment in property; property is seen to be a way of creating a stable world.

·       People are less likely to damage someone else’s property if they also own property.

·       Human beings are tied to one another by the bonds of a common humanity • „We are all brothers and sisters‟

View on human nature

·       Belief in the plasticity of human nature, or that humans can change and be moulded by life experience

·       Firm belief that humans are not predestined, but have the capacity to become something greater than what they are

Cooperation not competition

·       Socialists believe that the natural relationship among humans is one of cooperation rather than competition

·       Equality Socialists are committed to equality

Social Class

·       Common ownership

·       Disagree with the idea of private property, as they see this as one of the causes of competition and therefore social inequality.

·       Thus, have a view that all property should be communal

·       “From each according to his ability, to each according to his need‟ – Karl Marx