The ideology of the Democrats is liberal whilst that of the Republicans is Conservative. Discuss

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The ideology of the Democrats is liberal whilst that of the Republicans is Conservative. Discuss

‘Two glass jars with different labels, both empty’. This has been the traditional opinion of the differences between the parties ever since the federalist/anti-federalist issue was settled. However, in recent decades, we have seen the emergence of distinct ideological identities. That of liberalism - a belief that the federal government should have an active role in protecting the vulnerable & guaranteeing rights, and Conservatism - a belief that government should be restricted in order for the individual to achieve their potential. I will analyse to what extent the Democrats and Republicans adhere to these philosophies.

Primarily, the Democrats have been associated with liberalism ever since FDR’s New Deal of the 1930s. In this era, the government utilised Keynesian economics and expanded its reach nationally, helping the unemployed by providing jobs. Though these ‘tax and spend’ have become unfashionable in recent years, most Democrats would identify themselves as liberals. Recent policies would support this argument. In January 2009, a Democratic President and a Democratic Congress passed a 700 billion dollar economic stimulus package. This is clearly a liberal policy, affirming the state’s role in the economy. Moreover, it was the same congress who passed the Patient Protection & Affordable Care Act (Obama-care) heavily regulating the health insurance industry. These are clearly liberal policies as they augment the role of the state and extending healthcare to 20 million of the low-income Americans who almost certainly voted Democrat, reinforces their liberal credentials. From this we can see that the Democrats, certainly in congressional policy, pass liberal legislation.

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Similarly, the Republicans have shown much in recent years to call themselves a conservative party. The last Republican president, G.W.Bush, extended tax cuts to millions of high and middle earners. The ‘Bush tax cuts’ communicates a key belief in conservatism that the federal government should be more limited and taxes reduced. We can therefore see large cleavages between the beliefs held between the parties, the Democrats attempt to pas liberal policies whilst Republicans try to pass conservative ones. In addition, Bush relieved the role of the Federal Government in some public utilities to the voluntary & private sector as ...

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Overall this is a good essay. It covers the arguments as to why the Democrats can be seen as liberal and why the Republicans can be seen as conservative well, using good examples to back up the points being made. However, despite the good elements of the essay it is slightly one sided. More emphasis is needed on why the labels of liberal/conservative might be too simplistic to describe the two main parties. By structuring the essay differently, with an argument supporting the statement followed by a counter argument, a more balanced argument would ensue.