Originally posted by MelanerpesAgreed, as far as I can tell. On the one hand you have George W. Bush and the Christian Coalition, on the other, Ron Paul and the Liberty Republicans.
a certain part of conservatism is what I would call "conservative socialism" -- favoring the use of a strong Big Gummint when it comes to things like national defense, crime, and certain "family values".
once you remove this, libertarianism (classical liberalism) is what remains.
I respect the latter kind of conservative.
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The post that was quoted here has been removedThe way many Americans look at it is as a 2x2 grid.
Authoritarian ("Socialist" ) Economy and Authorian Personal Life = Communist
Authoritarian ("Socialist" ) Economy and Libertarian Personal Life = Liberal
Libertarian Economy and Authoritarian Personal LIfe = Conservative
Libertarian E and PL = Libertarian
In fact I've seen a grid like that in a political science textbook though the terms are probably different.
I guess in the US Conservative and Liberal are on the corners of the 2x2 grid made up of Authoritarian/Libertarian vs Economy/PersonalLife, with Socialism equated with both Communists and Liberals.